ISWTDB Ch133 [Arc 11]

Chapter 133: BOSS is always acting up (1, 2)

Waking up again, Ying Zhao seemed not to have fully reacted to the current situation, only feeling a splitting headache. However, this didn’t seem to be a result of crossing over but rather the impact of the things the original host had done before.

It felt more like the state of being intoxicated from taking medication. Rubbing his forehead fiercely, Ying Zhao blinked, feeling that his eyelids were somewhat swollen and painful.

The original host was in very poor condition; not only were there many discarded bottles of alcohol on the floor, but there was also a bottle of sleeping pills next to the table.

However, it was certainly not a suicide; it was likely that the original host had encountered some issue, becoming despondent and drinking a lot, then taking medication for insomnia. This was what led Ying Zhao to wake up to such a scene.

Shaking his head hard, Ying Zhao finally managed to wake up. Looking at the surroundings, it should be the original host’s residence, and there was no danger.

After adapting for a while, Ying Zhao furrowed his brow and began to think about his own matters, his expression inevitably becoming somewhat serious.

In his previous life, he had lived on that great road with Cecil for over a hundred years. It wasn’t until Marshal Ying passed away, and the Ying family had a new heir, that he left and returned to the deep sea with Cecil to live in their own world.

But even though they left, the legend did not stop. Cecil’s statue had always stood on the empire’s coastline, with all the people of the empire seeing Cecil as their guardian deity.

Because the lifespan of deep-sea mermaids was truly long, even if the two of them shared it, they had lived together for over a thousand years. In his previous life, they swam freely in the underwater world, traversing the entire sea, happily spending their lives together.

Clearly, everything had gone smoothly. However, when he obtained his lover’s soul fragments and began to withdraw from that small world, he once again encountered an attack from the Heavenly Dao.

The Heavenly Dao seemed to understand that its power was limited, so it still sought to use the chaos of time and space to deal with him. But this time, Ying Zhao was prepared.

Because during the last crossover, he had been separated from Xiao Bai for a long time due to the attack from the Heavenly Dao. So now, every time he withdrew from the small world, Ying Zhao paid special attention to everything around him.

He made preparations to be ready to face a sudden attack at any time. Sure enough, after a world was quiet, the last world ended, and they planned to use the same trick again.

Because Ying Zhao noticed in time, he seriously injured the Heavenly Dao but still let it escape. However, due to the impact of the chaotic time and space, he and Xiao Bai were swept into a world that was not preordained.

But fortunately, this time, he and Xiao Bai did not separate. Thinking of this, Ying Zhao still felt somewhat uneasy and called out to Xiao Bai in his consciousness: “Xiao Bai, are you okay?”

“Host, I’m fine.” Xiao Bai’s voice was somewhat low, which made Ying Zhao feel worried. It seemed that this time the Heavenly Dao was able to escape, and Ying Zhao always felt it was inseparable from Xiao Bai.

In the past, if they were attacked in the small world, and his soul was suppressed, he could only rely on Xiao Bai’s power.

However, when they were attacked, they had already left the small world. With his own help, he and Xiao Bai working together, the Heavenly Dao would certainly not be their opponent.

But at that time, Xiao Bai rushed forward just when he was about to deal a fatal blow to the Heavenly Dao, disrupting his rhythm, which allowed the Heavenly Dao to escape.

Remembering the time when he and Xiao Bai were separated before, it seemed that the other party had experienced something with the Heavenly Dao. Afterward, although he had asked, Xiao Bai had always kept silent and did not say anything.

Ying Zhao did not believe that Xiao Bai would betray him, but the relationship between him and the Heavenly Dao still made one suspicious. It seemed that in facing the Heavenly Dao, he could only capture it alive and could no longer exterminate it; he must understand the reasons behind everything before proceeding.

To prevent Xiao Bai from becoming too anxious, Ying Zhao thoughtfully did not continue to delve deeper. He simply asked him, “Xiao Bai, the world we are currently in, is he also here?”

Xiao Bai nodded upon hearing this and said to Ying Zhao, “Yes, host, the target is also here. I have previously added the target’s locking function in the system, so even if unexpected situations scatter me, you will only drop into the world where the target is located, so don’t worry!”

Hearing Xiao Bai’s explanation, Ying Zhao’s gaze softened a lot. He knew that Xiao Bai was becoming more and more thorough in his work and had always been considering for him.

Looking at Xiao Bai, who was still obviously somewhat downcast, he had Xiao Bai first relay the story of this world to him. Once he understood the plot, they would discuss it further.

As soon as Xiao Bai heard Ying Zhao’s command, he immediately transmitted the story and kindly adjusted Ying Zhao’s physical condition so that he would not be affected by the hangover and medication.

