Real world.
Doomsday theories were rampant. All recent news, broadcasts, and household discussions revolved around the end of the world, the Water Age, and so on. A piece of news that would have been ordinary in the past, mixed in among these, seemed particularly unique—
“Tomorrow night until dawn, the Orionid meteor shower, one of the three major meteor showers, will reach its best viewing period. Legend has it that the Orion constellation is a symbol of love. Compared to other meteor showers with large quantities, the Orionid meteor shower is characterized by its high speed, many bright meteors, and relatively stable flow…”
In a luxury car, the man in the back seat suddenly opened his eyes.
The university student was driving and asked curiously, “Brother Shen, what’s wrong?”
After Zhou Qi’an’s ‘ascension,’ the few of them had also successively purchased and collected all the cultural and creative products, completed the main mission, and were successfully teleported out of the instance.
But not long after returning home, the university student was called back to act as a temporary driver.
Currently, the car was heading towards the old residential complex where Zhou Qi’an lived.
Shen Zhiyi planned to first check on the changes in Zhou’s mother after she had taken the [Health-Nurturing Pouch] last time.
After leaving the instance this time, Ying Yu had received a message saying that there was news about a similar item.
Zhou’s mother would definitely have to go to the laboratory to get the item later. Shen Zhiyi planned to go along with her. After all, she was the person Zhou Qi’an cared about the most, and he wanted to make sure there would be no mistakes in any aspect.
“Meteor shower…” At this moment, listening to the broadcast, Shen Zhiyi, for some reason, turned his head and looked at the half-dim sky outside the window.
‘Mr. Nightmare, isn’t it beautiful?’
Zhou Qi’an’s question from back then seemed to still echo in his ears.
In fact, he hadn’t really looked at the sky much at that time. He was too busy looking at the person.
The young man making a wish under the moon, his skin as bright as the moonlight, his eyelashes distinct.
For the first time, he discovered… humans were quite beautiful.
And the faint warmth from the palm of his hand seemed to have changed the inherent cold temperature of the stone itself. No matter how much time passed, whenever he thought of it, it would bring an indelible palpitation.
The broadcast was still introducing the Orionid meteor shower. Shen Zhiyi’s gaze flickered.
Was it from that time that I realized this person was different?
No, it might have been much earlier.
At first, he was just bored and took a couple more glances, and then he could never look away again.
He had never met a person with such a personality.
When he said he was going to send someone off, he showed no mercy at all. His ruthless appearance was like a different person from when he was saving people. Yet, in the next moment, like a fish’s memory, he would occasionally save one or two people on a whim.
Encountering betrayal, actively setting a trap, and finally counter-killing… such things always happened frequently.
Throughout the whole process, he was as cunning as a gecko. Even when facing a life-threatening crisis, he could always cut off his tail to survive at the first moment.
Shen Zhiyi had to admit that that vengeful and decisive personality was very attractive to him.
In fact, there were many people with such personalities in the game, but no one was like Zhou Qi’an, who would not wallow in self-pity or waste time thinking about human nature, but was always taking action.
That vibrant life force could easily attract any existence.
“The Orionid meteor shower is definitely the most beautiful astronomical phenomenon I’ve ever seen,” hearing Shen Zhiyi mention the meteor shower in a low voice, the university student quickly said, “It’s really worth seeing. There’s nothing in this world more beautiful than a meteor.”
Even the most magnificent fireworks could not truly replicate that kind of beauty.
Shen Zhiyi said faintly, “Not necessarily.”
The university student: “Huh?”
Shen Zhiyi did not answer. In that dilapidated building, a pair of tired yet bright eyes had once stared straight at him.
‘I want your heart.’
At that moment, he felt as if he had crashed into a sea of stars.
“Just a temporary loan of the Heart of Nightmare.” As the words left his mouth, a rare awkwardness appeared on that face. “As a trade, I can…”
The other party had clearly thought of multiple plans beforehand.
