"How insidious," Lu Mingze couldn't help but exclaim, "We worked so hard to complete the mission, only to lose our memories in the end, just to restore happiness to the city's residents, and in the end, we only pave the way for the city lord to become a demon? This is too much!"
"Don't be angry," Wu Zi Shu said, jumping onto Lu Mingze's head. "Luckily, you thought of it in advance. This way, we can strike first and use the Bishop's sealing power to kill the City Lord before he completely transforms into a demon."
Lu Mingze reached out and took the book off his head, puzzled, "You can talk, but why did you jump on my head?"
Wordless Book: "..."
Qian Jinlai finally couldn't help but said, "Based on my years of experience, he might have wanted to pat your head to comfort you, but he's just a book, and due to his height, he could only jump on your head."
Lu Mingze was silent for a moment, thinking back to Xing Ye's serious look, then looking at the book in his hand, he suddenly felt that Xing Ye was quite cute, and felt a little sweet in his heart.
Wu Zi Shu seriously brought the topic back to the game mission: "I think we need to deal with the city lord before completing the mission."
"But where is the city lord?" Yan Hebi was still looking at the book.
"It's most likely at the center of the demon summoning ritual," Cao Qian said, "but he won't come out. Will it be effective if we attack there directly?"
Lu Mingze thought for a moment, raised his hand, and said, "Actually... there's a way to lure the city lord out."
"No." Wu Zi Shu immediately guessed his thoughts. "It's too dangerous. Even if the mission fails, at most everyone won't be able to recover their memories. I have my memories, and I can find you. But if you use that method, you might be in danger of your life."
"What are you going to do?" Cao Qian asked warily.
Lu Mingze said a little embarrassedly, "Didn't the statue take out a mirror before and try to swap bodies with me? After analysis, we know that this mirror was most likely taken out by the City Lord. He tempted the statue to do evil and wanted to use it to obtain my soul. I think if I had looked in the mirror from the beginning, the City Lord might have appeared long ago. Using this method to lure him in, even if he knows it's a trap, he won't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"Listen to me," Wu Zi Shu said to Lu Mingze seriously, "This game is not simple and there are many hidden dangers. Although the system doesn't explicitly state it, if we fail in this game and the City Lord really devours your soul trapped in the statue, you might die in the real world."
"It's possible, but it doesn't necessarily mean we'll fail," Lu Mingze said. "If I had fallen for the trick by looking in the mirror from the beginning, the game would have been a failure. But it's different now. I have so many teammates here, you will rescue me. I believe the statue will be willing to help us, but if it's not willing..."
"If he doesn't want to, just hold his head down and make him look in the mirror three times," said Cao Qian.
Lu Mingze chuckled, "That's exactly what I meant. You guys gave me the confidence to use this tactic. You guys are truly too strong and amazing. With teammates like you, what do I have to fear?"
"No!" Wu Zi Shu still objected. "There are many things in this world worth taking risks for, but this one isn't. I said, and I remember, I can find everyone again in the real world. We can be teammates and friends again. Isn't that good?"
"But you're the only one who remembers!" Lu Mingze said, "We've all forgotten you. We don't understand why you wanted to be friends with us. We don't remember the experiences we had, and we don't know we have a friend who can go on adventures together and share life and death. We've forgotten, and we don't feel anything. But you still remember. Aren't you lonely?"
The wordless book did not speak. It was quietly spread out in Lu Mingze's palm. The words "not lonely" appeared on the pages, but were quickly erased.
He is lonely.
Xing Ye is resilient. He writes his teammates' phone numbers on sticky notes on his desk, where they're easily visible. He secretly investigates their real-life identities, not interfering in their lives but helping them to the best of his ability. He's able to confirm Lu Mingze's treatment progress by contacting his parents, and he restrains himself in his own way, caring for his former teammate and lover.
He told himself that this was the best outcome. The system was gone, everyone's life was back on track, and not remembering it was a good thing.
But what about the only person who still has his memory?
He is lonely.
Lu Mingze saw through Xing Ye's loneliness.
