QHM Chapter 79 – Part 1

In this world, Xu Yin’s ultimate mission was “to become the Empire’s eagle.”

When Xu Yin first saw the name of this mission, he complained to 018 about how the title was becoming increasingly childish and difficult to understand. He couldn’t grasp what it really meant. But when he turned forty and gracefully retired from the newly established Tenth Legion as a general, he finally earned the points for this ultimate mission, leaving him a bit speechless.

So that’s what it meant. The Ninth Legion, led by his Lao gong, was the “Empire’s Lion,” while their Tenth Legion was the “Empire’s Eagle.” He really should have figured it out sooner.

That year, Huo Lingqi joined the Xingyun Council and officially became one of the ten councilors. Meanwhile, Xu Yin entered the military’s mecha development department, where he began working on higher-performance, older mechas.

For the next twenty years, with him at the helm, the entire military department spearheaded several rounds of weapons updates, rapidly enhancing military strength at an astonishing pace.

…

Xu Yin thought this world would be the same as the previous ones.

In every world, his Lao gong was always the first to leave.

Xu Yin once pondered why this always happened. Eventually, the only conclusion he reached was that, as the tasker, his physical constitution was probably different from that of others.

Thus, in every world, he would eventually reach the day… when his Lao gong would quietly fall into a deep sleep, and he would have to stop everything.

Xu Yin waited and waited.

He couldn’t describe the emotions he felt each time he awaited that day.

Xu Yin knew that the end was also a beginning, and only by continually advancing and replacing worlds could he accumulate enough points to fix the bugs, bringing both his Lao gong and himself back to life.

But watching his lover grow older each day, with his once-straight back becoming more and more hunched, how could he describe that feeling?

Xu Yin could only quietly watch it all and bury the question deep in his heart.

…But this world was different.

Huo Lingqi began to fall ill, but every time he was hospitalized, as soon as he showed signs of recovery, he was eager to go home, like a child longing to be back in his familiar surroundings.

However, the aging of his body was irreversible.

The pain only grew more intense with each recurrence.

Huo Lingqi’s hospital visits became more frequent, but his desire to return home was so strong that even when wearing an oxygen mask, unable to speak properly, he still kept his eyes wide open, unwilling to fall asleep.

Xu Yin knew that his lover was trying to tell him he was still okay, that he could return home.

Xu Yin finally couldn’t hold back any longer.

Each time, he was reluctant to let his lover suffer. So, whenever his lover began to fall into a long sleep, Xu Yin would stop the world.

But Huo Lingqi would rather endure the torment of illness than sleep.

Xu Yin sat by the bed, holding his lover’s hand, and hoarsely asked him, “Lingqi, what are you really thinking?”

Huo Lingqi gazed at him for a long time, his expression complex.

For some reason, Xu Yin’s heart trembled, and he suddenly remembered a day from many, many years ago—

That day, Huo Lingqi had just proposed to him.

They ran onto the aircraft amidst the cheers of the entire Ninth Legion and returned to the Huo family. They then spent a very wonderful evening together.

When Xu Yin woke up the next morning, he found Huo Lingqi quietly staring at him.

With that same complicated look in his eyes.

In that instant, Xu Yin suddenly realized that, many years ago, on that night, when he had fallen asleep, something must have happened to his lover.

A certain premonition even began to form in his heart.

He whispered, “Lingqi… did you find out something?”

Huo Lingqi’s hand tightened slightly and grasped his hand in return.

Then, he let go of Xu Yin’s hand and slowly straightened each of Xu Yin’s fingers.

Unable to speak, he began to write on the palm of Xu Yin’s hand, letter by letter.

When that one sentence finally appeared in Xu Yin’s palm, Xu Yin’s eyes widened, and his vision instantly blurred.

Huo Lingqi had written: This time, I won’t leave you alone.

Xu Yin’s heart raced, and his tears overflowed from his eyes.

It had been a long time since he felt so helpless, and at that moment, he was completely lost, staring at his lover in a daze.

Huo Lingqi continued to quietly watch him, once again gripping his hand. But then, the machines began to blare loudly.

