ISWTDB Ch143

Chapter 143: The BOSS is always acting up (21, 22)

As for the Flame Dragon beside Ying Zhao, upon seeing Yin Jiuke and Xiao Bai, his mood was not very pleasant. He remembered hearing his precious praise these two men for their good looks just the night before.

Although he had just heard his beloved’s confession, which confirmed his beloved’s feelings, he still needed to maintain his guard. After all, his prince was so perfect that he would surely attract many envious glances.

Thinking of this, the Flame Dragon immediately tightened his embrace around Ying Zhao’s waist, casting a cold glance at Xiao Bai and Yin Jiuke, declaring his ownership to the two men across from him.

Ying Zhao had long been accustomed to his man’s childish behavior in this world, so he didn’t mind. Surprisingly, he noticed that Xiao Bai and Yin Jiuke seemed to be getting along quite well.

In this world, the male lead had always been indifferent toward the female lead, but unexpectedly, he seemed to have a much gentler aura when he was with Xiao Bai.

While Ying Zhao was thinking this, he greeted the two men across from him and discussed what they were going to do today.

After all, they were a team of six, and Xiao Bai’s account had not been created long ago. Although his equipment was quite decent, archers were essential for ranged output and a certain level of support during the season.

It would be best to equip him with higher-level gear and set in some high-quality gems. This would greatly enhance the entire team’s combat power.

Once they agreed, they decided to go out into the wilderness together to gather some good archer equipment.

However, Ying Zhao thought that since they were only making equipment for Xiao Bai, the four of them should be enough, so he didn’t notify He Yue and Wang Qi.

On one hand, Wang Qi didn’t live with them. Although teleportation was convenient, it wasn’t necessary for everyone to contribute together.

On the other hand, he had just seen He Yue’s devastated expression. Even with the female lead along, he wouldn’t be of any help and might even cause more trouble.

Just as they were preparing to set out, Ying Zhao opened his communicator and received a flurry of messages from headquarters. Many of them were even from supervisors and department managers.

Seeing the frantic tone of the department manager in the messages, Ying Zhao recalled the chaos that the Flame Dragon had caused in “Journey” last night. It was indeed the right choice to turn off his communicator and go to sleep; otherwise, he would have been dragged into overtime to analyze data.

Ying Zhao pursed his lips. Although he found it somewhat troublesome, since it was a mess created by the man, he still had to put on a show and find a reason to gloss over it.

In the virtual world of “Journey,” there were also technicians stationed in the game. Usually, the technical department would have people on duty to monitor and repair data at any time, which was much quicker than doing it from the outside.

As the designer of this game and the leader of the technical department, Ying Zhao naturally took on the responsibility for such a big issue.

When the department manager saw that Ying Zhao had finally opened his communicator and was in the game, he immediately issued orders to him. He instructed him to hurry to the internal control center of the game to investigate the serious situation that had caused the entire world to tremble.

Although it was just a voice call, Ying Zhao could imagine the other party’s commanding demeanor. Combining it with the original host’s memories, he recalled the gluttonous department manager and narrowed his eyes.

In Ying Zhao’s impression, the original host, Ying Zixi, as the main designer, was the most authoritative person in the “Journey” team. That so-called department manager dared to overlook the original host simply because of the original host’s introverted and reclusive personality.

It was said that this manager had taken more than half of the department rewards that should have gone to the original host, yet still showed no gratitude, even being arrogant because of his background.

Ying Zhao, who was well-versed in the plot details, noticed that this so-called department manager had an inseparable connection with the assistant who had betrayed the male lead and framed the original host, Ying Zixi.

However, now that Xiao Bai had entered the game and transformed into Bai Mangmang, it seemed that he would need to personally gather evidence.

Sure enough, without Xiao Bai, the automated system was not as convenient to use. However, seeing Xiao Bai happily roaming in the small world, Ying Zhao felt it was all worth it.

It was just unfortunate that he had matters to attend to at the moment, so he couldn’t accompany him right away to get archer equipment.

Thinking of this, Ying Zhao said apologetically to Xiao Bai, “Sorry, Xiao Bai, I have something going on over here and need to leave for a while. I’m afraid I won’t be back until later.”

Xiao Bai naturally didn’t mind at all. Seeing Ying Zhao fiddling with the communication device, he guessed it was likely something due to last night’s situation, and the headquarters of “Journey” needed him for something.

He smiled and waved his hand at Ying Zhao, saying, “No problem! I can sort out my equipment first and consider which set is better. I’ll also go explore the equipment map a bit.”

