ISWTDB Ch145

Chapter 145: The BOSS is always acting up (24, 25)

However, seeing Ying Zhao’s puzzled gaze, Wang Qi had no choice but to force a smile.

Throughout the journey, Wang Qi remained very silent. Ying Zhao could tell that he was actually a simple person.

It was likely that in the original timeline, Wang Qi attacked Yin Jiuke with the guild members simply because he saw through He Yue’s manipulation of the original owner.

Angered that she was with Yin Jiuke, he wanted to help Ying Zixi, but instead, he ended up harming the original owner.

Given this, Ying Zhao could understand why the original owner never harbored any hatred towards Wang Qi and even had some feelings for him.

Unfortunately, even though he could see Wang Qi’s feelings for him, he couldn’t respond.

Because in any world, he would only love one person, and that was his lover.

So, it was a good thing to let Wang Qi discover his relationship with Flame Dragon; he just hoped Wang Qi wouldn’t fall too deeply.

With Ying Zhao, the creator intimately familiar with “Journey,” around, acquiring a desirable tank equipment was naturally not a difficult task.

After completing the equipment, Ying Zhao casually clicked to transfer items and sent Wang Qi a high-grade red gem that was very suitable for him.

After the transfer, Wang Qi was shocked to find that Ying Zhao had given him a gem that was perfect for his equipment.

These gems were quite valuable even when exchanged for real-world currency. He looked at Ying Zhao, a bit troubled, wanting him to take back such a gift.

But Ying Zhao just winked at him, glanced at He Yue, and quietly said, “Just accept it. As a frontline player in our team, you should have good equipment attributes. Besides, with Long Yan here, he has plenty of gems.”

Hearing this, Wang Qi opened his mouth but then saw Flame Dragon beside him and immediately felt deflated. He weakly nodded to Ying Zhao, thanking him.

Once Wang Qi’s equipment was taken care of, it was naturally time for the heroine He Yue’s turn. She seemed eager to get to the map where they could find the Phantom Boots.

Ying Zhao knew exactly what awaited them there. He recalled that after the original protagonist was kicked out of the guild for various reasons, several people had indeed taken over the guild.

However, he didn’t expect that there were traces of it all along. They had already been in contact with He Yue and had all fallen under the heroine’s charms.

To be fair, the heroine in this world was truly a social butterfly, flirting everywhere and blooming wherever she went. The original protagonist was also misled and used by her.

It was likely that even in the original timeline, while He Yue wasn’t the guild leader, she had still become the mastermind behind the Mengshi Guild.

It’s important to know that in this world where the game and real life were closely linked, being a guild leader could allow one to acquire substantial wealth through various means.

Very few like the original protagonist treated their guild as mere entertainment and didn’t charge any membership fees.

However, this was related to the original protagonist’s genuine love for this virtual world.

Moreover, he selflessly shared his game skills and strategies with others, which is why Ying Zixi had such a good reputation in the Mengshi Guild.

Thinking back, even though the original protagonist was introverted, he was a solid and capable person.

Ying Zhao suddenly felt that he truly deserved respect. He was professional, devoted in his affections, and pure in his conduct.

With this in mind, Ying Zhao looked down on He Yue even more, feeling that a woman who harmed the original protagonist didn’t deserve a good ending.

He Yue’s plan was to let those people attack Ying Zhao and Flame Dragon in the chaos after entering the secret realm.

They aimed to reduce their levels to zero, making them miss the opportunity to join the season and team up with Lu Chenhui.

Although the plan was well thought out, Ying Zhao truly found He Yue’s reason for seeking their help ridiculous.

Because He Yue actually told her flower protector that she wanted them to teach her a lesson for wanting to take advantage of her.

But these people didn’t consider the original settings of the game. Not to mention whether He Yue was truly charming enough to warrant such actions.

In any game, including “Journey,” a player could not be taken advantage of without their consent.

The game had protective mechanisms in place for players, so it was impossible for him to take advantage of the heroine. It was laughable that these people foolishly believed He Yue’s words.

So, could it be that people around them would lose their intelligence when facing a protagonist?

Ying Zhao thought boredly, soon realizing that they had arrived at their destination.

Looking at the excitement in the heroine’s eyes, Ying Zhao sarcastically curled his lips and calmly followed Flame Dragon behind He Yue.

This area of the map was unfamiliar to players who weren’t healer classes, except for the original protagonist, the designer.

This was because this map was specifically designed to produce healing class equipment.

Generally, it was relatively easy to clear in normal mode. Healers could solo it without needing to team up with others.

