Chapter 1596: Retracing The Past

There was a small path covered in maple leaves and surrounded by flowers. I was walking along it while dressed in a white shirt.

The cheerful laughter coming from the forest reminded me of the joy of the good old days.

"Lu Chen…" He Yi stared at me.

"Little Cheat…" Lin Yixin’s dimpled smile was just as beautiful as ever.

Li Chengfeng and High Fighting Spirits greeted me in casual clothes, "Hey, brother!"

Gui Guzi clenched his fists. "Boss Broken Halberd…"

Du Thirteen and Yamete called out my name, "Lu Chen…"

……

I tried to keep pace with everyone despite my heavy footsteps, but their figures grew more and more distant until I could no longer see them. It felt as if they had vanished from my life. In the end, I had to face the end alone. At least I had a feeling that this decision had been my own. If I must depart this world, then I would depart alone and in silence.

"Ah…"

I was startled awake from my dreams and found myself in the bedroom of a random house of Yuhang Old Town. I looked outside. The sunlight was bright, the tree branches were swaying hypnotically to the wind, and the air was filled with the scent of flowers and the melodious chirps of birds.

I sat up and quickly discovered that I was drenched in sweat. Heaven only knows how many nightmares I had suffered throughout the night.

It was at this moment I heard someone knocking on the door. It was the uncle asking, "Boy, breakfast is ready. Do you want me to bring it to your room, or do you want to come out and have it in the courtyard?"

I replied, "I’ll come out in a moment, uncle!"

"Alright then. Remember, it’s at the table in the courtyard."

"Okay!"

I took a good look in the mirror after putting on my clothes. My face was the face of an incredibly haggard man. I tried putting on my shoes only to discover that even the simple action was growing difficult. It was as if my strength was being drained little by little.

I arrived at the study table and drew my blood into the vials. Then, I went out and basked in the morning sunlight. However, a burning sensation assaulted my senses almost immediately. It was exactly like when I had caught the virus at the beginning. Sunlight was painful for me now.

There was a small square table beneath the fir tree in the courtyard. A bowl of egg noodles with chopped onions sprinkled over them had already been set on it. The uncle was sitting at the entrance and holding his own bowl of noodles when he greeted me with a smile, "You’re a late riser, aren’t you? Oh right, I haven’t asked for your name."

I answered, "I’m Lu Chen from Suzhou, uncle."

"I see. Is it just me, or do you look a bit ill, youngster? You just woke up, but you look rather lethargic…"

I smiled. "Yeah. I am a little sick right now. It’s fine though, I’ve gone to the hospital already. The doctor just told me to rest more."

"Well, finish up your noodles now! They will get cold if you leave them any longer!"

"Okay."

I complied, but found myself unable to down more than half a bowl. My body was deteriorating at a rate faster than I could possibly imagine.

After I finished breakfast, I returned to my room, shut the door and took a bath. I put on the same clothes I had been wearing the day before—I could just ask Gui Guzi to buy some for me later—and stared at my phone for a bit. I then inserted a new phone card, entered Gui Guzi’s number and called him.

"Hello, who is this?" Gui Guzi asked from the other side of the phone.

I coughed. "It’s me, Little Gui. This is my new number. Have you returned to Suzhou already?"

"Yeah, I returned before the day broke. By the way, I think you should log into the game, Boss Broken Halberd. Show Boss Eve and the girls that you’re online everyday. It’ll assure them that you’re… still around."

"Good idea, Little Gui. I’ll do that. By the way, can you buy me some clothes when you come over in the afternoon? I haven’t brought extra clothes with me."

"No problem. One more thing."

"Speak!"

"The girls didn’t participate in the WEL last night because of your matter, so Frost Cloud workshop has dropped into the losers’ bracket… Should I tell them to expect you tonight? It feels like a huge shame to give up like this…"

I shook my head. "Forget it, there’s no way I can compete in the WEL like this. Whether Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls can climb to the top a second time is up to you, Chengfeng, and everyone else in the second seed."

Resolved and serious, he replied, "Don’t worry, Boss Broken Halberd. I won’t disappoint you. I promise to give the WEL my all, eliminate all enemies, and take the champion trophy back to the base!"

"Good. I’m going to catch some rest now. You go do whatever you need to do. Also, don’t forget to take a break later. I doubt you’ve had the best sleep last night."

"Got it!"

……

While lying on the bed, I glanced to the side and found a Heavenblessed data port, as expected. Eternal Moon had equipped every household with a dedicated line years prior. I decided that I might as well go online and check out how everyone was doing.

Swhoosh!

After appearing in Sky City, I stood silent in the adventurer’s inn for a while. A lot of players were surprised when they logged into the game and found me right next to them. Very soon, I received a ton of messages from Beiming Xue, Lin Yixin, Li Chengfeng, High Fighting Spirits, Chaos Moon, Stranger of Three Lifetimes and more. I didn’t read all of them. I responded to all the messages with: "I’m fine. Thank you for your concern!"

After that, I moved to a private room and called Lin Yixin on the communicator—

"Little Cheat…" I could hear the cry in her voice.

I said, "Don’t cry, Yiyi. Be strong. I’m still doing okay. I promise to log into the game everyday so you can see me."

Lin Yixin couldn’t stop sobbing. "But… but I miss you so much. What do I do? Where are you right now?"

I chuckled. "Be good, Yiyi. I’m in a town in Jiangnan right now. The environment here’s pretty nice and comfortable. I’ll bring you here for a trip once I’ve recovered."

