ISWTDB Ch138

Chapter 138: The BOSS is always acting up (11, 12)

Ying Zhao heard Flame Dragon’s question and immediately realized that his man was jealous. He patiently explained to his lover, “It’s just someone I know. They want to invite me to join their team to explore a secret realm.”

However, at that moment, Flame Dragon’s attention was completely off the secret realm; he was still fuming, “Do you like that woman?”

Ying Zhao was taken aback by his words and was stunned for a few seconds, shocked by his lover’s train of thought.

Realizing that he was not listening to his explanation at all, he could only helplessly raise his voice, “I don’t like her; I can even say I really dislike her. I think she’s very hypocritical. But the secret realm produces some top-notch equipment, so I still want to take a look!”

When Flame Dragon heard Ying Zhao say he really disliked that woman, his expression eased a bit. However, his tone still carried an insistence as he said, “Then you don’t need to meet that woman. Whatever you want, I can give it to you!”

Ying Zhao blinked at his generous words and showed a gentle smile, nodding at Flame Dragon as he said, “I know. I just think exploring a secret realm is also a very interesting thing.”

“I heard that they tried many times but couldn’t pass through that secret realm, but I’m different. I have you! Your Highness, you’re omnipotent! You will definitely help me clear the level and get the rewards inside, right?”

Seeing Ying Zhao gazing at him with starry eyes and an expectant look, Flame Dragon nodded without thinking. He thought, this is more like it; his little servant should rely on him.

So he patted his chest and assured Ying Zhao, “Of course! Yingying, you really love to play. But as your master, I can fulfill your wish. Whatever is in that secret realm will be yours.”

But then, as Flame Dragon thought about the fact that he still needed to meet that woman, he felt quite uncomfortable inside.

Although he understood that, despite having become master and servant, they hadn’t spent a long time together, and Ying Zhao must have had his own life before.

But for some reason, Flame Dragon felt unwilling. He always wished that the little elf’s eyes could only see him and that only he existed in his life.

That said, Flame Dragon believed his little servant had good judgment, knowing to seek his strength to obtain the desired artifact.

Thinking about it, how could those people he knew possibly compare to him? With this thought, Flame Dragon became more determined to be Ying Zhao’s support and thoroughly let his little servant feel his strength.

He also felt a bit impatient about Ying Zhao inviting him to accompany him to clear the secret realm.

Moreover, Flame Dragon wanted to meet Ying Zhao’s so-called acquaintances. He wanted those people to see his strength and clearly understand their insignificant identities, so they wouldn’t dare to covet what didn’t belong to them.

Ying Zhao was unaware that his man had already mentally staged a play to suppress a rival in love; he thought he had finally persuaded Flame Dragon to agree to go with him.

He leisurely took his hand, and they went out together. However, they didn’t rush to the meeting point with the female lead right away. Instead, they took their time to prepare.

Ying Zhao went to the hotel front desk to reserve a room and even strolled around the bustling streets of Sais City with Flame Dragon for a while.

They bought two cups of refreshing juice and snacked on some treats. After resting for a bit, they leisurely activated the teleportation array.

Once they arrived at the location, they found that the three people on the opposite side had already been waiting for quite a while. As soon as Ying Zhao’s figure appeared in the teleportation array, he heard He Yue’s complaining voice.

A somewhat spoiled female voice accused Ying Zhao, “Zhu Mengshi! Why did you take so long to come? Do you know how long we’ve been waiting for you?”

Ying Zhao stepped out of the teleportation array, looked up at the female lead, and felt no sense of guilt at all. He smiled brightly at He Yue and the others, offering an insincere apology, “Sorry, I got delayed. I brought my friend to help you.”

As she spoke, Ying Zhao scrutinized the world’s female lead, He Yue, realizing that this woman had ruthlessly exploited the original host, Ying Zixi’s feelings, manipulating her like a pawn.

Since He Yue was the female lead in this world, her looks were naturally impressive, showing a hint of cuteness amid her delicate features, and she had a very pure aura.

Wearing a pink gauzy dress, she looked ethereal. Moreover, He Yue, like the original host, chose to be an elf, and her pointed ears added to her charm.

The female lead’s profession was a healer, commonly known as a “nanny,” primarily serving as support.

As for her glamorous pink attire, it was a rare reward for completing a special quest, which the original host had previously worked hard to obtain through a difficult secret realm.

Looking at the quality of He Yue’s equipment and accessories, most of which were crafted by the original host, Ying Zhao felt it was not worth it.

Beside her stood the male lead, a drinking guest, along with He Yue’s childhood friend, Wang Qi.