However, under death mode, this area was indeed difficult to clear. This was mainly due to the small monsters producing paralysis toxins, which could easily immobilize players, preventing them from using skills.

After all, no matter how strong one’s physical prowess was, if paralyzed by toxins and unable to execute moves, they could only comply with being hit.

In normal clearing mode, if a monster killed you, the equipment would drop and be sent directly back to the respawn point, but there wouldn’t be any level drops.

Unless death mode was chosen, in which case all levels would start over from scratch.

However, death mode had one advantage: the chance of equipment drops would significantly increase, and experience gains would multiply.

Ying Zhao and Lu Chenhui had high levels, but they were facing such a low-level map.

Even though those small monsters had paralysis skills, they were not worried about being killed by them.

After all, the attack power of the small monsters in this map was limited; at most, they would only slow them down a bit.

The drop rate for the Phantom Boots was very low, so when the heroine said she wanted to choose death mode, naturally no one would refuse.

This way, once they were hit by the monsters on the map, those ambushers could rush out and reduce Ying Zhao to level 0. He Yue could also claim that she had no prior knowledge and clean her hands of it.

In this way, all the equipment on Ying Zhao would drop, and he would return to the novice village, starting everything over from scratch. He would certainly miss the season.

Speaking of which, the original protagonist’s account had been top-tier since the start of “Journey.”

He Yue unexpectedly used such a method to retaliate against someone who had helped her so much, merely because she felt her so-called pride was hurt by Ying Zhao and Flame Dragon yesterday; it was truly laughable.

Thinking of this, Ying Zhao exchanged glances with Flame Dragon. This matter had already been discussed with his partner last night.

Flame Dragon had initially wanted to rush out and deal with He Yue but was stopped by Ying Zhao.

Seeing that his little spirit wanted to play, what could the older man do? He could only indulge her.

Sure enough, as they delved deeper into the map, they began to encounter those small monsters with paralysis skills. Wang Qi’s class was a tank, and his agility was very low, so he was hit the most.

The others were agile and dodged skillfully. Wang Qi discovered that only he and He Yue had been hit, and he felt quite frustrated.

Ying Zhao laughed and patted Wang Qi’s head, comforting him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the heroine’s expression growing increasingly anxious, as she kept fiddling with her communicator, her gaze flickering.

The deeper they went into the map, the more densely populated the monsters became. When they were nearing the BOSS, monsters began to swarm from all directions. This time, even the male protagonist, Lu Chenhui, and Xiao Bai occasionally got hit.

With the support of his fully gem-encrusted equipment, Ying Zhao’s agility had reached its maximum, and he could easily evade such a terrifying scene.

As for Flame Dragon, being the king of dragons, he was naturally unaffected by such toxins in this world.

However, to fit the unfolding plot, they still pretended to be affected by the paralysis toxins.

Seeing everyone’s movements starting to slow down, the heroine clearly felt her chance had come. Suddenly, she let out a sharp scream and fell to the ground, as if her center of gravity had shifted.

Then, after her scream ended, a few people suddenly rushed in from nearby.

Ying Zhao noticed that these people planning to ambush them were not affected by the paralysis toxins from the small monsters.

He spotted a person wearing a bracelet emitting green light, realizing it was a skill item with a temporary effect.

This allowed them to ignore all status effects for a short time, and teammates could also reduce the impact of nearby monsters’ status effects. No wonder they chose to ambush here.

Seeing the leader of the group swing a long knife toward Ying Zhao without hesitation, Flame Dragon couldn’t help but want to intervene, but Ying Zhao stopped him with a glance.

The heroine nearby noticed this, and a malicious smile crossed her lips, seemingly waiting quietly for Ying Zhao to be killed.

However, things clearly unfolded in a way that was completely unexpected for her.

At the moment the long knife touched Ying Zhao, he suddenly dodged and vanished without a trace.

Yet the knife had already been swung down and could not be halted, directly striking the heroine He Yue behind Ying Zhao.

Although the healer’s equipment was sturdier than an assassin’s, it could not withstand the full force of that blow.

In an instant, a flash of light appeared, and the heroine’s name turned red. Team prompt: teammate Yue Yingying has died.

Since He Yue had previously chosen death mode, she was sent back to the novice village, starting from level 0.

The healer’s equipment scattered all over the ground, and seeing the stunned expressions of those surrounding them, Ying Zhao reappeared.

A trace of sarcastic amusement crept onto his lips as he walked over and patted Flame Dragon on the shoulder.

Flame Dragon received Ying Zhao’s signal and stood up. He clenched his fists, staring at the ants daring to harm his lover, dark waves roiling in his eyes.