Shen Zhiyi could even predict from which angles he would start: using the fact that he was preparing to go to the real world for a tour as a bargaining chip, or asking if there were any sworn enemies he needed revenge on.
Back when he was still in the state of a stone, Zhou Qi’an had faintly hinted that in the near future, the game would create items of five stars or higher. And he might be the only one who could use the Holy Relic.
“Only a person of utmost purity and goodness can use the Holy Relic. It’s almost impossible for an old player to meet this condition. The game has already approved the plan to place the Holy Relic in a three-star instance.”
“If you send a main body to a certain three-star instance, it will definitely be the most difficult instance among the three-stars. We can even directly lock onto the instance number where the Holy Relic is located.”
How did he respond at that time?
“The real world doesn’t have much attraction for me, and I have no revenge to seek.”
Besides Taisui, no monster in the game had the strength to contend with him.
A flash of disappointment crossed those beautiful eyes upon hearing this, yet he did not threaten to report to the game that a monster was smuggling itself.
It wasn’t a feint to advance by retreating. Shen Zhiyi vaguely felt that the Heart of Nightmare was just a hidden move the other wanted to keep, not necessarily something he had to obtain.
He didn’t know why, but he suddenly changed his mind: “We can make a bet for fun.”
“In the journey ahead, as long as you can still accurately find my main body incarnation every time, the Heart of Nightmare can be lent to you.”
The light returned to that face.
Seeing this, Shen Zhiyi found it interesting. Just like the request to light a fire on his birthday, as long as he wanted, he could easily dispel the disappointment in a person’s expression.
When the young man was silent, he used yin energy to create a black rose, and a hint of a smile appeared in those blue eyes. When the other was slightly tired, he would voluntarily keep watch at night, and the next day he would be full of energy again.
This meant that he could easily manipulate the other’s emotions.
The university student glanced at Shen Zhiyi’s somewhat smug expression in the rearview mirror.
‘Brother Shen is speaking intermittently today, so strange.’
What was even stranger was, why did he suddenly become so proud while just sitting in the car?
The car speed suddenly slowed down. The university student’s words interrupted Shen Zhiyi’s reminiscence.
“Brother Shen, we’re here.”
Shen Zhiyi nodded and squinted at the old, dilapidated building by the roadside.
That bet had ended with Qi’an’s victory.
Because he would always turn into the exact same stone, appearing on every necessary path of the other.
“You wait here first.”
After dealing with matters on Zhou’s mother’s side, he still had to take care of Qi’an’s damned superior.
Shen Zhiyi was preparing to see if he could take those two through Huagu City on the way to the new world. Qi’an would probably be happier if they had a reunion before entering the new world together.
He subconsciously touched the position of his heart.
The person he held in his heart should be more complete, forever as vibrant as usual.
…
Huagu City.
The paralysis of the brain was completely lifted. Many past events resurfaced in his mind one by one.
In those bloody and calculating instance careers, the retrograde journey that should have been the most tiring, looking back now, had a faint sense of warmth.
Zhou Qi’an lowered his head, his hand on his chest. “The Heart of Nightmare…”
The second heart was also beating.
It was a very strange feeling, as if through different spaces, their rhythms could be synchronized countless times.
“Thinking about it carefully, I feel quite sorry for him,” Zhou Qi’an looked up at the sky.
Back then, when he was about to lose his memory and power, according to their agreement, Shen Zhiyi was to hand over the Heart of Nightmare.
For Shen Zhiyi, the request to deploy a main body in an agreed-upon instance was very unfair and cruel. After all, the possibility of the main body accidentally killing him was extremely high.
He was not a person who was good at farewells. As long as there was a sliver of hope, he would not give up, which was why he could turn back to the instance without hesitation. But when he finally succeeded in his retrograde journey, he had to temporarily face another separation.
Zhou Qi’an remembered that day, Shen Zhiyi was silent for a long time.
But he had only pretended to be relaxed and said—
“As a reward, I’ll treat you to a movie tonight. Let’s watch the newly released ‘Avatar’.”