The male lead, Lu Chenhui, belonged to the undead race in the game and was dressed in a dark, gothic style. He had not modified his appearance upon entering the game, retaining the looks he had in the original world.

Perhaps due to being chosen by fate, the male lead was naturally good-looking. However, he gave off a cold and distant vibe, resembling an unapproachable ice-cold person.

It was surprising that He Yue could maintain such enthusiasm towards this ice block, which was quite admirable.

As for Wang Qi, he chose to be an orc in the game and took on a role similar to that of a tank. Wang Qi was tall and robust, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and due to his race in Journey, he sported a pair of orc ears on his head.

He wore tiger-striped warrior armor and had humorously named his game character “Bro is Awesome,” which suited his self-absorbed and comedic style.

As the vice president of the guild, Zhu Mengshi, Wang Qi had known the original host for quite a long time. The original host had always considered Wang Qi one of her few friends, never expecting that he would later utilize the guild to vent his personal grievances.

As a result, the male lead placed all the blame on her, whether Wang Qi acted intentionally or not; he created such consequences.

However, the original host seemed to hold no resentment towards Wang Qi; instead, in her memory, “Bro is Awesome” was one of the few who stood by her when everyone else was criticizing her.

This made Ying Zhao find Wang Qi somewhat strange, deciding to observe him first before forming a judgment.

At this moment, when He Yue saw Ying Zhao’s face, she couldn’t help but widen her eyes in shock. It was her first time seeing Zhu Mengshi without a mask.

Pointing at Ying Zhao, she uncertainly said, “You… you’re Zhu Mengshi?”

Ying Zhao nodded, looking at He Yue with some confusion, as if he didn’t understand why she would have such a question.

He Yue was stunned by Ying Zhao’s appearance, but she soon realized that she was indeed overreacting, so she calmed down. However, she was quickly drawn to Flame Dragon, who stood next to Ying Zhao.

He Yue saw Flame Dragon and couldn’t help but be dazzled. Compared to Ying Zhao’s enchanting charm, she preferred a more imposing man. And the human warrior in black before her was undoubtedly exceptional.

Setting aside his looks, his demeanor was one that only someone in a position of power could possess; she feared that he was a character one could only look up to in real life.

Seeing this, He Yue had an idea. Although her main target for seduction was the drinking guest beside her, having an additional option wouldn’t hurt.

After all, who didn’t like handsome and wealthy men? If this black-clad warrior’s assets could rival Lu Chenhui’s, she wouldn’t mind giving him a chance.

Thinking this, He Yue brushed her hair back and smiled flirtatiously at Flame Dragon, softly saying, “Hello, I’m Yue Yingying. Thank you so much for coming over to help us! May I ask what you’re called?”

Unexpectedly, Flame Dragon completely ignored her words. He simply crossed his arms and stood beside Ying Zhao.

This made He Yue feel very embarrassed. She thought her looks were decent, and when flirting with men, none ever treated her like this. Even CEO Lu Chenhui had never completely disregarded her like this.

With this in mind, the female lead looked at Ying Zhao with a hint of grievance, seemingly hoping he would say something to break the awkwardness.

However, at that moment, Ying Zhao wasn’t the original character at all and had no intention of showing any sympathy. He simply told them that Flame Dragon’s alias was Long Yan and then directly led the man past He Yue towards the entrance of the cave ahead.

Then he turned his head and asked the people behind him, “Is this the entrance to the secret realm?”

After asking the question, a long silence followed, with no response. He Yue, still annoyed that Ying Zhao hadn’t helped her, deliberately ignored his question.

The male lead was staring at Flame Dragon, frowning as if he were deep in thought. However, this puzzled expression didn’t last long; soon, Lu Chenhui returned to his usual expressionless demeanor.

Ying Zhao thought perhaps it was because his lover’s appearance was similar in every world, which might have made Lu Chenhui feel that Flame Dragon resembled his younger brother, leading to this reaction.

One had to admit that the person among the three who remained most composed upon seeing his face was the male lead. However, watching the other stand there with a blank expression, Ying Zhao couldn’t help but feel a lack of fondness for this brother who doted on his younger brother so much in the original text.

Only Wang Qi seemed stunned for quite some time after hearing Ying Zhao’s question. He then blushed and nodded at Ying Zhao, affirming that this was indeed the entrance to the secret realm.

Then, as if in disbelief, he foolishly said, “I can’t believe it, President, you actually look like this!”

Ying Zhao touched his face, finding the remark somewhat amusing, and retorted, “What’s wrong with how I look?”

Wang Qi snapped back to attention at Ying Zhao’s question, hurriedly shaking his head. He then lowered his head, unable to look at Ying Zhao’s face any longer, feeling that even a single glance would make him blush and his heart race.

