Chapter 802

“Did you find him?”

Seeing Roddy there, Nicole’s face immediately turned tense.

“Ah? No… not that.” Roddy was momentarily stunned. Next, he swiftly shook his head.

Looking over Nicole’s shoulder, he saw that Tian Lie was also inside Nicole’s room.

Thankfully, Nicole had been quick to open the door earlier. Moreover, the two of them were wearing clothes. That made Roddy feel somewhat relieved.

Seeing Nicole cast a questioning look at him, Roddy quickly said, “Err… can you follow me for a bit? There is something I want to talk to you about.”

“Alright.” Nicole was quick to nod. She closed the door behind her and ask, “Where to?”

“Hmm… how about the dining bar?”

…

Roddy led Nicole to a quiet corner of a dining bar and they sat down.

“You drank quite a bit.”

Nicole held a glass of lemonade, gently taking a sip as she looked at Roddy.

“Mmm.” Roddy smiled embarrassedly. Just now Qiao Qiao had forced him and he had drunk four bottles of Maotai wine all on his own. It would be weird if his body was not reeking of alcohol.

“Tell me, what do you want to talk about?”

“It’s been over half a year since we last met.” Roddy raised his head to look at Nicole. “But according to Chen Xiaolian, after you were revived, you – like Da Gang – have been hiding your identity while living near us, is that true?”

“The words of your good friend and Guild Leader. Do you doubt it?” Nicole responded with a faint smile.

Roddy shook his head. “Of course not. Only, there are some words that I need to personally hear from you before I can feel at ease.”

“Fine.” Nicole was quick to admit.

“It is true. I am Ye Zi. I opened up a yoga studio next to your gym to get close to you guys.”

“Then, after that, you… why did not you appear again?” Roddy hesitated for a moment before continuing. “If you are able to find us once, you can surely find us a second time. Although we have moved, given your ability, finding us should not be difficult.”

“True. In truth, we found you fellows a long time ago. Originally, we were thinking about joining your guild.”

Hearing those words from Nicole, Roddy fell into a state of disbelief.

“What?” Roddy’s eyes widened. “Then why…”

“Because, after we found you, we realized that Chen Xiaolian is not with you guys.” Nicole sighed.

“You know as well, Tian Lie and I are no longer ordinary Awakened ones. It is impossible for us to join other guilds. Back then, we tried getting close to you guys because we wanted to figure out our identities, and… what we should do next.

“Moreover, we owe Chen Xiaolian a favour. A very big favour.”

“But now, Chen Xiaolian has not returned to your side. Back when we left Zero City, we had assumed that he would be with us. However, when we returned to the outside world, we found that he had only sent us out while he himself had gone somewhere else…”

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

“Wait, wait… wait, wait, wait!” Roddy nearly jumped up from his chair. “You mean to say, before this… you guys were with Xiaolian? In… Zero City?”

“Yes. Did he not tell you about it before he left?” Nicole cast a curious look at Roddy.

“No.” Roddy hastily shook his head.

“He didn’t even come meet us. He simply gave us a call and informed us that he had something to do. He said that staying with us would be very risky for us. Damn it! Why didn’t you tell us earlier? So, when he suddenly disappeared back then, he had gone to Zero City? What happened there?”

“We do not know much either. At any rate, most of it happened within a small, special space inside Zero City.” Nicole pondered for a moment before continuing, “Roughly putting it… Shen had wanted to snatch away the core of Zero City while other monstrous characters from the same era as him wanted to stop him. After that… perhaps, they started fighting. To conclude, at present, Zero City’s space has collapsed, folding upon itself. Shen and those old monsters are all trapped inside Zero City. The three of us are the only ones who managed to escape.

“Oh right. There is another piece of news. You will probably feel very happy after hearing it… Chen Xiaolian, he obtained the Oddity. It is the one I spoke of earlier, the core of Zero City.”

“You… slow down a little. I’m getting confused…”

Roddy had begun regretting drinking so much earlier. He also regretted not bringing the others with him.

His original plan was to ask Nicole out to confess to her. Unexpectedly, she would know more about Chen Xiaolian’s matters.

At the moment, his mind was sluggish thanks to all the wine.

“It’s not that complicated. I assumed that Chen Xiaolian has already informed you guys about it. That is why I did not mention it before.” Nicole gave an apologetic smile.

“In short, Chen Xiaolian has obtained a considerable number of goodies. This is the real deal I’m talking about. Although I do not know where he has gone off to, I believe that, when he returns, your guild will definitely become far stronger.”

“I have to… hurry over and tell my teammates about this. Thank you, Nicole.” Roddy took a deep breath.

“Is there anything else?” Nicole finished drinking the water in her glass. “If not…”

“Yes!”

Roddy hastily waved his hand. Pausing, he then cleared his throat. “Err… actually, it is something you already know. I… like you!”