"I don't think it's worth it. The two are not equal and I shouldn't invest in it." Even though he was seen through, Wu Zi Shu still opposed it.
"Whether it's worth it or not is not up to you, it's up to me." Lu Mingze patted his chest and said, "I can feel that you like me, and I used to like you too. I think this memory is worth the risk. Without it, my life will be missing a piece that can never be filled. So I'm willing to take the risk of living with a broken soul."
"I will protect you." Cao Qian placed her hand on Lu Mingze's shoulder. "I have a feeling that losing this memory will be a lifelong regret for me."
"Cuckoo, quack, quack~" Swan Crystal echoed.
Guan Ling rubbed his hands together and said a little embarrassedly, "I've made mistakes before, and I'm also a stubborn person who refuses to change. I think this memory will serve as a warning when I can't help but make mistakes again in the future, right?"
Qian Jinlai slammed his thigh in anger: "I should know why I owe a hundred thousand yuan, right? This is money!"
Yan Hebi said in confusion, "I, I always feel like I lost to you. At least I want to know why I lost, right? I... I want to live clearly."
Lu Mingze said to Wu Zi Shu, "Look, everyone agrees. Shouldn't you express your opinion and help us formulate a battle plan to increase our chances of success?"
He had long realized that Wu Zi Shu had actually guessed the plot a long time ago, but for some reason he couldn't say it and could only hint at it indirectly.
The Wordless Book looked at everyone's determined eyes, sighed deeply, and words began to appear on the pages. He said to everyone, "You recite it."
Everyone looked over and saw the densely packed battle plan on the book. Even the time for everyone to return to the real world was calculated. It made people dizzy and they couldn't help but recall the fear that was once dominated by the college entrance examination.
Fortunately, the plan for the wordless book will start at dusk, so everyone has time to recite it.
Two hours later, everyone who had finished reciting went their separate ways.
Before the action, several people exchanged phone numbers and agreed that after the game, if they still remembered their experiences in this world, they would call each other to report their safety and have a meal together.
After carefully memorizing the phone number, Cao Qian walked over to the statue and Yuna, pulled hard with both hands, uprooted the statue, and carried it on her shoulders.
Yuna screamed, "What are you doing!"
"Don't landmark buildings like this usually need to be consecrated?" Cao Qian said, carrying the statue. "I'm going to send it to the church for consecration. Why don't you bring your golden armor with you and have it consecrated as well?"
"I'm not going!" Yuna's face turned pale when she mentioned the church. "You know I was once demonized. I can't enter the church!"
"Huh? That's strange. Didn't you dig out your demonic eyes and walk in the sun again?" Cao Qian asked, "Why don't you dare enter the church?"
"I, I…"
Yuna stuttered, not knowing what to say. Qian Jinlai gently took her hand and smiled, saying, "It's okay if you don't want to tell me. I'll tell you a story. What should I tell you? Well... let's talk about the scumbag who drugged his wife and took her vagina for Bai Yueguang. I have a lot of stories about scumbags and bitches in my library. Come on, I have an entire afternoon to tell you all about them."
Yuna: "…"
Cao Qian rushed to the church with the statue, blood-stained combat boots, Qian Da Niu, Yuna, and a box containing golden armor and tools. Guan Ling and Yan Hebi teamed up to find the noble lady with sea-blue eyes.
Guan Ling is a player who follows fate and has a strong ability to find things. Yan Hebi's ability, "central air conditioning", can make the noble lady speak out some of her true feelings.
Lu Mingze has helped them determine several locations through the mirror, and the two of them must try to get the Eye of the Sea before dusk.
Lu Mingze and Wu Zishu were left alone. Lu Mingze first selected the strongest bandit from the underground floor, carried him to the third floor, and stuffed him into his armor. He patted the armor's shell and said, "I have completed the mission as agreed. You will also help me protect the city when the time comes."
"Crackling," this was the armor's response.
He then walked to the city lord's office and said to the tables, chairs, sofas, wall clocks, windows, and other items, "There will be a big operation tonight. Together we will deal with your unscrupulous former boss, the city lord who broke the table legs, sofa leather, and wall clock and refused to repair them. You are the employees who have been cheated, and we cannot let such a black-hearted boss go."