Everything has its pros and cons. His power was about to be completely lost, but he could also enter and leave the real world again. Unfortunately, the cinema tickets were all sold out at that time.
Fortunately, Shen Zhiyi was a professional master of forgery. He could even project the phantoms of collections from various countries.
In the end, the two of them discussed finding a place in a instance to watch.
Stealing a moment of leisure, after collecting enough instance clues, Zhou Qi’an did not hesitate to outsource the main mission layer by layer to other players and secretly went to watch a movie with Shen Zhiyi at night.
The movie that should have been showing in the cinema that day was “The Bloody Silver Coin,” a play meant for ghosts. Under normal circumstances, they would have had to face the harassment of the ghost audience.
Shen Zhiyi: “Kill them all…”
Before he could finish, he was interrupted. “No need, we’ll book the whole place.”
He went out for a trip, and when he came back, a sign was hanging outside the cinema’s main entrance: Closed for Maintenance, Temporarily Out of Service.
That night, the ghost audience really did not come to disturb the midnight screening.
Thinking of this, Zhou Qi’an suddenly came back to his senses and smiled helplessly.
Shen Zhiyi had taught him how to make fire by drilling wood, and he had taught the other how to hang a sign. It was a fair trade.
He wondered if Xun Er’s transformation color, being similar to Avatar’s, was influenced by this movie.
“When my next script is released, I’ll treat him to a movie.”
This time, they could truly book the whole place.
…
Days passed, and in the blink of an eye, it had been three days since Zhou Qi’an came to Huagu City. Miss Qi was supposed to return today, but a message came at the last minute, saying she would be delayed by two days.
[Another migrant worker was beaten up for being a camera in front of someone’s door. I have to take people to extort… to demand compensation.]
Zhou Qi’an instantly understood that the net profit in the black card might also include a large amount of non-operating income.
Zhou Qi’an did not interfere too much with the daily, routine acting life of the residents of Huagu City. He didn’t even enter the city.
Who would want to frequently see a statue more valuable than themselves?
“I wonder what the price of gold is today…”
Muttering, he returned to the church again.
The game of ‘Red Light, Green Light’ was over, but at several fixed times each day, the church still had its scheduled bell chimes. Distant, solemn, giving people the illusion that their souls were being cleansed.
Today was the same. Zhou Qi’an sat on the pew, closing his eyes and quietly listening to the bell.
During a rare moment of immersive prayer, suddenly, a familiar voice came from his ear:
“Auntie Wang introduced you to so many good kids. How come you don’t like any of them?”
Zhou Qi’an was stunned for a moment and abruptly turned his head.
Zhou’s mother was standing behind him at some point, her dazzling long hair unusually tamed and spread over her shoulders.
“Mom?!” he called out in disbelief.
How could his mom be in Huagu City?
He looked up and found that his superior was also there. The latter was leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed, his face still carrying the arrogance of a capitalist, but seemingly a bit gentler than usual. His sharp tie moved without any wind.
“Don’t tell me you’re following the trend and not getting married?”
The familiar question brought Zhou Qi’an back to his senses. He subconsciously replied, “How could I?”
Zhou’s mother leaned closer. Compared to her usual dangerously squinted eyes, this time they were tinged with some amusement. She asked, “Then what kind of person are you looking for?”
Zhou Qi’an was stunned for a moment, confirming that he was not dreaming. These two were really in Huagu City.
After a moment of silence, he spread his hands generously. “I want someone with light-colored hair, who knows how to build their own house, understands folklore, gives black roses… and most importantly, is very good at waiting.”
As his voice fell, he suddenly noticed that his mother’s gaze seemed to have passed over him and looked somewhere else.
The scheduled bell of the church rang again at this moment, as distant and solemn as ever. The stained-glass windows around them reflected intricate patterns. The sunlight couldn’t penetrate, yet it was still bright.
Zhou Qi’an seemed to have thought of something. His breathing tightened slightly, and he turned around again—
Ahead, in front of the door painted with a white dove, Shen Zhiyi was standing there quietly, holding out his hand towards him.