“Yes, I know.” Nicole nodded, showing neither joy nor rage.

“I have liked you since the first time I saw you in Zero City. I also said before that I will definitely woo you.” By borrowing the power of the wine, Roddy poured out all the words in his heart without any reservations. “After that, you were killed in battle during the Tokyo instance dungeon. I no longer have any chance to meet you. Or more accurately, even if I did find you, I have no way to know if that is you. All in all… to be able to see you alive now, and the fact that you are living very well, I feel very happy!”

“Roddy…” Nicole’s eyelashes fluttered slightly and her lips opened.

“I’m sorry.”

“… damn.” Roddy fell back heavily on his seat and mumbled in a whisper, “Qiao Qiao, you bastard!”

If it weren’t for Qiao Qiao shoving so much wine into him, he would never have the courage to come confess to Nicole.

At the very least, if he hadn’t said that, he would still be able to hold onto a glimmer of hope in his heart.

“Why? Because of the damned baldy?” Roddy lowered his head. After some time, he raised his head and said with a wry smile, “I say, do not forget, that fellow used to be the Angel Killer. His hands are utterly stained in the blood of your teammates. Even your father died in his hands!”

“That matter, I will never forget it. There is no need for you to remind me.” Nicole’s face sank. “You just need to know that I do not hold that kind of feeling towards you. As for why, that has nothing to do with you.”

“Makes sense. It truly does have nothing to do with me,” Roddy responded with a wry smile.

“You’re a good guy. That I can fight alongside you, it is an honour.” Nicole stood up.

“I have a certain level of respect towards Chen Xiaolian, towards you, towards the rest of Meteor Rock Guild’s members. In this instance dungeon, I believe that we can fight together and win, together. But your special feeling, I am unable to reciprocate. I can only… say sorry.”

“Thank you… for being so straightforward in slashing my hopes.” Roddy revealed a bitter smile.

“These words. I should have said them to you earlier, but, firstly, I had yet to fully figure out what to say to you then. Secondly, I also failed to find a suitable opportunity. It may have been better for you if I had told you this earlier.”

Nicole cast a serious gaze at Roddy and said, “I am truly very sorry.”

“Forget it…” Roddy weakly waved at Nicole.

“Then, I’ll leave now.” Nicole found Roddy’s dispirited look to be somewhat hard to bear. Waving back, she said, “About this instance dungeon, come find me anytime if you find anything.”

After saying that, she turned and left the dining bar.

Roddy continued to hang his head down, his eyes blank as he sat motionlessly there.

“Hey, Roddy. How did it go?”

Qiao Qiao’s gossipy voice came from the guild channel. “I saw Nicole return to her room alone. Did you get her?”

“If I did, do you think she would be going back alone now?” Roddy harrumphed.

“Wait for me!”

Not long after that, Roddy watched as Qiao Qiao rushed into the dining bar. Moving quickly, she sat down in front of Roddy.

“Hurry, hurry! Tell me, how did you confess? And how did you get rejected?” Qiao Qiao cast a curious gaze at Roddy. “Surely, she is not… actually getting along with Tian Lie? That’s a little… out of place.”

“I don’t know.” Roddy shook his head, which was still hanging down.

“She just gave me a Good Guy Card. Then, she told me, there is no need for me to worry about her matters.”

“So serious?” Qiao Qiao widened her eyes. “Hey, are you going to just give up like this?”

“What else? What else can I do?” Roddy rolled his eyes.

“Pounce on her, hold her and tell her not to go? That I can’t live without her? Or kneel in front of her and cry miserably, begging her to be my girlfriend?”

“Wait, wait. Let me imagine that…” Qiao Qiao said. Next, she burst out laughing.

“Enough with you!” Roddy harrumphed unhappily.

“Damn it! No matter how you cut it, I do look somewhat handsome. I’m also a little rich. Even if you look at my strength as an Awakened, I am now not that much weaker than her. To do such an obsequious act, even if I don’t think it’s degrading, I cannot embarrass our Meteor Rock Guild!”

“Upstanding!” Qiao Qiao gave him a thumbs up, giving him a playful praise.

“So, what do you plan on doing next? Surely, you are not just going to give up?”

“What should I do otherwise?” Roddy shrugged and straightened himself. “This is an unrequited love. As a man, one should be more unrestrained. I have already worked hard for it. Since it has failed, I should let it go with dignity. I am Young Master Roddy. After getting rejected so directly, would I continue to chase after her ass? That is not my style. Besides, you know as well. The more a man behaves like that, the more the woman would look down on him. At any rate…

“The licking dog will always end up with nothing in the end!”

Note: The licking dog. Raw: ‘舔狗’, pinyin: ‘tiǎn gǒu’. Someone who tosses away their dignity to enthusiastically chase after someone who has no interest in them, something like a simp.