After saying that, noticing that Ying Zhao still seemed a bit worried, he grabbed the male lead’s arm and continued, “Don’t worry; I have Chenhui with me.”

Lu Chenhui felt extremely happy when Xiao Bai actively grabbed his arm, unconsciously curling the corners of his mouth and nodding at Ying Zhao.

Ying Zhao was stunned when he heard Xiao Bai call Chenhui, not expecting the male lead to actively tell Xiao Bai his name. Watching the two of them interact, they seemed to have a good relationship.

Moreover, why did it feel like the male lead looked at Xiao Bai with a hint of affection? Ying Zhao frowned, pondering as he observed their departing figures.

However, just as he turned to leave, he was suddenly stopped by the Flame Dragon grabbing his arm. The Flame Dragon, having heard their conversation, felt confused.

More importantly, how did he not know that his elf suddenly had something to do? Thus, he approached Ying Zhao with a grim expression and whispered in her ear, “Wangfei, where are you going?”

Ying Zhao twitched his lips at the way the Flame Dragon referred to him, knowing that he didn’t have the concept of reality and the virtual network.

He explained to him, “Your Highness, as you know, I come from another world. Something happened over there that I need to take care of.”

Flame Dragon noticed the helpless expression on Ying Zhao’s face, seeming to realize that the other party truly had to leave. He couldn’t help but feel nervous and asked, “Yingying, what exactly is going on? Will it have a bad impact on you?”

Ying Zhao thought for a moment. His body in this small world was still in the real world, and because of the importance of “The Journey” to the original owner, he still had to go to the headquarters for work during the day. Moreover, he also needed to eat normally.

So, at this point, it was clear that the real world had quite an impact on his body, and he nodded to Flame Dragon.

Of course, Ying Zhao didn’t plan to continue like this. He intended to take his time and eventually think of a way to live together with his beloved for a long time.

Seeing Ying Zhao nod, Flame Dragon tightened his grip on the other’s arm and insisted on going with Ying Zhao. In his impression, he was invincible in this world. Even if his beloved faced any tricky problems, having him around would be enough to solve them.

Ying Zhao, however, worried about his lover’s memory not being fully restored and didn’t want to give him such a big shock all at once. After all, what had happened last night had indeed frightened him a bit. He tried hard to convince Flame Dragon not to go.

Yet Flame Dragon remained unconvinced, always feeling that ever since he got together with his precious one, whenever this person left his sight, he felt a sense of unease deep down.

Looking at Flame Dragon’s furrowed brows, Ying Zhao had to repeatedly assure him that he would return as soon as possible. He also mentioned that the communicator would always be on, so they could contact each other anytime and anywhere, which barely calmed the man.

So, Ying Zhao soon activated the teleportation array and instantly arrived at the inspection headquarters in the game.

Since they were in the game “The Journey,” naturally, all the staff had to select the corresponding race and profession according to the settings to enter this place. Therefore, they were all still wearing the players’ costumes.

Ying Zhao pushed the door open and saw a table full of people who looked very serious on the surface but were dressed in various styles. They also had different racial characteristics, making it seem like they were at a masquerade ball.

He found it somewhat amusing and nodded at everyone with a smile. Sure enough, he saw a flash of admiration in their eyes.

Although they usually recognized that the original owner was quite good-looking, most of the time, Ying Zixi had his head down and an expressionless face.

However, at this moment, seeing him again, they couldn’t understand why, but they felt their team leader seemed different from before. Especially when he wore a confident smile, he became so charming.

Moreover, this was the first time they saw him take off his mask and greet them in the game.

It should be noted that in the past, the original owner had rarely spoken more than necessary, always completing his work before leaving.

Nevertheless, even so, all the staff present still held a lot of respect for the original owner. After all, his skills far exceeded theirs.

In such a circle, it was all about strength, so the original owner could navigate smoothly in the team.

Everyone genuinely admired Ying Zixi’s creativity in game design and his solid technical skills.

However, not all of those present were under the original owner. Since there had never been such a severe issue in “The Journey,” the department manager was also present today.

A dissatisfied voice arose, addressing Ying Zhao, “Why did you only arrive now? Don’t you know everyone has been here since last night, starting repairs and inspections? What kind of team leader are you?!”

Hearing this, Ying Zhao lifted his gaze and saw a fat, unattractive middle-aged beastman in front of him, which completely destroyed his initial impression of the beastmen as mighty and imposing.

This was just a guy who had no ability and only knew how to give orders. If it weren’t for being a relative of the shareholders, he would never have reached this position.