He walked in front of Ying Zhao, casually snapping his fingers. A blazing fire instantly surrounded those people, quickly turning them to ashes.

With the demise of these people, a series of white lights lit up around them, as those who ambushed them were all reduced to level 0 and sent back to the novice village, paying the price they deserved.

Facing such a result, Xiao Bai clearly had not yet realized what had happened.

However, Lu Chenhui beside him had his pupils suddenly constrict, for he could tell that the skill Flame Dragon had just used was definitely not the so-called fighting spirit of a human warrior.

The destructive power and attacking state of that move were not something ordinary weapon skills could achieve.

Only in the original settings of “Journey” would the strongest race, the dragon clan, possess such abilities.

Ying Zhao naturally knew that Lu Chenhui would take note, but clearly, the other party did not intend to speak immediately, maintaining silence.

After all, if Flame Dragon was truly his younger brother, and yet he didn’t recognize him, then it was very likely that the other party’s memories had not awakened.

As for the fact that Lu Chenhui had placed Lu Yan’s consciousness into “Journey,” very few people were aware, and he had his own concerns.

In the male protagonist’s impression, Ying Zixi should not know about this matter. Yet now, Flame Dragon was with him, and the two clearly appeared to be a couple, seemingly very close.

So could it be that by some accident, Ying Zixi had released Flame Dragon?

However, if Ying Zixi was unaware of the truth behind Flame Dragon, then to the other party, Flame Dragon would merely be a virtual character. Generally, people wouldn’t choose to fall in love with NPCs.

But reflecting on his feelings for Xiao Bai, even knowing Xiao Bai was just a string of data, he still loved him obsessively. He instantly became accepting of Ying Zhao being with Flame Dragon.

Nevertheless, the usually cautious male protagonist quickly ordered an investigation into Flame Dragon’s information.

After issuing the order, Lu Chenhui couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly, feeling that in the past few days, he had given more orders for investigations than he had in an entire year.

First, he discovered the identity of his beloved, then learned that the Dreambuilder was the chief designer of “Journey,” Ying Zixi.

Not long after, he received news that the issues occurring in “Journey” might be related to his assistance and the manager of the technology department. Following that, he even discovered problems with Flame Dragon.

At this rate, he was beginning to suspect whether he should investigate all the passerby NPCs around him to feel at ease.

With a helpless sigh, Lu Chenhui felt his head throb, a wave of fatigue washing over him.

Seeing this, Xiao Bai hurried over, lightly patting the male protagonist’s shoulder, saying to him, “If you’re feeling unwell, you can lean on me. Do you want me to support you?”

Even though those small monsters had paralysis skills, they were not worried about being hit and killed by them. 

After all, the attack power of the small monsters in this map was limited, and at most, they would just make their bodies a little sluggish.

The drop rate for the Phantom Boots was low, so when the female lead said she wanted to choose death mode, no one refused.

This way, when they were hit in the map, those who had ambushed them beforehand could rush out to reduce Ying Zhao’s level to zero. He Yue could also claim she was unaware of the prior arrangement, thus escaping cleanly.

In this way, all of Ying Zhao’s equipment would drop, returning him to the beginner village, starting everything over again. He would definitely miss the season.

Speaking of which, the original owner’s account had been top-tier since the start of “Journey.” 

He Yue actually used this method for revenge, intending to bring down the level of someone who had helped her so much.

All because she felt her so-called self-esteem was hurt by Ying Zhao and Flame Dragon yesterday; it was truly laughable.

Thinking of this, Ying Zhao exchanged glances with Flame Dragon. He had already discussed this matter with his partner last night.

Flame Dragon had originally wanted to rush out to take care of He Yue but was stopped by Ying Zhao.

Seeing his little sprite wanting to play, what could the old attacker do? He could only indulge her.

As expected, as they ventured deeper into the map, they began to encounter those small monsters with paralysis skills. Wang Qi’s class was a tank with a low agility stat, making him the most likely to be hit.

The others were quite nimble and dodged in time. Wang Qi noticed that only he and He Yue were hit, which made him feel quite frustrated.

Ying Zhao chuckled and patted Wang Qi on the head, soothing him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the female lead’s expression growing increasingly anxious as she fiddled with her communicator, her eyes flashing.

The further they ventured into the map, the denser the small monsters became. As they approached the boss, monsters surged from all sides. Even male lead Lu Chenhui and Xiao Bai could not avoid being hit occasionally.

Thanks to the full enhancement of his agility from top-level emerald inlays, Ying Zhao could completely evade even such a terrifying scene.

As for Flame Dragon, being the king of dragons, he naturally would not be affected by this kind of toxin in this world.

