ISWTDB Ch134

Chapter 134: BOSS is always acting up (3, 4)

Speaking of “The Journey”, it was the original owner’s hard work, funded by the Shengheng Group, and painstakingly built up by the original owner, Ying Zixi, who led the team with great effort.

As for the Flame Dragon that Xiao Bai mentioned, Ying Zhao, who had inherited the original owner’s memories, naturally knew. This NPC was the greatest BOSS in “The Journey”, the king of the dragon race, who had never appeared in the game.

The reason why the Flame Dragon hadn’t appeared was because “The Journey” wasn’t fully completed yet. Just because the game was launched didn’t mean it was finished; it still needed continuous updates.

Currently, there were four known races in “The Journey”: the human race, orc race, elf race, and undead race. Depending on the race players chose, they would embark on different adventure stories in this fantasy world.

As for the dragon race, it had always been defined as the strongest race in “The Journey”. The original owner, Ying Zixi, had been working hard to develop this section.

However, to ensure the dragon race was perfect, it hadn’t been released yet. As a result, the map, which should have had five continents, still had the dragon race’s continent grayed out and unavailable to players.

Before Ying Zhao could even be shocked that his lover in this life turned out to be a string of game data, Xiao Bai sent him new information about the Flame Dragon.

After reading it, Ying Zhao was astonished. He didn’t expect that the Flame Dragon was not just a game character but actually existed—or rather, had once existed in reality.

The Flame Dragon’s original form was actually Lu Yan, the younger brother of Lu Chenhui, president of the Shengheng Group. The Lu brothers’ parents had passed away early, leaving their vast family business to the two brothers.

As his only remaining family, Lu Chenhui naturally cherished his younger brother very much. However, due to his busy work schedule, he couldn’t always keep an eye on Lu Yan.

One day after school, the old butler, who had served the Lu family for many years, was bribed by their competitor, the Canglin Group. He helped them kidnap Lu Yan to threaten Lu Chenhui.

In order to save his brother, Lu Chenhui complied with the kidnappers’ demands, trying every possible way to rescue Lu Yan. However, even though he agreed to all their conditions, Lu Yan was ultimately killed by the kidnappers.

Losing his only family member drove Lu Chenhui to madness as he pursued the murderers. Although the kidnappers were eventually caught, Lu Yan’s life was lost forever, and the Canglin Group, the mastermind, remained unscathed.

This incident deeply affected Lu Chenhui, who then threw himself into his work, determined to destroy the Canglin Group. Although he hadn’t succeeded yet, Shengheng Group had clearly become a world-leading company.

In this era of rapidly advancing technology, methods to store human consciousness had been developed, although not perfected, so they hadn’t been put into practical use yet.

As a wealthy and powerful conglomerate, Shengheng Group had ventures in various industries, particularly excelling in medical fields, where they were pioneers in consciousness storage research.

After Lu Yan’s death, Lu Chenhui couldn’t bear to lose his only brother. Using his company’s most advanced medical technology, he extracted Lu Yan’s consciousness and placed it in a virtual world.

To create a world for his brother, Shengheng Group ventured into the gaming industry, leading to the birth of “The Journey.”

Lu Chenhui secretly had the tech team implant his brother’s consciousness into the game but claimed it was classified data that couldn’t go wrong. Thus, Lu Yan became the Flame Dragon, the ultimate BOSS of the otherworldly continent in the game.

This also explained why, when the original owner was accused of stealing company secrets and being a spy for the rival Canglin Group, Lu Chenhui was so furious and insisted on sending the original owner to prison.

Although Lu Chenhui was always busy, no matter how occupied he was, he made time to log into “The Journey”. He knew his brother was asleep in the game.

Once the dragon race’s section was fully developed, Lu Yan would be awakened as the Flame Dragon. However, after awakening, Lu Yan would have become a game character and might not retain his original memories. Specific conditions would be needed to awaken his deeper consciousness.

But even so, as long as Lu Chenhui knew his brother’s consciousness was still there, he could find some comfort in it.

After reading the entire story, Ying Zhao helplessly stroked his chin. Now it seemed this scumbag protagonist was his lover’s brother, and although he had intended to give him a hard time, he would have to hold off on that.

Rather than tormenting Lu Chenhui, the CEO, Ying Zhao was more interested in exposing the CEO’s assistant who framed the original owner.