Feeling much more comfortable in his body, Ying Zhao was touched by Xiao Bai’s thoughtfulness. Then he began to explore the new world plot he received.

Through the plot, Ying Zhao learned that the world they were currently in was also a future world, but it was not an interstellar world.

Although technology in this era was also developing rapidly, humanity did not have any particularly close connection with outer space. There were no insectoid species, and one could say it was a peaceful era.

Moreover, the plot of this world was based on a network game called “Journey” set in this future world.

In this new world, online games were no longer limited to just computers and mobile phones. Instead, they became very realistic, allowing a person’s consciousness to directly enter the game.

Just like before in the interstellar world when entering the simulated training base through a nutrient pod, people could have the most realistic sensations. In fact, many people had begun to treat their lives in the virtual world as real life.

Moreover, in this era, entering the online world was very easy. One only needed to place a device the size of a button on their temple and close their eyes to connect to the game.

Additionally, the flow of time in the game world was different from that of the real world. One hour in the real world was equivalent to one day in the game world.

People could enter the game while sleeping at night, which also served as a way to rest. Therefore, many people would play the game during their sleep hours.

For many people, the game world was as important as the real world. Because of the needs of people today, many functions had also been developed in the game.

Many players can also earn money in the game, and there are quite a few professional players, which has led to the emergence of many people who make a living from gaming.

The protagonist of this world is a girl named He Yue. He Yue is a recently graduated female university student. In the narrative, He Yue is described as a relatively standard “sweet and naive” character.

She has a pure and cute appearance but a rather confused personality. After graduating, she entered the prestigious Shengheng Group, becoming an ordinary employee there.

Due to her cluelessness at work, the female lead often makes mistakes and is frequently scolded by her boss. However, despite this, her personality remains unchanged.

It’s just that her constant work troubles make her particularly depressed. Thus, her childhood friend, who has always had a crush on her, Wang Qi, suggested that He Yue join him to play the currently popular online game “Zheng Cheng” to relieve her mood.

He Yue thought it was a good way to pass the time and agreed, choosing the in-game name “Yue Yingying” and joined Wang Qi’s guild, “Zhu Meng.”

Since Wang Qi is the vice president of the “Zhu Meng” guild, He Yue received a lot of care upon entering the guild and even became friends with the guild leader, Zhu Mengshi.

Zhu Meng was a casual guild, but Zhu Mengshi was a well-known gaming god. His deep knowledge of the game had kept him at the top of multiple records.

However, he was not aggressive, so he didn’t appear on the combat strength or PK leaderboards; the first place was occupied by a player named “Yin Jiuke.”

Ever since she started playing this game, He Yue has displayed her “Koi Fish” nature, making it easy for her to obtain various divine artifacts and treasures. It wasn’t long before her title as the “Koi Goddess” was established.

One time, when the female lead was playing online alone, she encountered a player trapped by restrictions and casually helped him out. The two teamed up for an adventure.

After teaming up, the female lead discovered that the other person was actually the top war god on the entire server, who is the male lead of this world, Yin Jiuke.

Thanks to the female lead’s good fortune, Yin Jiuke received numerous rewards from this mission, and afterward, the female lead would seek him out every time she logged in.

Later, because they wanted to obtain a divine artifact, they needed to complete a couple’s quest. So He Yue suggested that she and Yin Jiuke get married in the game, and Yin Jiuke didn’t refuse.

The two married in the game and didn’t dissolve their relationship after obtaining the divine artifact; instead, they grew even closer. As time passed, they found themselves genuinely liking each other and began a romantic relationship in the game.

However, this angered Zhu Mengshi, the guild leader of “Zhu Meng,” because he had always had a crush on He Yue.

Upon learning that He Yue had married someone else in the game and was genuinely in love, he was very angry. He began to target Yin Jiuke, but he was defeated by the male lead’s high-level skills each time.

Yet,Zhu Mengshi remained stubborn. In fact, Zhu Mengshi was the chief engineer, Ying Zixi, who designed this game. To take revenge on the male lead for being with He Yue, he used his authority to enhance his attributes.

Then, he publicly challenged the male lead online, using despicable means to achieve victory. Afterward, he spread rumors, mocking the male lead’s skills.

The male lead was annoyed, but Zhu Mengshi persisted, even rallying the entire guild to humiliate him.

In reality, the male lead also had a hidden identity; Yin Jiuke is actually Lu Chenhui, the president of Shengheng Group, in real life.

“Zheng Cheng” is just one of the popular online games under Shengheng Group’s gaming industry. Previously, when Lu Chenhui lost in a competition, he felt something was off.