However, to fit the following plot, they still pretended to be affected by the paralysis toxin.

Seeing everyone’s movements begin to slow, the female lead clearly thought her opportunity had arrived. Suddenly, she let out a sharp scream, and then, as if her center of gravity was unstable, she fell to the ground.

Then, after her scream ended, a few people suddenly rushed over from not far away.

Ying Zhao discovered that these people who planned to ambush them were not affected by the paralysis toxin at all.

Noticing that one person was wearing a bracelet emitting green light, he understood that it was a skill with a brief duration.

This skill allowed them to ignore all statuses for a short time, and their teammates could also mitigate the effects of surrounding monsters. No wonder they chose to ambush here.

Seeing the leading person swing his long knife toward Ying Zhao without hesitation, Flame Dragon could not help but want to intervene but was stopped by a glance from Ying Zhao.

Not far away, the female lead witnessed this, a malicious smile flashing across her lips, seemingly waiting for Ying Zhao to be killed by the enemy.

However, it was obvious that the situation unfolded entirely contrary to her expectations.

At the moment the long knife touched Ying Zhao, he suddenly vanished without a trace.

The long knife was already swinging down and could not be stopped; it unexpectedly struck the female lead He Yue instead.

Although the healer’s equipment was sturdier than that of an assassin, it could not withstand a full-force blow.

In an instant, a flash of light appeared, and the female lead’s name turned red. The team prompted that teammate Yue Ying Ying had died.

Because He Yue had chosen death mode in advance, she was sent back to the beginner village, starting all over again.

The healer’s equipment scattered everywhere, and looking at the dumbfounded expressions of those who had besieged them, Ying Zhao reappeared.

A hint of sarcasm appeared at the corners of his mouth as he walked over and patted Flame Dragon on the shoulder.

Flame Dragon received Ying Zhao’s signal and stood up. He clenched his fists, looking at those ants daring to harm his beloved, his eyes swirling with dark tides.

He walked in front of Ying Zhao, casually snapping his fingers. A fierce fire instantly surrounded these people, quickly turning them all to ashes.

With the demise of these people, a burst of white light shone around them, and all those who ambushed them were immediately reduced to level zero, returning to the beginner village, paying the price they deserved.

In light of such a result, Xiao Bai obviously had not yet reacted to what had happened.

Meanwhile, Lu Chenhui’s pupils suddenly constricted, as he realized that the skill Flame Dragon had just used was definitely not the so-called fighting spirit of a human warrior.

The destructive power and attack status were absolutely not achievable with ordinary weapon skills.

Only in the original settings of “Journey” would the strongest race, the dragons, possess such abilities.

Ying Zhao naturally knew Lu Chenhui would notice this, but it was evident that he did not intend to speak up immediately, remaining silent.

After all, if Flame Dragon were truly his brother, he wouldn’t acknowledge him. It was very likely that the other party’s memories had not awakened.

The fact that Lu Chenhui placed Lu Yan’s consciousness into “Journey” was known only to a very few, and he also had certain considerations.

In the male lead’s impression, Ying Zixi should not know about this matter. However, now, Lu Yan was clearly with the other party, and the two seemed to be a couple, appearing very affectionate.

So, could it be that Ying Zixi accidentally released Lu Yan?

However, if Ying Zixi was unaware of Flame Dragon’s true identity, then to Lu Yan, the other party was merely a virtual character, Flame Dragon. Generally, people would not choose to fall in love with NPCs.

But thinking of his feelings for Xiao Bai, even knowing that Xiao Bai was just a string of data, he still loved him fiercely. Instantly, he came to terms with Ying Zhao and Flame Dragon being together.

However, the next step for the usually cautious male lead was to immediately start investigating information regarding Flame Dragon.

After giving the order, Lu Chenhui could not help but smile wryly to himself, feeling as if he had tasked his subordinates with more investigations in these few days than he had in the entire year.

First, he found out the identity of the person he loved, then he learned that the Dream Builder was the chief designer of “Journey,” Ying Zixi.

Not long after, he received news that the problems occurring within “Journey” might be related to his assistant and the manager of the technical department of “Journey.” Following that, he unexpectedly discovered issues concerning Flame Dragon.

If this continued, he would begin to suspect that he needed to investigate everyone around him, including all the bystanders, to feel at ease.

With a helpless sigh, Lu Chenhui felt his head throb slightly, and a wave of fatigue washed over him.

Seeing this, Xiao Bai hurriedly approached, gently patting Lu Chenhui on the shoulder, and said to him, “If you’re not feeling well, you can lean on me. Do you want me to support you?”