Lin Yixin nodded sharply. "That’s a promise. You’d better not lie to me…"

"Of course. When have I ever lied to you[1]?"

Lin Yixin choked out a chuckle. "Would I be calling you Little Cheat if you had never lied to me?"

"Er…”

……

We ended the call after chatting for a while longer. Next, I called Beiming Xue—

"Beiming?"

"Big bro…" Beiming Xue was crying before she even said anything, "You have to be safe. You have to come back alive, big bro…"

I replied, "Don’t worry, Beiming. I’m doing okay right now. By the way, how is Eve doing today?"

"Sister He Yi’s eyes are recovering nicely. She could already see me today…"

"That’s good to hear…" I smiled a little before continuing. "Eve is sick, sis has to take charge of Raincube while she’s gone, Xinran is still young, and Little Xin hasn’t yet acclimatized to the country after returning from overseas. That is why you are the only one who can support the workshop now. Be strong just like your big bro, okay? Be strong enough to take care of Sister Yi, Xinran, and everyone else. Can you promise me this?"

She nodded. "I know, big bro. But can you promise me that you will stay alive, no matter what? I… I don't want to wake up one day with the realization that you are gone forever…"

I consoled her, "Yes, don’t worry. I will come back. I’ll log in at least once everyday so that you know I’m here. If you feel worried, you simply need to check my data to know the last time I’ve logged into the game. I’ll prove to everyone that I will survive this. I will live past my 30-day deadline and conquer this virus once and for all…"

"Yeah. Do your best, big bro…"

……

I turned off the communicator and made a mental calculation. There were only 23 days left before the virus utterly demolished my body. Despite my promises, I had no idea if I could hold out for that long.

Thud!

I leaped into the air and left Sky City. A few minutes later, I landed in front of a newbie village. A new group of Goblins, Big-eared Rabbits and more mobs had just spawned, and newbies were fighting against them to level up. They reminded me of young heroes ready to prove their mettle to the world.

I slowly walked into a nearby forest and headed toward Frost Mound. It was where Lin Yixin and I had met for the first time. All the big or small moments in my life played out in my mind. No one had imagined that my journey would end up this way. Finally, I arrived at the blood pond where Xinran had been killed by Suren. It was also where Lin Yixin and I PK’d each other for the first time.

Thud…

I knelt down beside the blood pond, unsheathed the Xuanyuan Sword, and stabbed it into the ground. Then, I rested against it and just sat there for a very, very long time. I reminisced about the good old days. The melancholy of the moment made me feel like I was waiting and praying to be saved.

……

I checked the Heavenly Ranking. At Level 275, I was the number one player on the level ranking, as a matter of course, but it wouldn’t be long before Candlelight Shadow, Luo River God of the Capital and more caught up to me. Luo River God of the Capital was the runner-up at Level 267; an unsurprising outcome considering that she had always been one of the fastest grinders in the game. Lin Yixin, Beiming Xue or Lian Xin should have been fighting for the third spot, but because of my matter they weren’t logging in enough. Still, it wouldn’t be long before they began grinding once more. Long story short, there was no way I could maintain my position as the number one ranker for long. Even if I miraculously conquered the virus 23 days later, someone would’ve surpassed me by then[2]. It didn’t matter though. Right now, surviving should be my first priority…

Some time later, I rose to my feet and made He Yi the city lord of Dark Moon City. Just in case.

Finally, I flew around the entire Heavenblessed continent one more time, before returning to Sky City and logging out of the game.

……

Lunch was basically what you might expect in a farmer’s family—three dishes, one soup, and a bottle of Wuliangye. My kindhearted landlord had even slaughtered a chicken for me. He raised a cup at me with a grin. "Care to drink with an old man, youngster?"

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

I smiled and took a seat immediately. "Of course. It’s boring to drink alone anyway!"

He was just filling my cup when we heard the sound of a car braking. It was Gui Guzi. He walked over with a huge bag of stuff and smiled when he saw us eating lunch in the courtyard. "Looks like I’m right on time. Is it okay if I join you all for lunch?"

The uncle smiled wider. "Of course, friend of Lu Chen. Let’s all enjoy a drink together!"

Gui Guzi took a seat beside me. Then, he examined my complexion and asked, "Have you used the suppressant yet?"

I shook my head. "No. I’ll use it after lunch!"

"Got it. By the way, I’ve gotten two new suppressants from Beauty Lin. They’re numbered, so make sure you use them in order."

"I know, I’m not that illiterate that I can’t recognize arabic numerals…"

"Good…"

……

Drinking spirits with high alcohol content felt like setting your heart on fire sometimes. However, baijiu seemed like the best anesthetic on a bad day like this one, not to mention that the doctor hadn’t warned me not to drink alcohol[3]. Even if they did, everyone would die one day, so whatever…

Gui Guzi and I turned red after downing several cups of baijiu, but we didn’t slow for even a moment. Happy that he had found two drinking partners, the uncle opened another bottle. Just like that, we drained two bottles of baijiu in a single afternoon.

Around 1 pm or so, I returned to my room and used a suppressant. I waved my arm and felt my strength returning a little. I was aware that it treated the symptoms but not the root cause, but it was better than doing nothing at all.

1. T/N: like right now? ☜

2. T/N: How though? It’s the level cap. Is there a hidden point system that calculates effort or something? ☜

3. T/N: no, they told you to avoid all stimulating substances, which you yourself admit that baijiu was a while ago. Can someone restrain this motherfucker and tie him to a hospital bed already? This is insane! ☜