For him, the online game was just a way to relax. He didn’t expect the other party to be so relentless, so he decided to have his subordinates investigate thoroughly. Soon, they discovered Zhu Mengshi’s true identity.

They found out that Ying Zixi had manipulated his attributes using his authority and obtained numerous divine artifacts and equipment, winning the competition in an unfair manner.

More importantly, after an in-depth investigation, they discovered that Ying Zixi had even stolen trade secrets from the gaming company and sold them to a rival group.

Such behavior is tantamount to industrial espionage, thoroughly angering Lu Chenhui. Lu Chenhui ordered his subordinates to publicly expose Ying Zixi’s actions on the gaming forum.

He also brought in the commercial investigation department to investigate his crimes. At this time, everyone realized that the so-called gaming god, Zhu Mengshi, was actually such a despicable person.

No wonder he could achieve so many rankings and honors; it was likely all obtained through his designer privileges. Zhu Mengshi was thoroughly criticized online, and the guild “Zhu Meng” was disbanded.

Due to selling trade secrets, Ying Zixi was ultimately imprisoned and received the punishment he deserved. Meanwhile, the male lead’s identity was exposed, and he successfully developed a romantic relationship with the female lead.

In the end, the female lead, He Yue, married into a wealthy family, and the two happily lived together. The game “Zheng Cheng,” as the place where they fell in love, was also promised by Lu Chenhui to never be shut down.

After watching the entire storyline, it felt completely like a lighthearted, sweet and naive romance novel set in an online gaming world.

The legendary romance between the male and female leads confirmed that as long as you are a diamond bachelor, whether you are addicted to online games or not, you will still attract girls.

The female lead, He Yue, was basically described in the game as loved by everyone, blooming like flowers, and being born lucky, as if it was her destiny to marry into a wealthy family.

The only villain in the story was the fellow named Ying Zixi. However, Ying Zhao didn’t even need to check his identification to roughly guess his identity in this world, estimating it was that Ying Zixi.

Every time he traversed into a world, the original character had generally met a tragic end, especially since this villain also had the surname Ying.

Sure enough, Ying Zhao quickly received a definite answer from Xiao Bai. Under Xiao Bai’s admiring gaze, Ying Zhao felt slightly distressed.

However, since that was the case, according to past situations, there must be hidden circumstances to the events. After digesting all the original character’s memories and then observing the true storyline from a god’s perspective, Ying Zhao learned that the original character, Ying Zixi, was indeed wronged.

Ying Zixi was an orphan, having grown up without parents, raised by an orphanage. Although he had good looks, he had always been isolated and had no friends.

As he grew up, Ying Zixi became a game designer due to his talent in electronic networks. “Zheng Cheng” could be said to be Ying Zixi’s labor of love.

The reason he named his guild “Zhu Meng” was that he believed “Zheng Cheng” was a dream he had forged for himself, and he became his own dream builder.

The “Zhu Meng” guild was actually just a casual guild; Ying Zixi established it simply to have a space that belonged to him. With a blank slate in his love life, he made gaming the focus of his life until he met the female lead, He Yue.

At first, when He Yue joined the guild, she always clung to Ying Zixi, asking him to play with her. Over time, the solitary Ying Zixi gradually became attracted to He Yue’s cheerful personality.

In order to have more time with He Yue in the game, Ying Zixi did something against the rules for the first time. He used his special identity as a game engineer to adjust the female lead’s luck value.

That’s why He Yue was able to easily obtain divine artifacts and find hidden quests. Moreover, the original character generously shared game tips that others didn’t know with the female lead. That’s why she thrived in the game and became known as the Koi Goddess.

It’s just a pity that his efforts did not genuinely move He Yue. At first, He Yue’s clinginess to Ying Zixi was solely to level up quickly and get good equipment.

She had long since discovered that her company’s president, Lu Chenhui, was also in this game and was indeed Yin Jiuke during a data submission task for her secretary.

So the truth was that He Yue had clung to Wang Qi to bring her into the guild. Wang Qi had always had a crush on He Yue and naturally obeyed his goddess’s orders.

Once she entered the guild, He Yue quickly teamed up with the equally renowned Ying Zixi, hoping the original character could help her quickly match the male lead’s level and equipment.

When she finally met President Lu Chenhui, she naturally didn’t want to waste any more time on Ying Zixi. Her goal had always been Lu Chenhui, and once she achieved it, she simply cast the original character aside.

Poor Ying Zixi always thought that he was just one confession away from the female lead, but he did not expect that He Yue only regarded him as a backup.

At first, after Ying Zixi learned that He Yue was with Lu Chenhui, he planned to give up on this relationship. He sought out He Yue, wanting to get some closure on his feelings.

