San Tian Liang Jiao
Chapter 1208 Memories of Summer (I)
In the afternoon, the gloomy sky unexpectedly cleared up.
Just after lunchtime, Feng Bujue knocked on the door of his landlady, Aunt Liu’s, carrying a mountain of packages.
Although Brother Jue had his eccentric side, he naturally understood social niceties. When the situation called for it, he knew how to adjust his words and actions.
So, on this day, he visited Aunt Liu and her husband, bringing a pile of gifts and chatting with the elderly couple.
The things he bought weren’t too expensive, nor were they too cheap.
That's the thing about gift-giving… too expensive, and people feel awkward accepting; too cheap, and you feel embarrassed to give. Pinpointing the right level is actually quite difficult, but… Feng Bujue had a good grasp of it.
He didn't stay long, just enough time for a cup of tea, a few words here and there, expressing his gratitude to his neighbors and elders for their care over the years, and then he excused himself.
So… what was he doing there?
Some might have already guessed—Feng Bujue was moving.
The money he won on the Argo and his own savings were enough for him to buy a decent property in S City, so he planned to end his days of renting.
Of course, moving wasn't something he could do right away. Setting aside the fact that he hadn't chosen a property yet, even after buying one, he'd have to wait for renovations, and after renovations, he'd have to let it air out for half a year… Optimistically, he wouldn't be able to move out officially until the second half of next year at the earliest.
However, since he had a plan, he still wanted to tell Aunt Liu and her husband in advance, to give them a heads-up and make it easier for them to find a new tenant.
In short, he left home in the morning and, after running around, returned around three or four in the afternoon.
Heaving a sigh of relief, he collapsed onto the sofa.
"Haa… I sensed it long ago, but hearing others say it still leaves a bad taste…" Feng Bujue murmured, staring at the ceiling.
The matter he was referring to was none other than the issue of his "parents," or rather—his parents in this universe.
Clearly, he had realized something long before today.
With Feng Bujue's abilities, it would be extremely simple to determine if he was related to his parents by blood. He could have done it when he was in elementary school.
However, he had never investigated or confirmed it.
Because… emotionally, he was unwilling to break through this window.
Feng Bujue was a person who rarely showed emotion, so he treasured the hard-earned intimate relationships in his life.
More than blood ties, Brother Jue preferred to believe in human nature.
Rather than a man in a parallel universe he had never met, he preferred to regard the couple who raised him as his own family.
However, when those two loved ones passed away, he didn't show much grief in public.
During that time, many people pointed fingers at him, believing that his relationship with his parents wasn't good, which was why he had left home to live alone before even finishing high school and even refused his parents' financial support.
Only Wang Tanzhi and Bao Qing knew Feng Bujue's true feelings…
Perhaps… Feng Bujue had already realized at that time that keeping those two ordinary people at a distance was the only way for them to live safely.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as he wished.
Now, after learning about "karma," Feng Bujue belatedly understood the reason for his parents' passing.
But even now, he wouldn't grieve.
Because long before this story began, he had buried his sorrow with a smile.
…………
"Yo, everyone's here."
Late, 11:50 PM, in the game world, in Xiao Tan's meeting room.
When Feng Bujue walked in, his eyes were still the same lazy dead fish eyes, and his lips still carried that faint smile. If he didn't say anything, no one would know what he had experienced, learned, thought about, or shouldered during the day…
Of course, he wouldn't say anything, because he was Feng Bujue.
"Isn't it always us waiting for you…" Ruo Yu's eyes showed a hint of joy when she saw Brother Jue, but her tone was still cold.
"Brother Jue, I… I actually have something to ask you." Xiao Tan's expression was a bit strange when he saw Brother Jue this time.
"You want to ask about the prizes, right?" Feng Bujue replied.
A while ago, because Ruo Yu and Brother Jue were quarreling, everyone didn't even mention the Season 2 prizes, and the items were left at Brother Jue's house.
