GRMFBS CH246

FOR ADVANCED CHAPTERS, VISIT MY PATREON ACCOUNT.
__

“‘Lifeline’ was the hidden skill of Absinthe, the player who used to be ranked 45th.” Someone in the Retirees Alliance actually knew about this skill.

“This skill is used to save your life, but it also has flaws. First, the guidance it provides isn’t very clear. Second, it’s a bit like a troll navigation app—it only points you in a direction, but it doesn’t care if you can actually pull it off. So while it is useful, it’s also a massive trap. Absinthe died later on, and as to whether anyone else has this skill now, I don’t know.”

Through the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau’s platform, this message was rapidly synchronized to all relevant personnel.

Zhan Yan quickly scanned the message. Great, now he finally knew why he was being targeted. Once the Chronicle of the World caught him, he could use him to threaten his mom, dad, brother, sister, and Xiao Gu.

Thank goodness for “isn’t very clear.” Zhan Yan wove quickly through the crowd. That red dot wasn’t heading straight for him; it seemed this skill could only pinpoint a general area, and the guy was still searching.

But if Zhan Yan kept moving like this, the person tracking him would soon be able to identify him based on his movement direction.

There were a lot of people at the gaming convention. This player’s movements were still relatively covert. On one hand, he was worried that causing a commotion before confirming his target might cause him to lose track of them in the chaos. On the other hand, he didn’t want to draw the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau’s attention too quickly—the guidance from “Lifeline” was incomplete, and he didn’t know if there were other things requiring covert action after grabbing the target.

If he confirmed Zhan Yan’s identity, this player would very likely attack directly, regardless of the consequences.

Zhan Yan kept his eyes on the map while scrolling through his gossip feeds. He had to confirm who was coming after him.

Data refreshed before his eyes, yet it didn’t obscure the path ahead. His vision seemed to be split into layers.

Zhan Yan walked briskly, his movements natural. Passing under a projection screen, walking past a cosplayer holding a staff, slipping through the cheers and screams of gamers, using exquisite sculptures as cover… Zhan Yan rapidly calculated the optimal route. His consciousness seemed to be suspended high above, looking down at the densely packed map and drawing a precise line.

The little white dot moved along the line toward the little green dots. When he reached them, the little green dots happened to move aside, making a path for him. People carrying standees passed behind him, perfectly obscuring his figure just as the little red dot looked over…

Relying on his super-strong calculations, Zhan Yan forcefully maintained a 30-meter distance, never letting that red dot get even a step closer. The red dot’s behavior began to grow agitated, emitting a faint red glow. Clearly, he had realized that his target had discovered him.

[Luo Yigang realizes he is being toyed with by you and suspects you have already notified the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau. Feeling anxious, he decides to ignore his surroundings and forcefully attack.]

Zhan Yan paused his steps, grabbed a bottle of mineral water from a nearby counter, and threw it hard, hitting Luo Yigang square on the head.

“Hi, are you looking for me?” Zhan Yan flashed him a provocative smile, turned his head, and ran.

Luo Yigang was momentarily stunned by the hit. His train of thought was interrupted, and he forgot his previous plan to knock out everyone nearby before looking for the person. Following his momentum, he chased straight after him.

20 meters… 10 meters… Zhan Yan already saw his sister. He clumsily vaulted over a half-meter-high obstructive platform: “Sis! Help me—”

Zhan Suiru had been reading the information synchronized over by the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau.

“Lifeline.” The missing half of the Chronicle of the World’s skill book couldn’t buy back his life, unless he used that half to obtain something that could keep him alive.

What could allow him to gain a lifeline from her and Deep Shadow? Moreover, the Chronicle of the World was now facing not just her and Deep Shadow, but also the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau.

What kind of path did “Lifeline” exactly point out for the Chronicle of the World?

Unease gradually rose in Zhan Suiru’s heart. The words she had once used to warn Deep Shadow also turned into a shadow weighing on her mind.

She was frowning in thought when she suddenly heard Zhan Yan’s shout.

Zhan Suiru’s heart skipped a beat. She turned her head and saw Zhan Yan vaulting over the platform and stumbling forward.

A blizzard suddenly rose. Zhan Yan felt as if he had pounced onto a soft mound of snow, bringing a wave of refreshing coolness to the hot summer day.

He didn’t look back, only hearing gasps from all around. Heavy snow danced around him, filling his vision with a vast, gentle white. Supported by this blizzard-like mental energy, Zhan Yan stood up. Everything he touched was soft, like a mass of something both fluffy and resilient, like slightly melted ice cream.

He turned his head, wanting to see the situation.

…He couldn’t see anything. His entire person was wrapped up in his sister’s mental energy.

You don’t need to be this nervous, Sis, let me see!

Zhan Yan poked at the mental energy a couple of times but couldn’t pull it apart. The blizzard-like mental energy refused to let him see the outside world, wrapping him inside softly but firmly.

Perhaps because he had exited his previous state of high tension, Zhan Yan couldn’t recover that floating, multi-layered vision no matter how hard he tried. He could only rely on the map to watch the live broadcast. The little green dot representing his sister emitted a massive halo of light, looking extremely irritable, completely and utterly suppressing the little red dot that had been so excited just a second ago.