At the sound of the alarm, Huo Lingqi trembled slightly, his brow furrowing.

He slowly turned his head as if trying to look at the machines, hoping to stop the alarms. But just as doctors and nurses rushed in, Xu Yin choked out, “Xiao 018, stop it.”

Everything came to a sudden halt.

The scene froze.

Xu Yin lowered his head.

He kept tightly holding his lover’s hand, his forehead resting on the bed, his tears silently soaking into the sheets.

It was a long time before 018 cautiously spoke up, “…He might have… might have dreamt it.”

Yes.

It wasn’t a coincidence that his lover started dreaming of things from the past worlds.

Once it happened, it would continue to happen.

In this world, Xu Yin had only asked Huo Lingqi once if he had dreamt of him. That time, Huo Lingqi had looked confused, and his answer was, “No.”

Afterward, Xu Yin never asked again.

But now, it seemed that, in the end, Huo Lingqi had dreamed of him—just that night, in his sleep.

What Xu Yin never expected was that this time, Huo Lingqi hadn’t dreamed of their sweet times together, but of their aging…

But Xu Yin never wanted his lover to bear all of this.

He propped his forehead up with his hand, closed his eyes, and, with a nasal tone, said, “If he dreams of me in the next world, what will he dream about?”

018: “I don’t know… because this isn’t part of the world’s mission design, it happened naturally, so we don’t know…”

018 hesitated and said, “Xu Yin, you can only let things take their course.”

Let things take their course.

Xu Yin pulled at the corner of his lips.

Once, he had been happy and hopeful when his lover began to awaken memories.

But the awakening of those memories brought not only sweetness, but also sadness and sorrow…

If things were really going to continue like this, Xu Yin would rather his lover had never dreamed of him at all.

His lover didn’t need to know anything, not until everything was complete—

But Xu Yin was a tasker, bound by the mission, unable to escape. How could he even hope for his lover’s freedom?

This was the first time Xu Yin desperately wished to break free from this endless cycle, to return to a normal, real life with his lover.

After a long while, Xu Yin opened the task panel to check his points.

He had accumulated over 170,000 points.

It was the highest amount he had ever accumulated.

Xu Yin’s voice was hoarse as he said, “Use all 170,000 points to fix the bugs.”

018 was shocked. “Aren’t you going to leave some for yourself?”

If all 170,000 points were used up, there would only be a small remainder left. If Xu Yin focused on completing basic tasks every day in the next world, he could easily get by with the leftover points. But if something unexpected happened…

Xu Yin’s tone was firm. “Use it all.”

018 fell silent. After a long pause, he replied, “…Understood.”

He disappeared for a minute, and when he returned, he exclaimed, “The bug fix progress is at 95%!”

Xu Yin froze for a moment, then quickly straightened up and asked, “Did the fix speed up after passing the halfway mark?”

018, sounding just as incredulous, said, “Yes! At this rate, it seems like the next world will be fully repaired!”

Xu Yin’s voice was low as he asked, “You said before that once the remaining accumulated points reach 50,000, we can be revived, right?”

018 confirmed, “Yes!”

Xu Yin’s voice softened, “What about Lingqi?”

018 answered, “Right now, we can only confirm that he was brought into the mission with you. If everything goes as planned, once you have 50,000 points, both you and he will be revived!”

Xu Yin pressed his lips together, his heart quietly settling.

He nodded seriously.

018’s message bubble popped up, and although it was just text, it conveyed a tone of complexity.

018: “Xu Yin, it’s almost done.”

Xu Yin gazed at his lover and responded softly, “Mm.”

Everything was nearly finished.

He reached out and gently turned his lover’s face toward him.

Huo Lingqi’s eyes were still wide open, holding the same look of dissatisfaction from the moment he had glared at the machines.

Despite barely holding on, that stubborn yet adorable expression remained exactly the same as it had been when they were younger.

Xu Yin’s eyes were red as he smiled through his tears.

He lowered his head and gently kissed Huo Lingqi’s lips, then said to 018, “Let’s jump to the next world.”

