Chapter 303: Self-Consistent Logic
“Very well.”
The pixelated grimace agreed with uncanny readiness.
Bai Cha was stunned.
[Dear, adjusting it for you right now~]
[Adjustment complete! There will no longer be any issues with your account. From now on, until you upgrade to S-rank, you will only need to enter a dungeon once a month. Of course, if you wish to run dungeons on your own, you are free to enter at your leisure.]
Bai Cha’s expression grew somewhat serious as she gave the pixelated grimace a deep, searching look.
[What’s the matter, dear? Are you unhappy about this?]
“No, I’m just so thrilled I don’t quite know how to handle it.”
Joke’s on you—if she could be forced into a dungeon only once a month, why on earth would she stick to once a week? No matter how much she enjoyed thrills or liked a particular pastime, her fondness was always contingent on having her freedom.
The pixelated grimace let out a cold snort.
[Well then, dear, let us begin your settlement process!]
[Your performance in this dungeon was by no means stellar. You were not even willing to follow the rules and fall in love… However, due to the occurrence of force majeure within the dungeon…]
[Fine then! Your performance in this dungeon was reasonably decent, so we shall tentatively grade you at A-rank. Your current total score is 12,400 points. Congratulations on successfully upgrading to a B7 player!]
After finishing its grudging announcement, the pixelated grimace suddenly put on a gloating expression.
[Additionally, an abnormal reaction has been detected in your item: Frost-Covered Mountain. System recommendations suggest that you explore the dungeon “Buried Together” to potentially repair it; otherwise, you may prove unable to use it~ If you remain unable to repair it within three months, the system will clear your item to prevent meaningless harm.]
[Alright, dear! Do you have any other questions?]
“Yes. I’d like to know why the system remained completely inaccessible while I was inside the game.”
[Understood, dear! Teleporting you now…]
Bai Cha: “…”
Although she knew all too well what kind of virtue this game possessed, she still wanted to ask every time—just in case, after all.
Bai Cha was sent back to her dilapidated building and immediately returned to reality.
She was in someone else’s house, after all.
The moment she returned, a sudden pang of pain from her abdomen made her suck in a sharp breath of cold air.
In truth, the area around her appendix hadn’t hurt much before entering the game—as long as she stayed still, it didn’t ache, leaving only that trapped gas near her ribs causing a slight throb.
Now that she had abruptly returned from the game, however, these pains escalated to a whole new level, as if all the agony from the time she had been away had accumulated at that single point, bursting out simultaneously upon her return.
Fortunately, after breathing through it for a moment, the pain gradually subsided to a manageable level.
Bai Cha checked the time. She had entered the game in the dead of night, and now it was nine in the morning.
Not bad; at most, this would just look like sleeping in late on a morning.
Bai Cha got up and walked out.
Yang Qingyun was outside tending to the child. Yang Yuexi had a quite pleasant disposition; during her stay at their home over the past few days, she was rarely heard crying or making a fuss. One could say she had truly come as a blessing to repay a debt.
“You’re awake? There’s food left in the kitchen—one portion for you, one for your Sister Shen. She isn’t up yet, either.”
Yang Qingyun paused mid-sentence and patted Yang Yuexi gently.
“Let me get it for you. You haven’t recovered yet, so just sit over there.”
He stood up and walked toward the kitchen.
Bai Cha originally wanted to say she could get it herself, but she realized Yang Qingyun likely wanted to talk to her.
Shen Qingchen wasn’t awake yet.
Because she was currently inside the game.
Having been with Shen Qingchen for so many years, Yang Qingyun must have noticed this anomaly long ago.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stopped her out of the blue to question her earlier.
Breakfast was simple: a bowl of porridge and a tea egg.
Yang Qingyun first retrieved a new toy from the cabinet for Yang Yuexi. The little girl immediately immersed herself in the joy of her new plaything, entertaining herself contentedly.
And just as expected, Yang Qingyun himself spoke up.
“Bai Cha, I want to ask you the question I asked last time once more.”
Bai Cha silently peeled the eggshell.
Yang Qingyun didn’t rush her. Seeing as Bai Cha was staying under his roof, it was obviously impossible for her to avoid speaking forever.
Bai Cha quietly finished the egg and swallowed it down with a sip of porridge before finally breaking the silence.
“Brother Yang… what do you think it is?”
This time, it was Yang Qingyun’s turn to fall silent.
After a long pause, he said, “I used to be a firm believer in materialism, and I didn’t believe in ghosts or monsters in this world at all. But over the years, I’ve often thought that perhaps science just hasn’t advanced enough yet to detect those unnatural phenomena.”
“I… I’ve looked into the classifications of people who share a affinity with metaphysics. I wondered if Qingchen was one of them, and I even consulted fortune-tellers, who also said she possessed a certain destiny.”
“However, I’ve also inquired about people of that sort, but none of them are like Qingchen… I don’t know what you two…”
Yang Qingyun hesitated several times, finding it extremely difficult to describe Shen Qingchen’s state. After all, in the real world, every time Shen Qingchen entered the game and returned, there was always a reasonable explanation for her absence.
It made his suspicions seem entirely redundant.
“Do you two… enter another world while sleeping? Like… something akin to the Underworld?”
This was the only logical explanation Yang Qingyun had managed to piece together for himself over the years.
Yet it was completely unprovable. Especially since, even if he was willing to believe it because of Shen Qingchen’s strangeness, he had never come into contact with it, nor had he ever seen it.
He would never be able to truly understand.
Even if he couldn’t comprehend it, however, he chose to respect it, having never thought much of it in the first place.
After all, he had always held the same mindset as Shen Qingchen: everyone has their own life, and two people coming together is merely about supporting each other and growing together.
Until this year, after Shen Qingchen gave birth to their child.
Yang Qingyun had always considered his emotions to be very stable. He knew life brought unexpected turns—perhaps one day he would pass away first, or perhaps Shen Qingchen would.
The person left behind would still have to go on living; though it might bring sorrow and pain, life would go on nonetheless.
Yet he couldn’t control the unease that welled up inside him.
He couldn’t describe the source of this unrest. Was it purely worry for Shen Qingchen?
No. Worry was certainly part of it, but behind that worry lay something far beyond the fear of her passing.
“I know that among people bound to metaphysics, some may not live long lives—for instance, reaching ages ending in three, six, or nine poses a hurdle, a tribulation to pass. Qingchen just turned thirty-three this year… But…”
Yang Qingyun took a sip of cold water to calm himself down, mindful that the person sitting across from him was, after all, an outsider.
“But I want to ask you to tell me—if something truly untoward were to happen to Qingchen… what would be the reason for it? Is what I’ve said correct, or not?”
Bai Cha genuinely hadn’t expected Yang Qingyun to have thought so deeply about it, nor that he was making such an effort to seek out the reason.
“I can only say it’s both correct and incorrect,” Bai Cha said apologetically. “But you can understand it that way; framing it like that really isn’t a problem.”
Indeed, only those with a fateful connection could enter the game—even if that connection… wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
And from Yang Qingyun’s perspective, the game was actually much more like fate.
Bai Cha pressed her lips together slightly. Or perhaps it truly was. To be capable of manipulating a person’s life and death so easily, erasing every trace of their existence… she indeed found it difficult to imagine what kind of entity it truly was.
“As for Sister Shen…”
