Chapter 92: Trapped in a Web of One's Own Spinning

Because of the disappearance of Cold Stone, Baldy has been very irritable lately.

He is not as easily fooled as the boss, who could be dismissed by a few words from that kid the Management Bureau calls Sword Star.

Hah, a common C-rank instance, and it managed to make Cold Stone crash? Who are you kidding! The three of them have been grouped together since they first entered a team instance, and later joined the Iron Armor Group together, also making a name for themselves together.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them brothers from different parents; in ancient times, they would have chopped off a rooster's head and burned yellow paper to swear brotherhood.

He understands Cold Stone very well; Cold Stone looks careless, but is actually meticulous to the extreme.

The "meticulous" here refers to his mind.

In the Iron Armor Group, Cold Stone is a rare talent specialized in clearing instances; his research into instance rules and clearance methods is extremely deep.

Dying to instance rules is something that could happen to anyone, but it is impossible for Cold Stone.

There must be some dog-thief who harmed his brother, and this person is very likely Sword Star.

To put it bluntly, he thinks the boss didn't necessarily believe it, but was afraid—afraid of having a conflict with Sword Star, afraid of having a conflict with the Management Bureau.

Tui! His own brother is dead, and he doesn't even dare to go ask for an explanation; truly pathetic.

What's even more pathetic is that he doesn't dare to either.

It’s not that he lacks the guts, but that he lacks the ability.

If the boss and he teamed up, they might be able to take down Sword Star by launching a sneak attack.

But if it’s just him alone, he has no chance of winning, even with a sneak attack.

When he first entered the instance and had his neck held by Sword Star’s flying sword on the beach, he had already discovered the gap between them.

The sorrow for Cold Stone’s disappearance, the disdain for the boss’s weakness, and the lament for his own insignificance all mixed together, keeping his mental pressure consistently high.

For a player who has suffered a mental breakdown, this is not a good thing.

He needs to find things to relieve the pressure, just as he has done in the past.

Just then, he saw the young girl named Hamster; her temperament was warm and full of vitality. He was very familiar with this feeling, as it matched the feeling of his first love in his memories.

It’s her!

Baldy followed Hamster, preparing to find a quiet corner to talk about life with her alone.

The two of them left the town center one after the other, walking toward the suburbs near the small pier.

The further away from people they got, the more uncontrollable the desire in his heart became.

She isn't just similar; she is my first love. She has come back to find me.

She used to be so good to me; she will definitely agree to my request.

Baldy’s already weak willpower gradually collapsed under the rising desire.

Just as he was about to make a move, a woman suddenly appeared at a street corner not far away.

She was wearing townspeople's clothing and looked eighty percent similar to Hamster, but the other twenty percent held an indescribable heat and temptation.

No, that’s not right, Hamster isn't his first love, this one is!

He could be certain! He walked straight toward the woman and murmured, "Why are you here?"

The woman answered gently, "Five silver coins an hour, fifteen for the night. That’s only for basic services; special items cost extra."

"Add them! Add whatever there is!" Baldy took out all the money he had earned over the past two days, and fearing it wasn't enough, he even took a gold leaf from his personal space.

This type of gold leaf, which is common across instance planes, is expensive—one hundred decayed silver coins per piece—and is usually used to bribe officials within instances, but right now, Baldy couldn't care about that much.

Taking the gold leaf, the woman opened the door behind her and tempted him, "Come in."

Three minutes later, Baldy took a puff from his pipe, his eyes much clearer.

As long as the pressure was vented, his willpower would return to normal. Thinking back on just now, he felt a lingering fear; if he had really done something to Hamster, he would likely have invited trouble.

Just as he was caught in his post-coital clarity, contemplating life, the woman’s voice came from behind him.

"I think you’re not bad. Will you stay on this island?"

On the strictly regulated Brifer Island, it is not easy to find a special professional, and what’s even rarer is that even with his willpower restored, he still felt the woman was like his first love, and the more he looked, the more she resembled her.

"I’ll stay for a while longer. I’ll come back to see you when I have time."

"Can’t you stay forever?" the woman asked.

