Chapter 172

Editor: Casey

[Ding! We have arrived in the new world! Host, please…*static*…Hos-…System error detected. Host, please…*static*]

Shi Qing woke up in a white void. The System was still trying to tell him something was off. It didn’t know what was going on.

[This world is one that cannot be interfered with. Host, please…*static*… The System will soon go offline…*static*…Hos-…Be caref-…*static*]

After a moment of silence, a mechanical voice calmly announced: [This world is one that cannot be interfered with because all events have already occurred. System #120 will temporarily be offline. Host, please go through this timeline.]

Shi Qing translated what it meant.

In other words, this world was set in the past so he couldn’t interfere. Also, he had to stick around until the timeline ran its course to leave.

Wasn’t this like watching a movie then?

He shrugged and looked down, noticing that he was still in a hospital gown. He raised his hand. He could see faint greenish veins on the back of it.

This was his own body.

Since it had been so long since he was himself, Shi Qing touched the back of his hand somewhat nostalgically. When he looked up again, the road ahead was so bright that nothing could be seen. Regardless, he stepped forward without any fear.

He didn’t have far to go. It took Shi Qing less than five minutes to get out of the white fog.

The noise outside hit him immediately.

“Tanghulu, oh!! Three yuan a piece! Cultivators, this is a great gift for a loved one! Buy two, get one free!”

“Treasure swords! 100% hand-crafted treasure swords! Only one of each exists in the server! Come, take a look everyone! Only 399! You deserve it!”

“Anyone going to mine for Xuan Metal Stones? Take me with you!”

“Ladies and gentlemen, come and have a look at the Phantom Spirit b.u.t.terflies I’ve caught! They’re suitable as both a cute pet and a beast to take into battle! They can even lead the way on Yellow Spring Road to the main BOSS! If you can slay the main BOSS, you’re destined to be number one on the server soon!”

Surrounded by crowds of people wearing all kinds of wuxia-esque getups, Shi Qing was more than a bit out of place in his hospital gown.

But no one even spared him a glance. It was like they couldn’t even see him.

And Shi Qing didn’t pay attention to them either. He blankly stared at his surroundings.

This place seemed quite familiar to him.

Shi Qing’s always had a good memory. He soon recalled this place from his past.

He looked back. As he expected, three big words were carved on the tall wooden door behind him: Carp Legend Village.

This was the beginner’s area in the first virtual reality game Shi Qing had tried.

He had always been sickly. He couldn’t run and jump around like other people. No matter how smart he was or how wealthy his family was, he could only stare out his window at the other children playing outside.

On his eighteenth birthday, his uncle gave him a watch that could play all the major virtual reality games.

Only from that point on was Shi Qing able to experience the life of a normal person through these games.

‘Descent of Chivalry’ was the first virtual reality game he played.

Players would begin their journey as folk heroes at the beginners’ area of Carp Legend Village. From there, they would join a sect, fight various monsters, master weapons, complete side quests, etc.

Although the player character’s facial features couldn’t be adjusted, the degree of beauty could be enhanced. That, along with the wide variety of accessories available like masks and half masks, as well as the vast array of leveling methods available, made this game a smash hit in the year Shi Qing turned eighteen.

Shi Qing remembered being ecstatic for a long time about how free and healthy he felt inside the game when he first tried it. He fought his way up and became number two in the entire server. Then, he stubbornly tried for several months to become number one.

Unfortunately, he had to later leave the game for several years due to real-life family circ.u.mstances. Things weren’t stable enough for him to continue playing until he was 24.

By that time, he had changed from a young master who was sickly but adored by his parents and relatives to the Shi family head whose parents had died and whose relatives had turned against him. The uncle who he was once closest to now wished for his death.

Shi Qing returned to VR games, but not to ‘Descent of Chivalry’. Nor did he stubbornly strive for first anymore. He muddled his way through games halfheartedly.

And then…

His illness suddenly worsened.

Even Shi Qing himself didn’t expect this game to have left such a deep impression on him. The details were still so clear to him after so long.

But he still didn’t understand why the System left him here.

These players couldn’t see him, and he couldn’t interact with them. All he could do was cross his arms and watch the players gather around the seller of the Phantom Spirit b.u.t.terflies. They all started to complain once they heard the price.

“So expensive… Why don’t you just rob us? The only thing it can do is lead us to the BOSS. It’s not like it’s going to help us fight.”

“Yeah, which dumba.s.s would pay this much? I might even buy it if you lower the price a bit.”

The seller was still smiling, but he refused to relent. “To be honest, I really was a bandit before. I’m not used to selling things yet, but lowering the price is impossible.”

The players gathered there suddenly heard the sound of hooves.

“I thought horses weren’t allowed in the beginners’ village?”

“His mount is an exception. It’s the most expensive and spoiled Red Rabbit Yangzhou Horse which can only be ridden in the beginners’ village.”

“Wow, is he a whale?”

Shi Qing looked up, following the chatter of the players. He saw that there was indeed a white horse approaching.

This mount was very beautiful. It had a small bell hung around its neck, which tinkled as it trotted over. A young wandering hero dressed in short, black garbs was seated atop it. He had delicate features and a valiant air about him. One look was enough to see that he was someone who had never experienced hardship.

He tossed paper money at the seller as soon as he arrived. “I’ll take all of the Phantom Spirit b.u.t.terflies.”

The seller immediately agreed happily. “Ah! Thank you, rich master! Please take it.”

The young warrior looked at the Phantom Spirit b.u.t.terflies and slightly raised an eyebrow. He let one out to lead the way and stored the rest away.