That guy was the real undercover spy, and Ying Zhao wasn’t going to let him off so easily. Besides, there were still the female lead and Wang Qi to entertain him—Lu Chenhui was secondary.

With this realization, Ying Zhao felt much better. He stood up and walked to the mirror, planning to take a look at himself in this life.

But when he saw his reflection, Ying Zhao paused. He realized that his appearance in this world was 90% similar to his appearance in the original world.

Perhaps due to the original owner’s personality, his demeanor had a touch more delicacy. Ying Zhao, already strikingly handsome, now exuded an added hint of seductive charm.

Looking at his completely different aura in the mirror, Ying Zhao twitched his mouth. Still, it felt nice to see a face so similar to his own.

The original owner had such a good appearance, but because of his introverted personality, he always kept his head down, so people didn’t notice him.

However, setting aside the real world, this Ying Zixi was much more relaxed in the game. Especially as the guild leader of Building Dreams, he seemed quite at ease in his familiar environment.

In addition, since the game itself was created by the original owner leading the team, he knew many game tricks that others didn’t.

Although he wasn’t as powerful as the exceptionally gifted male protagonist, he still had his own fanbase of male and female admirers in “The Journey.” It’s no wonder the original owner wished he could stay in “The Journey” forever.

Looking at the floor covered with empty wine bottles, Ying Zhao recalled the timeline he had crossed over to. It was exactly when the original owner had learned that the female lead, He Yue, had married a player named “Yin Jiuke” in the game.

The original owner didn’t know how to handle emotional matters; he saw the game as more important than reality. In his mind, getting married in the game had to be with someone you truly liked.

In the original storyline, after waking from his drunken stupor, the original owner went to confront Yue Yingying about it. The female lead claimed it was all just for a mission and pretended to be angry, accusing the original owner of wronging her. She then ignored Ying Zixi and left.

The original owner put in a lot of effort to appease the female lead, even giving her many expensive materials. Only then did He Yue agree to reconcile with him. Though Ying Zixi believed her words, he was still heartbroken.

What hurt even more was that the female lead frequently defended Yin Jiuke in her words, which led the original owner to spiral into despair. He started drinking every day and needed sleeping pills to fall asleep if he wasn’t in the game.

Later, his mental state became unstable, which caused him to make mistakes at work and get harshly scolded by his department manager. However, now that Ying Zhao had taken his place, those same mistakes wouldn’t happen again.

Looking up at the clock, it was just after 9 p.m. He figured he could enter the game to get accustomed to it and perhaps find his lover.

Just as Ying Zhao picked up the neural connection device and pressed it to his temple, intending to enter the game, he suddenly heard an excited voice from Xiao Bai in his mind: “Host, since this world is a virtual game world, I can also enter the game and appear as a player.”

Upon hearing this, Ying Zhao immediately understood and smiled softly, “That’s great! Xiao Bai, why don’t you become a player in The Journey in this world? We’ve never acted together before.”

Xiao Bai, eager at heart, couldn’t help but feel a bit hesitant, reminding Ying Zhao, “But host, if I become a player, the system will have to switch to auto-mode. I won’t be able to stay in your consciousness to take your commands.”

Ying Zhao shook his head at this. Xiao Bai had already done so much for him, and this was just a small world. Ying Zhao genuinely considered Xiao Bai his companion and naturally wanted him to have his own life.

Feeling deeply moved by Ying Zhao’s words, Xiao Bai agreed, and the two of them entered “The Journey” together.

The advanced technology was indeed impressive, as in the blink of an eye, Ying Zhao felt his consciousness pulled into the game. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in the guild hall.

There were people bustling around him, and the scene was much livelier than he had imagined. It seemed Building Dreams, this freelance guild, was more prosperous than he had thought.

Many players greeted him as well. It appeared that Ying Zixi, the guild leader, had been doing quite well.

Casually pulling up the control panel, Ying Zhao saw a more direct view of the character the original owner had set up in the game, which was now his own appearance.

Since the original owner had chosen the elf race and assassin class, his character was dressed in sleek black clothes with a dagger strapped to his waist.

He had pointed elf ears and long black hair tied back in a ponytail. However, his face was covered by a black veil, completely obscuring his appearance.

In this game, while players could adjust their appearance, the adjustments could only go up to about 20%. So, if someone looked good in the game, they wouldn’t be unattractive in reality either.