Perhaps because he knew the end was near, this time, the mission world didn’t offer any rewards. After taking some time to calm himself, Xu Yin quietly transitioned to the final world.

As his vision shifted from darkness to a vibrant, colorful scene, he found himself lying in bed—his dorm bed.

For a moment, Xu Yin thought he had returned to his high school days. But when he heard the chatter coming from below, he propped himself up and looked down, seeing three roommates gathered together, playing games. The three desks beneath their beds were cluttered with laptops, empty instant noodle cups, books, and other items.

Seeing textbooks on finance, Xu Yin quickly realized that this time, he was likely a college student.

One of the roommates, who had been playing a game on his phone, noticed Xu Yin had woken up and, in the middle of his game, asked, “Xu Yin, you’re okay, right?”

Xu Yin rubbed his forehead and answered gently, “…I’m fine, just woke up.”

The roommate went back to his game. “Good, it’s no big deal, just a breakup, nothing to worry about!”

Another roommate chimed in, “Yeah, exactly. What’s the big deal?”

A third roommate added, “By the way, when did you even get a girlfriend? We didn’t even know!”

Then the third roommate received two playful taps on the head as the other two exchanged looks, signaling him to drop the subject.

The roommate shrunk back, cleared his throat, and turned back, saying, “So, since you’re awake, wanna join us for a game? We’re one person short!”

“No thanks,” Xu Yin responded nonchalantly. “You guys go ahead, I’ll use the restroom.”

The three roommates paused for a moment, then exchanged glances.

Was it just their imagination?

Why did Xu Yin suddenly seem… a little different from before?

Xu Yin didn’t pay attention to their reaction. He got out of bed, slipped on his slippers, and walked toward the restroom. On the way, he caught a glimpse of a headgear on the desk, left by the original host.

Inside the restroom, he splashed his face with a towel, then placed his hands on the sink. Closing his eyes, he recalled the memories he had just received.

As before, the original host’s name was Xu Yin, and his appearance was exactly the same as his own.

He was 20 years old this year, a sophomore.

Was it a coincidence?

Xu Yin suddenly remembered that before he officially started this series of quick-transmigration tasks, he was also 20 years old, a sophomore majoring in design…

The original host’s parents had passed away when he was very young. He was raised by his grandparents, but two years ago, both his grandparents passed away, leaving him with a sum of inheritance, making him completely alone.

Perhaps feeling a bit lost about the future, the original host spent a period of time immersed in the internet, unsure of what day it was.

He was very disheartened. Fortunately, he accidentally discovered a game live-streaming app called “Horror Chain.” After realizing he could earn money through streaming and make many friends online with whom he could chat and have fun, the original host slowly regained his spirits and found some direction in life.

Unfortunately, he met a streamer named “God of Chuuni.”

This streamer ranked in the top 20 on the “Horror Chain” app and was somewhat famous. He had a witty and humorous personality, always able to make people laugh.

—Before continuing, it must be mentioned that all live-streams on “Horror Chain” could be watched via computer or phone, but the game itself required the streamers to play in a holographic mode. The game avatars they used were all customized by the streamers themselves, and their voices were altered using voice changers.

However, even knowing that everything could be fake, it didn’t stop a large number of boys and girls from immersing themselves in it.

Seeing a handsome avatar, hearing a deep voice—regardless of whether it was real or not, as long as the streamer was slightly better at the game or more interesting in conversation, the viewers would flock to him. Not to mention that “God of Chuuni” deliberately made everyone laugh.

In any case, the original host had also become one of those who were obsessed with “God of Chuuni.”

He didn’t have much popularity with his own streams, nor did he make much money, but he spent a lot on “God of Chuuni.”

Later, “God of Chuuni” took the initiative to flirt and added him on WeChat, and the money the original host spent only increased…

The original host thought that he was probably in a relationship with “God of Chuuni.”

“God of Chuuni” would greet him with good mornings and good nights every day.

He would chat with him about some rather ambiguous things.

He would affectionately call him “idiot,” “fool,” and “baby.”