Ying Zhao disliked hearing irrelevant people pointing fingers at him, so he simply ignored the man and sat down in his own seat.

He opened the control system panel in front of him and began checking the data.

The department manager saw that Ying Zhao had actually ignored him, and his expression instantly turned exceptionally ugly. However, he also knew that the upcoming inspections mainly relied on this person’s technical skills, so he could only snort coldly and take a seat.

After opening the control panel, Ying Zhao’s fingers moved quickly like shadows, causing everyone present to gasp in admiration.

However, in reality, what Ying Zhao was doing was merely routine checks. He naturally knew what caused the abnormal situation in “The Journey” yesterday.

After confirming that there were indeed no other loopholes in the game, Ying Zhao said to everyone, “I have checked, and I can confirm that there are no issues in ‘The Journey’ right now.”

Before he could finish speaking, the department manager interrupted him, questioning, “Then what is the cause? Why did such an incident occur last night?”

Ying Zhao glanced at the department manager, not responding to him. He thought of the rival of Shengheng Group, the Canglin Group, which had always wanted to obtain the core technology of “The Journey,” and narrowed his eyes.

He casually typed two lines of code and sent them to the male lead Lu Chenhui’s assistant and the department manager.

The male lead’s assistant was always a commercial spy from the Canglin Group, and the department manager was colluding with him, being a greedy character.

Facing these two who originally had grievances against the original owner, Ying Zhao naturally did not want them to have it easy.

Ying Zhao knew that Lu Chenhui had always suspected there was an insider in the company, but he couldn’t determine who it was.

Since they hadn’t revealed their true colors yet, he didn’t mind helping the male lead a bit. At least, since they met, the other party’s performance had been quite good.

This was just the opportunity he needed to both conceal his beloved’s actions and give a warning to Shengheng Group.

Once everything was prepared, Ying Zhao continued to address the people below, “I detected two abnormal codes that may be related to last night’s incident.”

As he spoke, he pointed out a few individuals who were skilled in tracking. “The rest of you will conduct the investigation. Find out where these two codes originated from, and then we will handle it accordingly.”

Upon hearing Ying Zhao’s orders, everyone began to work in an orderly fashion.

Ying Zhao knew they would soon discover the connections between Lu Chenhui’s assistant and the department manager with the Canglin Group. As for other matters, he didn’t need to worry about them.

Once he finished his work, Ying Zhao completely ignored the department manager’s cold demeanor. He told others to send him what they found directly and then left.

This was his designated break time, and after completing his tasks, Ying Zhao didn’t plan to waste time with this group, especially since his man was waiting for him.

Meanwhile, Xiao Bai didn’t relax just because Ying Zhao couldn’t accompany him to gather equipment. After all, he still hoped to be of help in this season’s competition.

The thought of teaming up with his host and fighting side by side excited Xiao Bai.

Finally able to transform into human form, even if it was in a virtual world, Xiao Bai cherished this opportunity and wanted to fully experience life as a human.

Originally afraid that Ying Zhao would feel guilty for not being able to accompany him, he used the male lead as a shield. Lu Chenhui, on the side, cooperated with him, and Xiao Bai was grateful, thinking the other was just being polite.

He considered heading off to the wild to take on a quest and fight monsters by himself. However, he didn’t expect that this kind-hearted male lead would actually follow him to help.

Watching the man beside him, who was expressionless as he detailed the points to pay attention to in the next map they would tackle, Xiao Bai mentally labeled Lu Chenhui: not just a good person, but a warm-hearted one beneath a cold exterior.

The two of them—one a necromancer and the other an archer—had formidable attack power. Thus, dealing with lower-level monsters was a breeze for them.

However, Yin Jiuke clearly understood the importance of letting Xiao Bai practice using different equipment sets, and he merely assisted and coordinated with him from the side.

Yet, while watching the agile figure of the elf in front of him, the man frowned deeply.

Last night, Lu Chenhui had already sent the information about Bai Mangmang to his subordinates, asking them to find out who this person was in reality.

But the result was fruitless. They could find no information on Xiao Bai, as if this person had appeared out of thin air.

Lu Chenhui was unwilling to accept this. Since this was a game under his company, he decided to use his highest authority. He even brought in technical staff, requesting them to conduct a discreet investigation without alerting the game team.

However, the final investigation result was shocking: the technicians reported that the ID named Bai Mangmang was not a virtual image created by anyone externally. Instead, it appeared to be set up like an NPC established in the game itself.