However, the female lead avoided the topic and denied her relationship with the male lead, saying it was just a joke in the game. She even deliberately said many ambiguous things, constantly giving Ying Zixi hope, which made him fall deeper.

Ying Zixi naively thought that there was no real feeling between the female lead and the drinking guest; they were merely misidentified as a couple. Little did he know, it was all a lie from the female lead.

It wasn’t until the relationship between He Yue and the drinking guest was completely made public that Ying Zixi learned the truth. Yet he did not blame the female lead; instead, he thought the male lead had snatched his love, so he targeted Lu Chenhui.

However, the original owner did not do anything too excessive. Perhaps his only black mark was that he used his power in the game to enhance his attributes and won against the male lead.

As for the behavior of dissing the male lead online and inciting the guild to attack Lu Chenhui, it was actually Wang Qi, who realized that He Yue was using him out of jealousy of her relationship with the male lead, who took advantage of the situation. This had nothing to do with Ying Zixi.

Regarding the alleged theft of company trade secrets, this incident did not exist at all. This information was actually the work of spies sent by Lu Chenhui’s competitors within Shengheng Group, who intentionally framed Ying Zixi for it.

In the end, although the conspiracy of the rival company did not succeed, Ying Zixi still suffered an unjust calamity and was even imprisoned.

Ying Zixi was just an orphan without relatives or friends; he had no power or influence and was unable to clear his name. Although the truth was later revealed, by that time, he had already spent a full five years in prison.

He did not understand why, as someone who could be considered a good person, he had worked hard in school from a young age and was diligent in his work after growing up.

He even sent part of his monthly salary to the orphanage, grateful for the care he received there.

Why did a love story that ended without conclusion lead to his failure in both his work life and online? Why did it make him lose everything and bear such a heavy burden?

Even if he later cleared his name, his reputation in the industry had already been ruined, making it impossible for him to continue in this field.

On the day he left prison, Ying Zixi felt as if he was in another world. He did not understand why he had suffered such misfortune.

On the main road, he became momentarily dazed and was hit by an oncoming truck, ultimately losing his young life.

After learning about the original owner’s fate, Ying Zhao frowned and felt deeply dissatisfied.

He had always disliked people who manipulated others’ feelings. Although He Yue did not directly harm the original owner, she used his feelings, treating him as a tool to provoke the male lead. If it weren’t for He Yue’s actions, the tragedy of the original owner would not have occurred.

He Yue, Wang Qi, and Lu Chenhui seemed to be doing things that were unrelated, but in reality, they were all interconnected, step by step forcing Ying Zixi to a dead end.

Taking a deep breath, Ying Zhao fiddled with his fingers, feeling an inexplicable urge to slap someone. He expressionlessly asked Xiao Bai in his sea of consciousness, “So, what was the original owner’s wish?”

Upon hearing Ying Zhao’s question, Xiao Bai searched the system and replied, “Ying Zixi’s wish is that if he were to start over, he wouldn’t want to love anyone again. His feelings for the female lead caused him to lose everything; the original owner feels that people are too complicated, and their feelings are too impure. He no longer wants to get involved.”

“The original owner hopes to live a simple life, just to stay in ‘Journey’ and remain in this dream world that he created.”

Ying Zhao blinked upon hearing Xiao Bai’s words, not expecting the original owner’s wish to be like this. It seemed that the female lead really hurt Ying Zixi deeply.

Speaking of which, as someone who was focused solely on the game without other entertainment, Ying Zixi was actually very simple and pure. In matters of feelings, he was just a novice and naturally could not outmaneuver the scheming female lead.

Making such a choice was not entirely unexpected. However, for Ying Zhao, this wish of the original owner was the hardest to achieve among all the worlds he had been to.

After all, his lover was in this world, and no matter what, Ying Zhao wanted to be with his lover. He was afraid that in this world, he would have to let down the original owner.

Seeing Ying Zhao’s serious expression, Xiao Bai realized what he was thinking and quickly said, “Host, don’t worry. The original owner’s wish can still be fulfilled; this target’s identity is quite special!”

Ying Zhao, hearing this, smiled bitterly: “What does it matter how special the identity is? Didn’t you just hear the original owner’s wish? He doesn’t want to love anyone again. Could it be that the target in this life isn’t even a person?”

Who knew that when Xiao Bai heard Ying Zhao’s words, it nodded seriously and said, “Yes, host, the target this time really isn’t a person!”

This completely stunned Ying Zhao. He looked at Xiao Bai in a daze, seemingly hoping that it would repeat what it just said.

Xiao Bai met his expectations and repeated, “Host, the target in this life really isn’t a person. He is an NPC character in ‘Journey,’ the king of the dragon race, the ultimate BOSS—Flame Dragon.”