“Let’s not wait for His Highness Annan.” Lin Yiyi sighed, “I think he must be in some trouble.”
Four days had passed since Overseer Nieusel visited as a guest.
The players had achieved their goal of staying there for a week.
The only thing left was to clear the nightmare.
The other players awaited their progress, waiting for the underground teleportation waypoint to be built so they could teleport over.
Lin Yiyi felt a little uneasy to slack off at this moment.
“But, if we don’t put it on hold, you still have to let me search the path.” Suuankou couldn’t help but complain, “Before the dungeon’s entry count is used up, will His Royal Highness Annan arrive in time? I don’t want to explode on the spot because of the overflowing erosion rate.”
“Soul erosion is probably not going to make you explode… I think.” Lin Yiyi commented in uncertainty.
Suuankou looked at her in disgust, “Are you really my sister?”
Lin Yiyi’s eyes widened immediately. He slapped the back of Suankou’s head, “You are my younger brother. How could I not be your older sister?”
“Okay… okay… okay…” Suuankou admitted defeat in seconds.
Jiu Er, who was watching from the side, burst out laughing.
—This is probably the “younger brother’s standing in the family”.
Seeing Suuankou like this, Lin Yiyi softened her heart.
She sighed, “You go ahead and enter the nightmare first. Just in case, don’t enter the nightmare when your erosion rate is approaching 80. I will be your substitute. If I haven’t cleared the dungeon at an 80 erosion rate, we will have Jiu Er take over.
“If we enter the nightmare dungeon instance together, it will waste too much respawn count. It is better to enter separately, so we have three times the chance of trying.”
Suuankou muttered, “Are you sure the calculation works that way?”
However, Suuankou still shook his head, drank the iced fruit tea in his hand, and stuffed a few pastries into his mouth.
He had even snatched a piece of golden molasses cake from Jiu Er’s hand and stuffed it into his mouth, gulping it down along with his freshly chilled mead.
“Hey!” Jiu Er immediately smacked the table with a displeased face, shaking the room for a while, “Take what’s on your plate!”
“What’s on other’s plates is more savory—” Seeing Jiu Er’s current displeasure after laughing at him just now, Suuankou felt relieved immediately.
However, he spoke righteously without scruples, “I am nourishing my brain. Since I have to work in my dream for a while, what if I am hungry and unable to think in the nightmare?”
“Then, what if you can’t make it to the end?” Jiu Er narrowed her eyes and said, “Little Brother… May I interest you in a bet? I don’t want to bully you either, so how about 50 push-ups? Just treat it as a physical exercise for you.”
Seeing the Rich Loli Sister, a head and a half shorter than him, showing a malicious smile, Suuankou knew he should stop.
He could manage 50 push-ups.
—However, according to the paradox proposed by a not-so-famous philosopher, Zhang Wuji’s mother, Yin Susu [1]… A woman… a young lady… or rather a girl (Jiu Er) with such a good look must be good at lying.
[TN: Author is citing the classic story.]
What’s more? Suuankou did not know whether he could live through this nightmare or not.
In this regard, he and his sister had similar views: Even if it were a deadlock, they would not just sit still and wait.
It was not that he had the power to raise his spirits or decide victory and defeat in a desperate situation. The current situation was far from that caliber.
It was just that the “promotional video” that Suuankou had watched not long ago flashed in his mind.
—In the pitch-black hell, Annan climbed up from the abyss again and again with bloody hands and light in his eyes.
At that time, Annan was just an ordinary person.
He was not a game master nor a recognized gaming expert either.
However, Suuankou had an inexplicable feeling. It was a little regrettable that only Annan was so prominent in performance.
We can’t achieve such incredible things, and we can display our persistence in that level of danger. However, in the dungeon instance with countless “opportunities”, we can always try a couple more times, right?
As for the increase in erosion rate due to death, isn’t it because I am weak?
If I become stronger, I won’t die, right?
The more Suuankou failed, the more he felt like a fire gradually bloomed in his heart.