Yet, within the original NPC settings of this game, there was no character named Bai Mangmang. Thus, the most absurd conclusion was that Bai Mangmang was either a bug generated by the game itself or a virtual image derived from a virus.

Upon learning this result, Lu Chenhui was extremely shocked. He hadn’t expected that the person he had developed feelings for was not even a human, but rather a string of data in the game. Moreover, this data wasn’t even normal.

Thinking of this, Lu Chenhui suddenly fell into a dilemma. However, his confusion was not about Xiao Bai’s identity, but rather about whether a string of data could develop feelings for him.

Facing this person in front of him, he was already clear about his own feelings. Regardless of whether the other was human or data, he wanted to possess him and hoped that the other would fall in love with him.

If the other were a person, he could use various approaches to pursue him. He believed his own qualities were quite impressive.

However, how does one pursue a string of data? This left Lu Chenhui momentarily lost.

The technicians expressed concern that Bai Mangmang might be a virus that could negatively impact “The Journey.” Thus, they inquired whether Lu Chenhui wanted to intervene and eliminate this data.

Hearing this, the male lead immediately snapped back to attention and quickly issued an order: no one was allowed to clean up or touch the code for Bai Mangmang.

Whether it was a virus or anything else, he simply wanted to protect him!

“Chenhui! Look, a new transformation!” Xiao Bai exclaimed excitedly, pulling Lu Chenhui back to reality.

He lifted his eyes to see the elf across from him, beaming as he waved a flowing cloud bow in front of him.

This bow didn’t have much combat power; it was just very visually appealing. Not only did it shine with colors, but the arrows shot from it also had special effects.

Equipment appearances could be transformed into different styles, but first, one had to have acquired the equipment at least once. The flowing cloud bow was considered a rare transformative weapon among bows, so it was no wonder that the person opposite was so happy.

Looking at Xiao Bai’s radiant smile, Lu Chenhui felt his heart soften, realizing that perhaps data wasn’t so bad after all.

At the very least, Xiao Bai existed in “The Journey,” didn’t he?

“The Journey” belonged to Shengheng Group, and Shengheng Group belonged to him. Therefore, this person naturally belonged to him!

However, thinking about the closeness between Xiao Bai and that person called the Dream Builder, the man’s heart felt a twinge of concern. He pondered over the relationship between Xiao Bai and the other person.

The male lead didn’t suspect any intimacy between them; otherwise, he wouldn’t be so calm. After all, it was evident that the Dream Builder and Long Yan were a couple.

Seeing Xiao Bai being affectionate with the other person, Lu Chenhui felt that their relationship was not simple and speculated whether Xiao Bai’s code was somehow related to this person.

He decided to have his subordinates immediately investigate all information related to the Dream Builder.

Finding information about Ying Zhao was, of course, much easier than finding information about Xiao Bai. Although Ying Zhao no longer had Xiao Bai, who would automatically pay attention to his surroundings, the system’s automated defenses were still in place.

Thus, almost at the same time that Lu Chenhui started investigating Ying Zhao’s identity, Ying Zhao received the news.

However, he didn’t mind; he tacitly accepted the male lead’s actions. After all, his disguise would eventually be revealed, so Lu Chenhui’s subordinates quickly returned all the data related to Ying Zhao.

When he discovered that the other party was actually the designer of “The Journey,” he was not overly surprised.

During their previous team missions, Lu Chenhui had already noticed that the Dream Builder was extraordinarily familiar with the game.

While he was at the top of the PK leaderboard and possessed top-tier skills, it was evident that Ying Zhao’s advantages lay not solely in his combat power and technique.

Rather, it was in his thorough understanding of the weaknesses of surrounding monsters and the terrain, enabling him to hit almost every attack with precision—something ordinary players could never achieve.

Initially, he thought that the Dream Builder might be one of their internal technicians for “The Journey.” However, he hadn’t expected that the other party was actually the chief designer, Ying Zixi.

So, did Xiao Bai’s existence have something to do with this person? Could it be that the reason Xiao Bai was so close to him was that he was Xiao Bai’s creator?

Then why had he created the virtual character Bai Mangmang? In that moment, Lu Chenhui’s mind was filled with swirling thoughts.

However, based on Ying Zhao’s everyday interactions with Xiao Bai, it seemed that he wouldn’t harm Xiao Bai.

But according to the investigation data, wasn’t Ying Zixi supposed to be a taciturn and gloomy person?

Author’s Note:

Hahaha, why is everyone being cautious around Xiao Bai? The heavens are crying in the toilet~~