When he received Xia Qiongyun’s text message, Dong Linhai was lying in bed and brushing through the forum in the Pure White Realm’s app.
There was a boundary that separated this place and reality, and all the people inside were also struggling to survive. There were few entertainments, and the only thing that they could use to fill their time was this forum. As long as you enter the anonymous zone with a fake identity, whether you were a top boss or a rookie who had barely managed to survive by holding onto the thighs of others, you could transform yourself into the most beautiful youth.
As long as there was a place where people have anonymity, there were bound to be catfights. Dong Linhai was having fun climbing a building of thousands of responses. The title of the post was “818 Organizations: The Unknown Inside Stories,” which involved the Pure White Realm’s most famous “Shiratori” and “Valkyrie.” In this multiple-storied building, within the materials about Shiratori, there was a special name that was inseparable from it. This name was tossed and turned over and over again, and it was the Afternoon Tea Party.
Dong Linhai looked at this name with emotion. Who would have thought that the Afternoon Tea Party that they spoke of, a name that had been passed down through countless mouths, not only failed to leave but also suffered a vicious curse from the Queen and were no different from “prisoners”?
Cui Zuojing was imprisoned by time, Fu Zhe was imprisoned in the castle, Victor was imprisoned in a cat body, Luo Yan was imprisoned by dreams, and though there was no news of Cheriyu Nana, her situation was probably not much better.
Victor laid lazily on his pillow, his fluffy white belly warm against Dong Linhai’s head. Then his ears suddenly perked up, and he raised his head to look at the door. His round pupils shrunk into a line.
“That’s bad.”
“What’s wrong?” Dong Linhai immediately became alert.
“Space Power.” Victor jumped off the bed and turned into a man with blond hair and purple eyes the moment he landed. He opened the door and saw that a long hallway had replaced the living room.
Just then, Dong Linhai received a text message from Xia Qiongyun.
“The fragment found us. Xiao Xia told us to hurry out there.” Dong Linhai raised his head and saw the strange hallway outside. His lips twitched and he said hesitantly, “…Is it too late for us to go out now?”
Victor stood at the door and said, “I have to figure out a way to go back. If the fragment wanted to do something, it would be difficult for Hangzhi and Xiao Xia to cope. Even if it’s just a fragment, his power over the element of space is stronger than imagined.”
Dong Linhai sighed. He tried to contact Xia Qiongyun again to ask about the situation, and found that the signal had also disappeared due to the distortion of space.
That text message had just came in at this moment.
In that case, he had no choice but to take out a stack of iron sheets from within the bedside table and placed it on his body. Then he and Victor walked out into the chaotic space.
——
After five cards had all been dealt, Cerberus showed his hands to all parties and said, “Please bet.”
“Raise.”
Lin Hangzhi hesitated and chose not to raise the bet. “Pass.”
In order to ensure the interests of the casino, all casinos would set a maximum bet amount, but if the dealer was asked to come for a private gambling session in the VIP suite, there would be no limitations. Mr. Mo had bet 5 millions in the first round and had since raised it several times to 8 millions.
The community cards on the table were 8 of Hearts, J of Hearts, 7 of Hearts, Ace of Spade, and 7 of Clubs.
Lin Hangzhi had seen his two hidden cards, 10 of Hearts and 9 of Hearts, which could form a straight flush with 8 of Hearts, J of Hearts, and 7 of Hearts. The only way his opponent’s card would be bigger was if it made a “Five-Card Draw” or a “Super Flush.”
In this current situation, Lin Hangzhi could almost say with certainty that he would win, but as insurance, he still didn’t raise the bet. He wasn’t gambling to make money.
Opposite him, Mr. Mo sat in a relaxed posture, with one leg crossed over the other. His composure was extraordinary, as if he wasn’t paying attention at all to this 8 million game.
After making sure that neither of them would change their minds, Cerberus turned over the hidden cards one by one.
The moment his hidden cards were revealed, Lin Hangzhi’s expression abruptly changed.
His current cards were different from when he had first looked at it!
When the cards were just dealt, he had looked at it, and it was a 10 of Hearts and a 9 of Hearts! But right now, what was on the table was a 4 of Spades and Q of Clubs.
Mr. Mo’s cards were flipped over. It was the 7 of Spades and 7 of Diamonds, which could be combined with the 7 of Hearts and 7 of Clubs in the table to form a “Four of a Kind.” It wasn’t as good as Lin Hangzhi’s initial straight flush, but it was also quite big.
Lin Hangzhi now understood everything. His luck was still working, but Mr. Mo had switched the odds by purposefully using his space ability to replace his straight flush.
Mr. Mo didn’t want him to win at all.
Now that he was aware of this, Lin Hangzhi was secretly relieved. Since it was like this, he didn’t need to use his ability anymore. Even if he drew a good card, it would be replaced anyway.
“It seems that my good hand is gone.” Lin Hangzhi’s change of heart was only clear to himself. He and Mr. Mo looked at each other, and even though he’d lost in the first game, his eyes didn’t show any timidity. “One more?”
Mr. Mo smiled slightly. “Come on.”
At the same time, Cui Zuojing also received Xia Qiongyun’s text message and was weighing the pros and cons of changing their action plan.
“It’s probably just the fragment testing us. With his space ability, if he is on guard, it would be difficult for me to get close.”