But this statement was too embarrassing and too geeky. He dared not tell others.
Although he felt bright in his heart, he still yelled indistinctly, “If I don’t clear the dungeon, it’s because of Benzema!”
He contained the sudden thrill in his heart, grabbed a rope, and rushed into his room.
Jiu Er was taken aback when she heard this.
She thought hard for a while, then looked back at Lin Yiyi in a daze, “Who is Benzema?”
Lin Yiyi was silent for a while and guessed, “I guess… it’s a poor devil.”
She looked at Suuankou, who was going away with some worry and expectation. Then, she shouted, “Remember to turn on the live stream!”
“Ao!” There came a muffled reply from the room.
“Ai…” Lin Yiyi sighed softly.
Jiu Er and Suuankou were not close to each other.
However, Lin Yiyi was Suuankou’s elder sister.
How could she not tell that Suuankou was feeling restless?
That’s because…
Lin Yiyi reached out her right hand and gently touched her collarbone. She slowly stroked her chest downward as if it was a relief from overeating.
Restlessness also surged in her heart.
Lin Erer was the younger brother, and she was the older sister. Although Lin Yiyi’s grades were excellent, she had an extended family dispute when she graduated from a prestigious school and became a content creator. The trolls, peers, and rumormongers on the Internet also gave her a lot of headaches.
No industry came perfectly clean.
Compared with “Suuankou”, who had not stepped into the society, the “light to pursue an ideal” in Lin Yiyi’s heart had long been extinguished.
Dream, freedom, and fantasy… Everything was just a job. It was just that this job was more to her liking, and it was not so conflicting and tiring to do it.
But now—
The feeling felt real.
It probably started since the blazing Black Tower saga… or rather, from seeing that promo video. Lin Yiyi felt that the “light” in her heart seemed to hatch again.
Is that my vision?
Is that my dream?
Or is it determination?
Or perhaps aspiration? Ambition?
In short, Lin Yiyi wanted to go higher and further.
This blazing fire in her heart and the enthusiasm that had been extinguished for a long time might be a gift to her from this world.
—Yes.
The adventures of these “players” in this world were not without reward.
For now, they had gained “hope.”
No matter what, they would never become listless or lazy but always have a “hopeful heart” that drives them forward with determination and never gives up.
The light that burned in the heart.
Lin Yiyi was a little uneasy about this feeling.
But honestly, it did not feel bad. It was as if she had become an adventurer, a hero.
She understood what Suuankou was thinking and worried about.
But wasn’t she the same?
So she could not fall into panic.
That was because she was the elder sister.
If she panicked and started to feel restless, what would her brother do?
Who could he count on?
In fact, Lin Yiyi was his younger brother’s goal and the direction he was striving forward, whether from his past studies or his current career.
In the current state, Lin Yiyi had a goal, accepting the light in her heart. So, she started to change herself.
This unyielding heart was indeed like Lin Yiyi. But according to Lin Yiyi’s understanding of him, her brother was a lazy person. He even had a sense of inferiority and was shy.
When he met Jiu Er for the first time, he did not even dare to strike up a conversation, and he did not dare to speak when eating, seemingly cautious.
This was also understandable. After all, Jiu Er was a wealthy young lady with more than one villa in the Mountain She villa area. Rumors said that her family sells cars.
How many companies could sell cars in Shanghai City?
He dared not to guess and dared not to ask.
But now, he gradually dared to joke with Jiu Er and progressively became more confident around her. The self-confidence was not annoying. On the contrary, there was a hint of brilliance in his eyes.
This was undoubtedly a positive change.
Lin Yiyi glanced at Jiu Er.
Jiu Er did the same.
Compared with the unconfident, shy, and soft dumpling Lin Yiyi saw at the beginning, Jiu Er’s aura gradually strengthened.
“Since everyone works so hard, I have to work harder.” Lin Yiyi murmured. A sense of determination rose in her eyes.
She also gradually made up her mind.
Maybe I should try to accept the “light” in my heart.
She also had some anticipation for it.
What changes will it bring to her…