He Yue noticed that Wang Qi beside her had clearly been captivated by Ying Zhao’s looks, and she frowned slightly.

She had already snapped back to reality from her earlier amazement and even felt jealousy over a man being more attractive than her.

Turning to Ying Zhao, she began to complain, “Hmph, you came so late, and you don’t even have an ounce of apology. Do you know how long we’ve been waiting for you? This is just terrible! You—”

Before He Yue could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Wang Qi. He glared at her without reservation and impatiently said, “Didn’t the president just say he was delayed by something? How come you can’t let it go? You’re so annoying!”

After scolding He Yue, Ying Zhao noticed that Wang Qi was blushing as he stole glances at him. He felt that this person seemed a bit different from what he had gathered from the information.

The other party showed no signs of liking the female lead and seemed very impatient with He Yue, while being much friendlier towards him.

Ying Zhao had always known that the main plot given by the small world was mostly unreliable. So he decided to observe the relationship between the female lead and Wang Qi, feeling that Wang Qi was more interesting than he had imagined.

Thus, following the original character’s way of interacting with Wang Qi, he smiled and nodded, saying, “Can you tell me the details of your exploration of the secret realm?”

The original character didn’t know Wang Qi’s real name, so he always referred to him by his simplified gaming name, as did others in the guild.

Upon hearing Ying Zhao’s question, Wang Qi immediately leaned in and detailed which monsters were in the secret realm, the levels of the bosses they encountered, the number of treasure chests, and the experience bonuses they received.

Wang Qi spoke in great detail, and Ying Zhao listened attentively. Wang Qi and the original character had known each other for a long time, and Ying Zhao inherited the original character’s memories, so they had a good rapport while conversing.

On the side, Flame Dragon watched, feeling disgruntled at being ignored, especially seeing Ying Zhao and Wang Qi getting along so well. He impatiently approached them.

With a possessive urge, he directly draped an arm over Ying Zhao’s shoulders and, glancing at Wang Qi with annoyance, said to Ying Zhao, “Why ask so many questions? We can just go in. With me here, are you still afraid of not getting through?”

Wang Qi shot a fierce glare at Flame Dragon, and seeing that Ying Zhao actually nodded at him, he could only huff in response and turn his head away.

On the side, He Yue’s attention was increasingly drawn to Flame Dragon. Listening to the man’s unabashed words, she thought that this drinking guest was already ranked first on the PK list in “Journey,” and it was still quite difficult to clear this secret realm.

Yet, when the man spoke, it seemed as if it were just a casual remark about fighting regular monsters.

Having spent quite some time in “Journey,” He Yue considered herself somewhat famous; why had she never heard of such a character’s existence before?

Thinking this, He Yue’s gaze towards Flame Dragon couldn’t help but take on a hint of inquiry.

After all, she hadn’t seen Flame Dragon’s abilities yet and couldn’t be sure if he was as formidable as he claimed. So, she quietly stood behind Ying Zhao and Flame Dragon as the group entered the secret realm.

In the early stages, when facing low-level monsters, Flame Dragon didn’t intervene, as he viewed these creatures as mere ants.

After forming a contract with Ying Zhao, Flame Dragon naturally understood Ying Zhao’s combat power and knew that the elf could easily dispatch them with a casual attack. He was willing to watch his little servant show off in front of others.

In reality, apart from Ying Zhao and Flame Dragon, the combat power of the other three wasn’t low either. With Ying Zhao’s participation, dealing with monsters became much easier.

They encountered several waves of elite monsters, and Ying Zhao coordinated perfectly with the others to defeat them. However, since Flame Dragon didn’t take action, Ying Zhao stood out the most among the four present.

The defensive equipment Flame Dragon had placed in Ying Zhao’s spatial ring had already been worn by him, so he wasn’t afraid of the attacks from these mid-level and low-level monsters.

With the addition of that exquisite emerald, his combat power and speed had increased several times. So even if Ying Zhao went to challenge the overall ranking against the male protagonist right now, the opponent wouldn’t gain much advantage.

Moreover, as the original host was a designer, Ying Zhao had a richer understanding of how to quickly eliminate these elite monsters.

The chosen attack methods and entry points were also very skillful, making him unexpectedly become their leader.

He Yue and Wang Qi both noticed that Ying Zhao had become stronger and couldn’t believe that the other party had increased their combat power so much in such a short time.

He Yue looked at Ying Zhao with a bit of surprise, while Wang Qi gazed at him with starry eyes full of admiration, his face flushed with excitement.

The male protagonist, Lu Chenhui, didn’t feel anything special. After all, this was his first time meeting Ying Zhao, and having a strong partner for their team was naturally beneficial for him.