After they made up, Ruo Yu took the time to distribute several prizes that Woody had sent to Xiao Tan and the others. And today… was the first time they had gathered together after receiving the prizes.
"Yeah…" Xiao Tan replied, "No matter what… the things that were sent were too…"
"Too outrageous!" Xiao Ling interjected loudly before he could finish. "Guild Leader, is that friend of yours named 'Woody' getting a little too involved?"
Feng Bujue naturally knew what prizes the young couple had received. He had specifically asked Woody about the prizes during the Argo transaction.
According to that devil's original words—"Hehehe… Don't worry, the Yin-Yang Rings are good stuff, infinitely useful. I'm only giving them this out of friendship with their grandparents. I wouldn't give them to just anyone."
"He's not my friend," Feng Bujue shrugged. "But I don't think… there's any malice in these prizes."
"Hmm…" Xiao Tan added, "Actually, I was planning to buy wedding rings recently, but to receive a strange pair of rings from a stranger at this time… it feels…"
"...like he's meddling a bit," Xiao Ling finished his sentence for him.
"Is that so…" Brother Jue muttered, "I think it's pretty good… Anyway, with your two's filthy rich families, you definitely wouldn't buy ready-made rings… You'd probably order two unique, outrageously expensive things. Now someone's directly sending you a pair of magical treasures, perfectly fulfilling the unique and priceless characteristics, saving you a lot of trouble."
"Have you started researching cultivation novels recently? Magical treasures?" Hearing these words, An Yueqin, who didn't know the truth, took the opportunity to tease Brother Jue. "Speaking of… your submission deadline is coming up soon. Keep it in mind. If you can't submit it by then…"
This editor hadn't urged Brother Jue to submit his manuscript for a long time, mainly because of Brother Jue and Ruo Yu's issue a while ago. But now that that was resolved…
"Relax… I… know." Feng Bujue didn't commit to anything, because he was really busy these days. When he had time, he wasn't in the mood, and when he was in the mood, he didn't have time… Unknowingly, he was approaching the deadline. Honestly… he didn't know if he could submit it on time, but he still maintained a mysterious composure…
"Oh, right!" A second later, facing An Yueqin's doubtful gaze, Brother Jue quickly changed the subject. "Didn't the company say they were going to promote me during the competition before Season 2? What's the situation with that now?"
"Oh… that," An Yueqin replied unhurriedly, "The effect is quite significant. In the past month, your new book's sales have soared, and your old books have been reprinted. The royalties for the next quarter are something to look forward to."
"Hehe… it's all thanks to Director Ju… oh, no… Editor's cultivation." Feng Bujue chuckled, smoothly diverting the topic away from "magical treasures" and "manuscript urging."
Just like that, everyone ate, drank, and chatted lively for nearly half an hour.
They also teased each other about their prizes…
Besides Xiao Tan and Xiao Ling's rings, the others had actually received magical treasures as well.
An Yueqin received a "limited edition laptop exclusively issued by Dream Company"... That's what they said on the outside… But in reality, it was a hardware device specifically for "Recorder" use.
An Yueqin didn't know yet that she was actually a descendant of the "Recorder" clan, with the mission of writing the "Apocalypse."
Of course, this wasn't a particularly dangerous mission. On the contrary, the "Recorders" could be said to be the safest group of people in the world, because they were directly protected by "God." From ancient times to the present, all they had to do was record the things they saw, heard, and experienced on stone tablets, bamboo slips, and paper…
The mission had never changed, only the medium used to record had been constantly upgraded. So, today, the "Recorders" were also using hard drives…
Seeing this, everyone must understand that the intersection of An Daixiaoie and Feng Bujue, Wang Tanzhi, Li Ruoyu, and Gu Xiaoling was due to fate… In the years to come, she would play the role of a "witness," recording many things.