With the original owner’s good looks and some slight adjustments, he was already stunning. However, due to his introverted nature, he preferred not to draw attention, so he always wore the veil.

But Ying Zhao didn’t mind. He removed the veil and carefully observed his appearance in this virtual world.

With the slight adjustments, Ying Zhao’s in-game appearance was now even closer to how he looked in real life. Moreover, the original owner’s slightly delicate demeanor had been amplified, adding a bit of allure.

Indeed, even if the face was nearly the same, it could look completely different depending on who it belonged to and their temperament. Thankfully, his looks weren’t too exaggerated—at least he wasn’t so striking that it would be over the top.

Of course, that was just what Ying Zhao thought. As a divine beast from the immortal realm, once transformed into human form, there wasn’t a single one that wouldn’t be stunning.

Sure enough, after removing the veil, Ying Zhao quickly noticed that the previously noisy surroundings had suddenly fallen silent.

Closing the control panel, he raised his head to see everyone staring at him in amazement.

Seeing this, Ying Zhao couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth and let out a light cough, which brought everyone back to their senses.

However, the occasional sneaky glances still revealed their inner turmoil.

A girl standing not far from Ying Zhao finally couldn’t hold back anymore. With a dreamy expression, she asked in disbelief, “You… are you the guild leader?”

Ying Zhao nodded and smiled at her. Upon seeing his smile, the girl immediately clasped her hands to her chest, let out a small wail, and dashed toward the door.

As she ran, she shouted, “You liars! You said the guild leader wore a veil because he was ugly! My gosh, if this is ugly, then everyone else must be ghosts!”

“Aaaah! Why did I agree to date that guy last week? Now I can’t pursue the handsome guy right in front of me!”

Watching her antics, Ying Zhao couldn’t help but chuckle. Then, a series of gasps followed from around the hall.

At that moment, the sound of running footsteps echoed from the guild entrance. Ying Zhao looked up and saw a tall figure standing just outside the door before slowly walking toward him.

The person had delicate and handsome features with an inherently pure aura. Golden hair was casually tied into a loose braid at the back of his head.

Pointed ears and bright emerald eyes, dressed in simple brown beginner’s gear, with a bow and arrow slung over his back, clearly marking him as an elf archer.

The person tried to appear calm as they walked up to Ying Zhao, blinking their bright eyes, and after a light cough, they said, “Host—no, Guild Leader, hello. I’d like to join your guild.”

Seeing this familiar figure, Ying Zhao felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity and couldn’t help but ask, “Xiao Bai?”

Upon hearing his name, Xiao Bai excitedly nodded, beaming with joy, “Host, you recognized me! I wanted to surprise you!”

Ying Zhao looked Xiao Bai up and down, feeling a sense of warmth and finding him quite adorable. He was exactly how he had imagined Xiao Bai would be.

Especially since the bright, distinct tone was so recognizable, how could he possibly not recognize the person who had accompanied him through countless worlds?

Patting Xiao Bai on the shoulder, Ying Zhao felt a bit comforted. According to Xiao Bai, because he knew that Ying Zhao was of the elven race, he had also chosen the same race, which was very much in line with Xiao Bai’s usual style.

Although both were of the elven race, since the original character had chosen the assassin class, he was a dark elf, while Xiao Bai, being an archer, was a regular elf, making him look much brighter than Ying Zhao.

Ying Zhao pulled up Xiao Bai’s character panel and saw that Xiao Bai had named himself “Bai Mangmang” (White Brightness). Ying Zhao smiled slightly and immediately sent a friend request.

Xiao Bai, of course, accepted right away. This was the first time he was directly interacting with Ying Zhao in human form, and he felt a bit excited.

For Xiao Bai, his existence was tied to Ying Zhao. If Ying Zhao hadn’t needed to enter the spirit weapon, Bai Rui wouldn’t have created him to assist Ying Zhao.

They had gone through so many worlds together that, to Xiao Bai, Ying Zhao was the person he was closest to. So, he really wanted to show Ying Zhao his human form.

However, this wasn’t the first time he had taken human form. During the years when he and Ying Zhao were separated, he had passed through a fringe world, where he was forced to grow and gained his human form.

In fact, just like other beings, systems, too, have similar processes when transforming. Their initial appearance is shaped by their personality traits, but they can change their looks.