Dong Zheng nodded. He’d just followed the route and was using the surveillance camera to look outside the presidential suite. About five minutes ago, Cerberus had knocked on the door and with him was a young man who looked exactly like Fu Zhe.
With Uncle there, nothing should happen for the time being. “Since the fragment is no longer upstairs, it doesn’t make sense to look for him there.” Cui Zuojing looked at Dong Zheng and added, “If we go back to the room, how likely would it be that the fragment would still be there by the time we get back?”
Dong Zheng calculated it with the simulation in his kernel. “The conditions are too little so it’s a bit difficult to estimate. This may not be accurate but it could be about 60%.”
“Okay, let’s go back.” Having made up his mind, Cui Zuojing turned his head to leave. Wang Que was also in the room with him and Dong Zheng. The keys in their pocket glowed with a faint heat, and when Cui Zuojing pushed open the door with the sign “Employee Only” on it, he suddenly realized that the scene in front of them had completely changed. It was now a three-way intersection.
Cui Zuojing hesitated and looked back at Dong Zheng. Dong Zheng frowned slowly and said in a low voice, “The surveillance has all disappeared.”
Wang Que took out a small transparent bottle from her pocket. She unplugged the soft stopper and a beetle crawled out of the bottle. It flicked its green wings and flew forward.
Controlled by her, the beetle flew to the end of the hallway where the path forked and still saw that there was still a fork to the left and to the right.
Two minutes later, Wang Que opened her eyes with a solemn expression. “It’s a maze.”
Cui Zuojing let out a light breath. “How interesting. A maze of spatial construction is not so easy to solve.”
Dong Zheng and Wang Que had a deep understanding of this kind maze. During their training, Fu Zhe would often use his space power to build a field. If it weren’t for the fact that Fu Zhe had purposefully set an exit, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to close people off for a lifetime.
After all, space had even managed to imprison Fu Zhe, the Master of Space, for eight years.
Cui Zuojing said, “This fragment obviously doesn’t want me to go back. He must know about me and that was why he only chose to find Hangzhi after I left. Moreover, the entire casino belonged to him and he could determine the coordinates of anything he wished to. Under these circumstances, the fact that we wanted to hide our traces from him was really funny.”
Wang Que asked, “What are we going to do now?”
Dong Zheng pondered for a moment and said, “Let’s go. Since he trapped us in the maze, it’s impossible for him to do nothing. There must be other tricks up his sleeve.”
Wang Que naturally had no opinion, and so they set out again with the beetle exploring the way ahead. They walked past a dozen crossings in a row. All the hallways looked the same, with doors on both sides tightly closed and the ceiling lights soft and dim. Seeing the same scenery over and over again would make it easier for people to become tired and relax their vigilance.
The beetle was conveying messages to her. As she walked, Wang Que looked at Cui Zuojing and Dong Zheng’s back, and a strange feeling slowly emerged in her heart.
Why could Brother Cui wake a powerful ability like [Slayer] and be able to look so cool as he rushes to the front line of every battle? But all she got was the ability to control these most annoying bugs?
The same was also true for Brother Dong. The scope of his kernel’s ability was beyond human imagination. Why couldn’t she have the same ability?
Unspeakable acidity quietly rose in her heart, and her tongue was full of bitterness. Wang Que pursed her lips, and she thought of Dong Linhai, this reliable youth who’d always been taking care of her. He possessed everything she’d ever had as well as many things she’s never had before, such as parental love and wealth. Even his first step into the Pure White Realm was done with an elder brother he could rely on…Wang Que’s parents had loved her very much, but their family circumstances could only be said to be very average. Plus, learning arts was very expensive. Oftentimes, whenever she encountered something she wanted and saw the price, she would hypnotize herself in her heart with this phrase: In fact, you don’t really like it and you don’t need to buy it.
Every time she saw her classmates using the most expensive canvases and paints and wearing famous brands, she probably also envied them.
When she was young, Wang Que used to imagine that if she could become the child of a wealthy family, it would be great indeed.
As she grew older, such thoughts no longer appeared in her mind. Even when she was killed by Tan Qiuyu and came to the Pure White Realm, Wang Que still recalled her previous life positively and still felt loved by her parents. She was completely happy growing up, she had enough food and clothes, and she had extraordinary talents.
But now, the happiness that belonged to ordinary people couldn’t satisfy her at all. She thought of Xia Qiongyun, an older sister who was just a few years older than her and whose every gesture revealed her innate expensiveness. And although Dr. Lin was Schrödinger’s Doctor Lin, the job of a doctor in society had seasoned him into someone outstanding, but she was just an ordinary student before she came here. And Victor, strong, handsome, and gentle Victor, the wrinkles of time had left him with the best gift, something she couldn’t obtain.
Why were these people better than her? Why was she not as good as other humans? What had she done wrong?
Her heart was trembling uncomfortably.
Suddenly, Wang Que thought of that afternoon of her life that she would always remember. The setting sun on the rooftop burning like fire. Tan Qiuyu’s delicate face that was almost distorted by eyes full of unimaginable viciousness and hatred, red as blood.
At that moment, Wang Que suddenly realized what was quickly eating away at her heart, almost causing her to lose her wisdom. It was a most twisted emotion, called jealousy.
Thank you for the chapter! You’re always so quick with the updates. Truly, thank you and happy Valentine’s Day!
Hmm. I wonder if something’s interfering with her mind