Baldy was a bit confused. What’s the situation? Wasn't this a temporary gig? Why was she asking to sign a lifetime contract? "I’m afraid not; I’ll be leaving after a while."

"Oh." The woman’s voice dropped, sounding very disappointed. Baldy couldn't bear it and was just about to turn back to comfort her, or if all else failed, leave two more gold leaves.

Who knew that before he could even speak, a sharp pain suddenly erupted in his abdomen.

The next moment, countless black iron spikes pierced out from his body, turning his head and torso into two sea urchins.

Baldy lowered his head to check his wounds, but his eyes had already been poked out by the spikes piercing from the inside out.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. The next moment, he fell to the ground with a thud and stopped moving entirely.

He couldn't understand why his defensive ability hadn't taken effect, nor did he understand why he had suddenly become as brittle as paper.

The woman stood up unhurriedly, picked up Baldy—who could now cosplay as a watering can if filled with water—and nailed him to the display wall in the inner room.

"This way, you can stay on the island forever."

Halfway through nailing him up, the woman suddenly sensed something, whipped her head around to look outside, and licked her lips.

On the edge of the town center area, the only garden in town was built, with several small buildings surrounding it.

They were specially designed, each with a different structure, and were much more exquisite than the rigid houses in the town center.

Wu Chang’s main body carried two bottles of wine and stood in front of one of the small buildings, knocking on the door.

Footsteps were heard on the other side of the door, the door opened, and Mo Leina, wearing black pajamas, stood before him and beckoned to him.

"Come in. I thought you wouldn't come over for a while."

Mo Leina lived alone; her home was clean and tidy, and decorated with great style.

She brought two baking trays out from the kitchen, on which were seared steaks, accompanied by several kinds of roasted vegetables.

Her insulation measures were well done; when she lifted the covers, the food was still steaming.

"Have you eaten?"

"I had a little at the restaurant."

Mo Leina wrinkled her nose cutely, "At a time like this, you should say you haven't eaten. It doesn't matter; you can keep me company and eat a little more."

She pressed Wu Chang to the dining table and opened the wine that had just arrived today; the pomegranate-red, crystalline liquid looked exceptionally gorgeous under the candlelight.

"Taste it and see if it’s to your liking."

Honestly, the dinner time passed exceptionally pleasantly.

Mo Leina’s culinary skills were not bad at all; one could even say they completely blew the restaurant chef out of the water. This dinner was the best meal Wu Chang had eaten since entering the instance, aside from the roasted golden flying fish.

The wine had been poured three times, and the dishes had been tasted.

As the plates were cleared away, the obstacle of the dining table between the two was gone, and the distance between them grew closer.

Today, Mo Leina was radiating a scent of roses mixed with musk, which was hard to refuse.

But just as the good thing was about to happen, a knock on the door interrupted them.

"Sheriff, something big has happened! The Great Madonna statue has collapsed, and the Bishop is on fire!"

The words of the officer outside were like a basin of cold water, instantly extinguishing the flames in Mo Leina’s eyes and turning her gaze into the calm and steady one of a sheriff.

"I know. You go ahead; I’ll be there immediately."

Mo Leina put on her uniform with an expressionless face and pinned her loose red hair into a bun. She looked back at Wu Chang and said regretfully, "I’m afraid I won't be free tonight. If you can't wait, you can go back first and come again tomorrow."

Not until Mo Leina had left the room, fully dressed, did Wu Chang react as if waking from a dream.

No, the main event was halfway through; how could she pull the reins so abruptly?

So when you said you’d be there immediately, you didn't mean finishing up the business here first, but actually going immediately!

You’ve left, so what am I supposed to do? At this moment, he felt some regret for having his True Self kill so quickly in the inner world.

Sometimes, clearing an instance too fast is not a good thing.

He sighed and was just preparing to leave like this for the day when another knock came from outside the door.

He put on his coat and opened the door, just about to say that Mo Leina had already rushed to the scene, but before he could speak, he discovered that another Mo Leina was standing at the door.

"What are you staring at? Are you not going to let me in?"

(End of chapter)