Next, let's talk about the prize Ruo Yu received…
She received a Rubik's Cube, the meaning of which was unclear, but Ruo Yu could feel that it was no ordinary object. To be safe, she sent the item to her great-grandfather (Gu Chen), and the Ninth Division was currently studying it.
Finally, there was Feng Bujue…
One thing was one thing. Setting aside his various transactions and bets with Woody, he also had prizes to receive.
Brother Jue received… a book.
A black, very thick book.
The cover of this book was hard, and from the outside, there were no words at all, whether on the top, bottom, left, right, or spine… When opened, it was also full of blank pages.
This was a blank book that couldn't even distinguish between front and back.
When he received this "Wordless Heavenly Book," Feng Bujue didn't study it for the time being, nor could he study it… He just put it on the bookshelf at home.
Originally, he didn't have a clue, but after hearing Woody talk about the "effect" of the Truth's Fallacy ability this morning, Brother Jue seemed to have sensed the usage of this book.
In the evening, he also tried to use it at home, but… he didn't find any reaction.
It seemed that his ability level was not enough. He estimated that he had to practice to the "Parallel" level to use it.
…………
Long with books, short without books.
More than half an hour passed quickly…
Tonight, the five members of [Hell Frontline] were finally teaming up for the first time since the new version was released, so they would undoubtedly have to take a trip to the Team Survival Mode.
So, after some discussion, everyone returned to their respective login spaces, prepared, and waited for Brother Jue to join the queue.
[Feng Bujue, Level 50]
[Si Yu Ruo Li, Level 50]
[Wang Tanzhi, Level 50]
[Bei Ling Xiao Gu, Level 50]
[Shi Shang Hua Jian, Level 50]
[Please select the game mode the team wants to join.]
[You have selected Team Survival Mode (Nightmare), please confirm.]
Although this was the first script scheduled for tonight, Brother Jue unceremoniously chose the Nightmare difficulty. After all, the team's strength was there, and there was no need to be timid.
[Your team is joining Team Survival Mode (Nightmare), the random team size has been generated: six people.]
[Your team has entered the queue, searching for other ready individuals or teams.]
[Match complete, coordinating neural connections, generating script…]
[Loading begins, please wait.]
At this moment, everyone's eyes turned pitch black, the game menu couldn't be opened, and their bodies experienced a sense of weightlessness.
These all indicated that the transmission had begun.
"Welcome to… Thriller Paradise." A hoarse voice, a sinister tone, a very fitting opening line, gave people a creepy feeling.
[Loading complete, you are currently in Team Survival Mode (Nightmare).]
[This mode provides a script introduction and has a chance to trigger side hidden missions and a special worldview.]
[Script Completion Reward: 80% bonus to basic experience upon settlement.]
After the new version was released, the level cap was raised again, so the probability of experience rewards appearing when generating script completion rewards also increased significantly.
[It was a summer evening.]
The narration began, and the opening CG began to play.
The scene appeared, and a rather small classroom appeared in front of everyone.
Under the illumination of an old fluorescent tube… mottled walls, old desks and chairs, window glass covered with dust, and huge storage cabinets that had been corroded and rusted flashed through the lens one by one.
It seemed that this space, which was filled with oppressive and eerie atmosphere, was the starting point of this journey.
[I took the class monitor's letter and returned to my hometown, back to the elementary school classroom in my childhood memories.]
The narration continued…
[I arrived at the classroom half an hour earlier than the agreed time. Soon after, the classmates appeared one after another.]
[Although we hadn't seen each other for many years, everyone hadn't changed much.]
The narration paused for a few seconds at this point. At the same time, the camera continued to rotate in the classroom, seemingly helping the players observe the surrounding environment in advance.
[The agreed time had passed, but the class monitor had not appeared.]
[The sky darkened. Today's sunset seemed earlier than usual. It wasn't even six o'clock, but the outside of the window was already pitch black.]
[Just when everyone was discussing whether to go back, suddenly, someone shouted loudly!]