However, Xiao Bai hadn’t bothered with that, as in his eyes, appearance was just a shell. As long as it was human-shaped, he was satisfied.

So, whether in the past or now, his appearance had always been the same, not altered by different worlds.

Feeling excited, Xiao Bai couldn’t help but chat a bit more with Ying Zhao, even wanting to discuss how he could help now that he had a human form.

However, Ying Zhao, though he allowed Xiao Bai to exist as a player, hadn’t really intended for him to do anything for him.

With a smile, Ying Zhao said, “You’ve finally gotten a human form, so go enjoy yourself. Don’t you want to explore and experience things on your own? We’re already friends in-game, so we can stay in touch anytime.”

As he spoke, Ying Zhao pulled out some decent low-level equipment from the original character’s backpack and handed it to Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai blushed slightly, accepted the gear, and nodded at Ying Zhao.

Thinking that this game probably wasn’t too dangerous and knowing his low level wouldn’t be much help, Xiao Bai took Ying Zhao’s advice and returned to the novice village to adjust to his new identity in this world.

Once Xiao Bai left, Ying Zhao began to pay attention to where the game’s storyline currently was. From the friend list, he could see that the female lead, He Yue, was online and likely completing a quest with the male lead.

Ying Zhao didn’t plan to deal with these troublesome characters just yet. After all, in no time, He Yue and the male lead would stumble upon a hidden dungeon that would be difficult to clear, and they would come to him for help.

In the original story, the previous owner had refused to help them out of anger over He Yue teaming up with Yin Jiuke. However, the protagonists still managed to clear the dungeon with their luck, earning rich rewards.

The female lead even acquired a particularly important artifact—the Moon Shadow Sword. With the sword’s assistance, He Yue quickly climbed into the top five on the power rankings.

But this time, Ying Zhao didn’t plan to follow the previous owner’s path. After all, that hidden dungeon was full of valuable loot, and he didn’t want to let the female lead get it for free.

Thinking of this, Ying Zhao decided to first go and find his lover. Using his special privileges as the game designer, he opened a teleportation point and transported himself near the Dragon Graveyard.

So far, the Dragon World map was still locked and couldn’t be accessed. Players could only glimpse the massive dragon-shaped statue marking the edge of the Dragon Graveyard.

Though called a graveyard, it was more of an empty space with a colossal dragon statue standing in its center, grand and awe-inspiring.

However, neither the statue nor the entire graveyard could be approached by players—they could only view it from a distance. If Ying Zhao weren’t the game’s developer, he wouldn’t be able to get close either.

But Ying Zhao knew that the statue wasn’t all there was to the graveyard. As the designer, he was privy to its secrets.

Walking a few steps to the right of the massive statue, Ying Zhao felt around until he found an inconspicuous raised scale. Pressing down hard, a giant stone door opened under the dragon’s belly with a deep rumble, revealing an underground passage.

As Ying Zhao descended, he discovered a vast underground palace. This was the true resting place of the dragons, a golden, resplendent hall filled with mountains of treasure. It perfectly matched the image of dragons in people’s minds.

The treasure, however, held no appeal to Ying Zhao. His attention was drawn entirely to a stone sculpture in the center of the hall.

The sculpture was identical to the large dragon statue outside, only much smaller. Ying Zhao knew that the Fire Dragon was sealed inside it. He immediately used his administrator privileges to awaken the boss, the Flame Dragon.

After a blinding flash of white light, cracks began to appear on the surface of the stone sculpture. The outer layer, like a hard shell, started to fall away, revealing the Flame Dragon’s fiery red skin beneath.

The process was slow and deliberate. This was a special feature of Journey for the first player to awaken the Flame Dragon, unlocking the Dragon Continent, and the entire event would be recorded.

Winds and sand were whipped up in the hall, swirling fiercely. The suffocating haze forced Ying Zhao to don his assassin’s mask.

As the outer shell of the Flame Dragon’s body fell away, Ying Zhao could hear the sound of the dragon coming back to life. Heavy breathing and the beating of its heart seemed to echo in his ears.

When all the outer shell had fallen off, the storm of sand finally ceased. The massive red dragon before him suddenly opened its enormous eyes and snorted loudly.

Frowning, the dragon stared at Ying Zhao with a confused expression and said in a deep voice, “Who dares to awaken me? Prepare to face the wrath of the dragons!”

With that, the red dragon flapped its wings and rose into the air.