Sounds from the outside filtered in faintly. There were gasps, angry shouts, and excited questions: “What is this, what is this? Which game company’s new 3D projection technology is this badass!”

Zhan Yan: …Hearing how relaxed everyone sounded, Luo Yigang probably didn’t even have time to do anything before his sister controlled him.

Isn’t it already very safe? Zhan Yan poked the mental energy in front of him, trying to pull it apart. I need to know the specific situation in the venue right now, there are so many ordinary people involved.

Sis, you’ve already suppressed him, can you just let me take a look?

The blizzard-like mental energy shifted, impatiently stuffing him back inside.

Zhan Yan tumbled back onto the soft snowdrift. This time, he couldn’t even hear the sounds from the outside. He watched his sister’s major outburst through the gossip feeds. Hmm, the danger was resolved, but later he would still have to face a series of questions from his sister, and his sister’s secret identity couldn’t be exposed either… Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

Let’s see… first, he had to alter all the footage recorded by the cameras in the venue. How could there be demons in the gaming convention along with humans? Ah, there were quite a few superhumans too, and someone had already started contacting the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau.

No, he couldn’t delay any longer. Since it was safe right now anyway, Zhan Yan simply entered the network world directly and started modifying the camera feeds.

Meanwhile, there wasn’t much panic inside the convention. Ordinary people only felt as if a gust of fake snow had blown in from nowhere, carrying a slight chill but not as freezing as real snow. Only upon touching it did they realize these “snowflakes” could be seen but not felt. Their line of sight wasn’t blocked, and they could still see the people around them.

The only ones completely isolated were Zhan Yan and Luo Yigang. And at this moment, Luo Yigang had already lost his ability to move and his consciousness.

Seeing her brother in danger and accidentally having a major outburst, Zhan Suiru finally calmed down. Lugging the unconscious Luo Yigang and her brother, she found a quiet place to hide. The heavy snow in the venue dissipated, leaving curious people discussing what had just happened.

Zhan Suiru quickly went over the whole incident in her head.

When she was furiously beating up Luo Yigang just now, she discovered that the other half of the Chronicle of the World’s skill book was on him, meaning he was one of the steps pointed out by the “Lifeline” skill.

He went straight for Yanyan, and Yanyan noticed him. And after noticing, he ran straight toward her yelling for help. What did this mean? This meant—

With a wooden face, Zhan Suiru undid the mental energy surrounding Zhan Yan.

Her younger brother had his eyes closed, looking as if his mind had wandered beyond the heavens. It was a very familiar state—Network-types all looked like this when they entered the net.

The “Lifeline” skill directing them to catch Zhan Yan as the Chronicle of the World’s way to survive actually made sense. If he caught Zhan Yan, they could threaten her and Deep Shadow. Even with the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau in the middle, they would inevitably put Yanyan’s safety first.

Zhan Suiru felt a lingering fear. When Luo Yigang came looking, she happened to not be by Yanyan’s side. Although Yanyan had the automatic protective barrier she left on him, the Chronicle of the World was connected to the Infinite Will. What if the Infinite Will found a way to break through her barrier in the short term?

Fortunately, fortunately, Yanyan wasn’t truly just an ordinary person.

But Network-types, aside from being in the network world, were usually no different from ordinary people. How did Yanyan discover Luo Yigang’s malice toward him? And how did he know her secret identity?

Zhan Yan refreshed a new gossip feed:

[Zhan Suiru feels extremely glad that you are not an ordinary person and that you were able to run to her side for help in time.]

Zhan Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at his sister’s attitude, explaining the secret identity issue shouldn’t be too hard to get past, right?

He highly efficiently continued to alter the video recordings, changing all the footage that might expose his and his sister’s identities. Altering the footage to show that they hadn’t come to the gaming convention at all was impossible; Sister Luoluo already knew they came today. Zhan Yan only altered the traces of their movements within the convention, making it show that at the time of the incident, both of them were playing games at a booth far away from the site. This way, it would also be convenient for his sister to separate the two identities of “Zhan Suiru” and “Rong Sui” later.

After finishing altering the videos, Zhan Yan exited the network world. As soon as he opened his eyes, the expression on his sister’s face rapidly morphed into “I’ve caught you red-handed”—three parts debt-collecting, three parts betrayed, three parts wronged, and one part sad.

“Yanyan, are you hiding something from me?”

Zhan Yan: Heh, Sis, just keep acting!

“Don’t you have things you’re hiding from me?” Zhan Yan asked righteously.

I’ve only hidden one secret identity from you—I already told you before that Approaching Science = Dragon-headed Burly Man = Network-type. But you’ve hidden a full four layers of identities from me!

The siblings looked at each other in silent understanding:

“Say it at the same time?”
“Say it at the same time.”

Zhan Suiru: “Rong Sui.”

Zhan Yan: “Approaching Science.”

Zhan Suiru: ???

Her younger brother was Approaching Science? Zhan Suiru suddenly remembered the time she sought out Approaching Science to investigate who Gu Jiancheng was.

Zhan Suiru: “Wait a minute!”

“So you knew that your boyfriend is Deep Shadow, didn’t you?!”

Zhan Yan: …

Crap, how did I forget about this…

Support me on Ko-fi