As he was about to leave, his eyes fell on the tanghulu seller. More money was thrown over. “I’ll take all these tanghulu too.”

Then he quickly left everyone’s sight with a wave of the reins.

The players left behind stared in the direction he left in and sighed in admiration.

“What a rich dude, ah. He doesn’t look too old either. A rich second generation probably.”

“You don’t know who he is? He’s number two in the entire server, Shi Qing or something.”

“He’s number two?! f.u.c.k, I didn’t recognize him without the cloak! He’s my idol! His battle with the giant dragon ended with a tie. d.a.m.n, I thought he always went around wearing a cloak. Why’d he suddenly take it off? I used to think he hid his face because he was ugly or something.”

“What are you saying? Even if he is ugly, isn’t there a beautifying function ingame? Anyone can be pretty after a bit of adjustment here and there. Who knows? Maybe Shi Qing did that too.”

Shi Qing listened in on their conversation. He knew very well that he had done no such thing back then. In fact, he had to tone down his looks again because too many people tried to pursue him when he first started playing.

It’s been a long time since he reminisced about his old self.

That flamboyant, unbridled him who burned as brightly as he wanted.

Why did he buy the Phantom Spirit b.u.t.terfly back then?

…Oh right.

He wanted to become the number one player on the server.

‘Descent of Chivalry’ was a very odd game.

Other games ranked players based on level, degree of compet.i.tion, or battle power.

But in this game? They were ranked according to the challenge list.

The righteous faction consisted of all the wandering heroes.

And since there was a righteous faction, there was naturally an evil faction.

That was why this game was also called the game with the most villains. You had to kill them to level up or be killed by them.

Almost every wandering hero or heroine who encountered a villain would find themselves with a 100% full red bar of animosity towards them. They would both automatically go into attack mode. They would either die and have their journey come to an end, or kill the villain and level up.

All in all, it was quite an odd feature.

Shi Qing was able to become number two in the entire server by killing countless villains, both major and minor.

And the reason he just bought the Phantom Spirit b.u.t.terflies was because he wanted to find the legendary main BOSS and kill him so he could be number one.

Speaking of the main BOSS, he was a popular topic on the ‘Descent of Chivalry’ forums despite rarely appearing. Every time people discussed the bosses, he was always number one on everyone’s lists.

It made sense considering he was the reason why the game became so popular in the first place.

The developers publicly announced that they had lost control over the main BOSS ingame. From a stationary NPC who waited for players to kill him, he became a BOSS with free reign in the game. He even had the cunning to avoid players. Several waves of players fell into his traps and had to start all over again.

No one knew if they did it on purpose in the first place, but the developers issued a huge bounty for anyone who could take out this main BOSS. Not only would they be ranked number one in the entire server, they would also get a prize worth an estimated $3 million.

This announcement got the entire server up in a tizzy. Everyone was eager to try their luck.

But no one was even able to find the main BOSS after quite a while. Eventually, people concluded that this was just a publicity stunt by the developers to attract players. The matter was mentioned only in mocking after that.

The Shi Qing at the time was a youth that had never encountered hardship. He didn’t need the $3 million prize, but being number one on the server was something he couldn’t resist. He searched for all kinds of ways to locate the main BOSS.

Shi Qing tried to remember if he found him or not.

He probably did, but he didn’t kill them for some reason…

As for why he didn’t kill him…

The void surrounded Shi Qing once again. When he walked out, the outside world had changed.

This time, he was in a quiet valley. Shi Qing walked out just in time to see his past self take out the tanghulu he bought earlier from his bag and hand them to a person.

He bit into his sweet with relish, but soon he noticed that the other person hadn’t touched theirs. He urged, “Eat it already, ah. It’s sour and sweet and delicious.”

That person looked down at his tanghulu with confusion. Then he turned to Shi Qing, speaking brokenly like a doll that just learned how to talk, “Sour…delicious?”

“Yep! I couldn’t eat it before even if I wanted to. My family didn’t let me. The only thing they let me have is bitter medicine all day.”

The youthful Shi Qing polished off his tanghulu in a few bites. His eyes narrowed in satisfaction. Then he greedily began eyeing up the other person’s untouched tanghulu.

He smiled wryly and leaned over, biting off half of the treat. “Ah. I’ve always wanted to do this, but my friends wouldn’t let me.” The youthful Shi Qing mumbled while chewing with puffed-out cheeks.

He didn’t forget to pat his companion on the shoulder. “You’re my friend from now on. Hanging out with you is much more fun than being with those suck-ups.”

The person next to him had a slightly bewildered look on his face. A glint of light crossed his dark eyes.

He struggled to learn the word. “Friend…Me.”

“Yep. Don’t worry, I’ll visit you every day from now on.”

Shi Qing promised without much thought. Untouched by the scars of life, his young face was filled with confidence and happiness.

The person beside him steadily returned his gaze.

His eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He slowly nodded and somewhat sluggishly lowered his head to take the rest of the tanghulu into his mouth, chewing it in the same way as Shi Qing.

The youth beside him asked, “By the way, the players call you the main villain, but what’s your real name?”

He blinked blankly, as if searching through his memories.

Only after a long pause did he slowly answer the impatient youth’s question.

“My name…is Gong Yu.”

Author’s Corner

The last world!

But it’s not really a small world because these events already happened in the real world. It’s more like a trip down memory lane?

Randomly sending out red pockets!

Muamuamuamua night night

Rain

I fell asleep… Thanks for waiting guys.