Watching his little servant’s dashing figure, Flame Dragon nodded in satisfaction, feeling that his sprite looked so graceful and charming during the fight.

However, when he saw the orc nearby staring at his precious one with infatuation, his mood immediately soured.

Under Ying Zhao’s leadership, everyone quickly progressed through the checkpoint, and after eliminating a wave of monsters ahead, they would encounter the final boss.

Due to the high difficulty level of this secret realm, the further they progressed, the tougher the fights became. After defeating the last batch of elite monsters, the atmosphere in the entire cave suddenly became strange.

The torches in the cave suddenly dimmed to half their flames, and the surrounding light grew dark. Then, Ying Zhao saw a huge spider with a human face descending from above, spitting silk everywhere, making him feel a chill.

Facing such a boss, even without Flame Dragon, with Ying Zhao and these few people cooperating, it should still be possible to barely clear it.

However, Ying Zhao didn’t really intend to help them. One reason was that he didn’t want to face such a disgusting enemy, which made him feel a bit nauseous.

On the other hand, with his own man holding the fort, Ying Zhao thought it was time for this group to see what real strength looked like.

Thus, he pretended to cooperate with the male protagonist and He Yue to attack a few times. Although their attacks seemed to have increased in power, it was still difficult to take down the spider boss ahead.

Seeing the other three panting and exhausted, Ying Zhao crossed his arms and stepped back. He stood to the side, watching the situation unfold.

After a prolonged struggle, He Yue turned around and saw that Ying Zhao hadn’t come to help, so she angrily shouted, “Zhu Mengshi, why aren’t you coming to help quickly!”

Ying Zhao shook his head at her words, showing a troubled expression as he said to He Yue, “It’s not that I don’t want to help, but it’s obvious that with our strength, we can’t take it down.”

“What should we do then? Are we supposed to give up?” He Yue glared at Ying Zhao in dissatisfaction. She then glanced at Flame Dragon, who hadn’t done anything from the beginning, but didn’t dare to scold him.

She was secretly unhappy, thinking that she originally wanted to find two helpers, but unexpectedly, each one was more useless than the last, all just empty talk.

How could Ying Zhao not see what the female protagonist was thinking? He raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly at them, saying, “Of course, we can’t give up. We’ve already come this far. But if you really want to clear it, it’s best to stay out of the way to avoid getting hurt.”

After Ying Zhao finished speaking, He Yue walked over to the man in black and whispered a few words to him. She thought to herself, could it be that this person was finally going to take action? A bit of anticipation arose in her heart.

The three of them obediently stepped aside. Once the people in front cleared the area, Ying Zhao then looked at Flame Dragon with a smile.

He leaned over and quietly said in his ear, “Your Highness, it’s time for you to show your prowess!”

Seeing the shining admiration in Ying Zhao’s eyes, Flame Dragon felt quite pleased. He smirked and casually waved his hand.

The spider, which was still spinning webs on the cave ceiling, was instantly burned into a charred mass and then crashed heavily to the ground.

In just one hit, the spider boss was killed by Flame Dragon. Subsequently, the defeated boss slowly disappeared from the ground, transforming into a large treasure chest.

Ying Zhao unceremoniously walked over and opened the treasure chest. A burst of orange light flashed, and indeed, there was exquisite equipment inside.

He picked up the orange dagger and weighed it in his hand, thinking that perhaps it was because he and Flame Dragon joined the team that the rewards for clearing the dungeon had changed.

The weapon obtained was not the miraculous Moon Shadow Sword from the original plot, but rather a dagger he could use.

However, this suited his intentions perfectly, so Ying Zhao directly strapped the dagger to his waist.

There were still a few pieces of equipment left in the treasure chest. Although their quality was also good, they were not exquisite. Ying Zhao didn’t hold back and let them take the other rewards from the chest themselves.

Unexpectedly, when He Yue saw Ying Zhao take the exquisite orange dagger without reservation, she walked over unhappily and said to him, “Zhu Mengshi, how can you just take the exquisite weapon inside like that! The rewards we obtain should be distributed after we discuss it, right?”

He Yue stared intently at the dagger at Ying Zhao’s waist, knowing at a glance that its quality was extraordinary. Although she was just a healer, she could also use daggers as weapons, so she naturally wasn’t willing to simply hand it over to Ying Zhao.

Ying Zhao looked up at He Yue, tugged at the corners of his mouth, but ignored her.

After the boss was defeated, each person’s contribution index would be displayed, and the one in first place was naturally Flame Dragon, followed closely by himself. It was a well-known principle in this team that those who contributed more would get the larger share.