The wall clock rang, as if responding to Lu Mingze's words.
After completing the preparations, Lu Mingze sat on the sofa for a while. Seeing that it was still more than two hours before dusk, that is, six o'clock in the evening, he asked Wu Zi Shu: "What should we do next?"
The wordless book did not speak, but wrote a few words on the pages: Cultivate feelings.
Lu Mingze: "…"
Wordless Book: My abilities can only be used when the intimacy level is over 80. When the intimacy level is over 100, I can unlock skills such as "Telepathy" and use the achievement title "Stealing the Sky and Changing the Day". The better our relationship, the stronger my abilities will be.
Lu Mingze said, "You look a lot like the domineering CEO in the novel who throws money on the heroine's desk, saying, 'As long as you follow me, all this money is yours.' Of course, what you're throwing here is superpowers."
Wordless Book: "..."
Lu Mingze thought about it and said honestly: "Actually, I already like you a little bit."
"I know," Wu Zi Shu said, "The intimacy level is 70."
Lu Mingze: "…"
Couldn't he just have a little secret crush on her? The system was too much, it didn't even know how to help him hide his feelings.
"Then tell me about our past experiences," Lu Mingze suggested, "maybe I'll like you then."
"I have limitations, and there are many things I can't tell you," Wu Zi Shu said, "but I can tell you that in the previous world, you were a prop, and your soul was trapped in the game, so you are unconscious in the real world."
"So that's how it is," Lu Mingze said in surprise. "I was in a coma for four months. Did I spend all those four months in the game?"
"Yes." Wu Zi Shu said, "So I don't want you to take risks. I'm worried that you'll be trapped in the game again."
"Then... I was trapped in the game and became a prop like you. How was I rescued? Was it you who saved me?" Lu Mingze asked.
Wu Zi Shu said: "No."
"Huh?" Lu Mingze was surprised. Wasn't that the case? He had thought Xing Ye had saved him in the game, and he felt a little happy.
The wordless book said, "You saved yourself, and you saved me too. Challenging the game of fate is not something that can be accomplished alone. Without you, I would be toyed with by fate and become a loser. You are not weak, nor do you need to be saved by others. You are a gentle yet strong person. Let us save each other."
Lu Mingze blushed. He had heard countless love stories over the years. Too many people, eager to pursue him, had studied grammar to write the most beautiful love poems and say the sweetest love words. But none of these pursuers had ever looked at Lu Mingze the way Wu Zi Shu had. They simply saw a beautiful object and instinctively wanted to possess this exquisite piece of porcelain, but none of them realized that this porcelain was actually tougher than steel.
Xing Ye saw it. He kept looking directly at Lu Mingze. From his delicate appearance, he saw his optimistic, positive and slightly stubborn heart.
Lu Mingze covered his face and said, "My favorability seems to have increased a bit."
"Well, the intimacy is 80. I can now use the initial skills and your points. Keep working hard and strive to reach 100." Wu Zi Shu encouraged.
Lu Mingze: "…"
"You make me feel like I'm giving birth. Now the head is coming out, if I just push harder, the baby will be born..." Lu Mingze muttered unhappily, "You're so unromantic."
The wordless book reads: I will learn, but I have just started learning the subject of love. It will take me a lifetime to study it, but I don't know if there is a good teacher to teach me.
It was a bit romantic again. Lu Mingze looked at the words on the page. The cunning wordless book could have been dictated, but it chose to write, allowing Lu Mingze to read this passage over and over again. The more he thought about it, the sweeter it became.
The Wordless Book retained this passage while asking, "Will you be my teacher?"
The bass voice belonging to Xing Ye rang in Lu Mingze's ears, and he seemed to be back at the airport where they met. Xing Ye stretched out her hand to him, as if to say, "Are you willing to accept me?"
"I, I can't be a teacher," Lu Mingze covered his face and shook his head, "because I'm also a student, but we can learn together and make progress together."
The wind gently blew the pages of the book, and the rustling sound was like Xing Ye's low and hoarse laughter.