Shuangcheng coldly said: “It was a place your friend’s dad owns. You didn’t even give a heads-up, just dragged me there, didn’t want to pay, and told your friend you were short on cash so he covered for you. In the end, I paid.”
The God of Chuunibyou finally snapped, reaching out to grab Shuangcheng by the collar: “Where did he look unwilling?! And who asked you to pay?! We didn’t have to pay at all!”
Shuangcheng slapped a hand directly over the God of Chuunibyou’s face: “He couldn’t even force a smile — only a blind man would miss that. Are you a beggar? Can’t even pay for a meal yourself?”
A-Lian stood up with a grim face and walked away to sit elsewhere.
Bullet comments:
“So stingy.”
“Didn’t he always pretend to be some rich second-gen young master? And this is it??”
“His behavior is gross.”
“Seriously, how did Shuangcheng put up with him for five years? Were you doing charity work???”
“Shuangcheng, for what though?!”
The God of Chuunibyou let out a roar and lunged across the table to start a fight, but Shuangcheng slammed him face-first onto the table and beat him mercilessly. It was brutal — and in less than a minute, the God of Chuunibyou lay there like a dead fish, not moving at all.
After the beatdown, Shuangcheng exhaled deeply and sat back down.
After a moment of silence, she said calmly: “The most precious gift I’ve ever given was a fountain pen my grandma gave me when she was still alive.”
Bullet comments:
“Damn, Shuangcheng, you seem so smart — how did you end up with… that guy?”
“Better choose wisely when dating in the future…”
“Feeling bad for her.”
Xu Yin glanced at the God of Chuunibyou, who was lying limp on the table, and suddenly asked gently, “God of Chuunibyou, are you even a man?”
The God of Chuunibyou twitched, then jerked up in disbelief: “Aren’t you insulting me a little too much?!!”
Xu Yin smiled, eyes crinkling: “If you’re a man, then once this game is over, return what should be returned.”
The God of Chuunibyou froze.
Shuangcheng sat there unmoved. A-Lian kept her head lowered. The atmosphere grew a little stiff.
And the bullet comments started rolling:
“Yeah, give the gifts back.”
“If you’re a man, return them.”
“Don’t tell me you already threw them away.”
“Have some self-respect.”
The God of Chuunibyou’s face slowly turned red.
He gritted his teeth and said, “I’ll return them!”
Then sat down sullenly: “I’ll mail them back after this instance ends.”
……
The mood was awkward. A while later, A-Lian quietly gave her answer, finally wrapping up the question.
The third question was: “Would you still love the one you love, no matter if they were rich or poor?”
This question sounded almost like a wedding vow.
For a moment, Xu Yin was reminded of those previous worlds, of the time he and the man had gotten married.
He smiled, turned his head, and looked at Yan Shixiu with gentle eyes: “Yes.”
Simple. Firm.
A green circle lit up above his head.
Yan Shixiu gazed back at him, smiling lightly, and replied softly: “Yes.” Green circle.
A-Lian, the God of Chuunibyou, and Shuangcheng all fell silent.
Maybe because they knew their own facades had completely crumbled — a few seconds later, the God of Chuunibyou muttered under his breath: “No.”
At least he was honest this time. A green circle lit up.
A-Lian lowered her head and whispered: “…No.”
Also honest. Green circle.
Shuangcheng remained silent for a long time.
Xu Yin and Yan Shixiu looked at her.
She moved her lips and said: “…No.”
The red X lit up.
A-Lian and the God of Chuunibyou were both stunned, seemingly not understanding why she answered like that.
Even Shuangcheng’s face showed confusion.
Xu Yin thought for a moment and then said, “Shuangcheng, you don’t believe in true love anymore?”
This question sounded cheesy, but it seemed to be something that had been bothering Shuangcheng.
After five years of a relationship, to have it collapse so suddenly, and in such an ugly manner, it was natural to feel lost.
But…
Xu Yin spoke softly, “Don’t doubt life just because of a jerk. He’s not worth it.”
Shuangcheng: “…”
God of Chuunibyou: “…”
Bullet comments:
“I was still a bit sympathetic toward Shuangcheng, but after hearing Yin’s words, I couldn’t help but laugh!”
“Yin is right!”
“Don’t doubt love just because of a jerk. He doesn’t deserve it.”
“Look at Yin and Flower God, isn’t that love like something out of a fairy tale?”
After being speechless for a while, Shuangcheng couldn’t help but feel a little amused.
After carefully considering Xu Yin’s words, she nodded and said, “You’re right, he doesn’t deserve it.”
God of Chuunibyou: “…………”
No, no, no, can he request a rematch…?
Shuangcheng’s gaze grew firm: “Next time, I’ll keep my eyes open and see men for who they really are. If a jerk shows up, I’ll kick him out.”
God of Chuunibyou: “…………”
No, no, no, he’s not fighting anymore, thank you!
After a brief moment of heavy silence, the atmosphere lightened up again.
Shuangcheng, feeling lively, started talking to Xu Yin about all the little details she hadn’t noticed before, one by one, filled with regret, which made the God of Chuunibyou nearly explode in place.
He slammed the table and shouted: “Enough already?!”
At that moment, two beams of light shone on him and Shuangcheng, and at the same time, two doors lit up.
One was the kitchen door, the last unexplored area, and the other… was the door to Yangyang’s room!
The door to Yangyang’s room lit up again!
A-Lian gasped, covering her mouth.
— There’s a ghost in Yangyang’s room, and in the kitchen, there’s likely Yangyang!
Both rooms had ghosts, and this time, neither the God of Chuunibyou nor Shuangcheng could escape!
Before either Shuangcheng or the God of Chuunibyou could speak, Xu Yin said, “Shuangcheng, I suggest you go into Yangyang’s room.”
Shuangcheng was taken aback for a moment.
“Yangyang’s room wasn’t fully explored last time. You’d be more reliable going in there.”
The God of Chuunibyou immediately refuted: “Why? Last time, I was just startled by the sudden appearance of the ghost and didn’t react in time to escape! Now that I know there’s a ghost in there, and I’m prepared, I’m not that scared anymore! Besides, I already explored half of it! I’m more familiar with that room than Shuangcheng!”
Yan Shixiu suddenly squinted and said: “What are you nervous about?”
The God of Chuunibyou froze, then replied aggressively: “I’m not nervous at all!”
A-Lian shrank back into the corner, speaking timidly: “You… you’re very nervous… It’s fine to let Sister Shuangcheng go into Yangyang’s room.”
They’re already calling her “Sister Shuangcheng”!
Bullet comments:
“HAHA, the God of Chuunibyou really can’t handle it.”
“Calling her Sister Shuangcheng already??”
“Poor Chuunibyou, look at how the tables have turned…”
The God of Chuunibyou’s expression twisted in frustration!
Before he could say anything more, Shuangcheng immediately spun around and quickly ran to open Yangyang’s room. After she slipped inside, she slammed the door shut with a “bang!”
The God of Chuunibyou: “????”
He was so angry, he almost jumped!
Xu Yin casually said, “Go ahead, the kitchen’s waiting for you.”
The God of Chuunibyou glared at the door to Yangyang’s room for a moment, clenched his fists, and walked unsteadily toward the kitchen.
Before entering, Xu Yin called out to him: “If you meet Yangyang, make sure to catch him.”
The God of Chuunibyou suddenly turned around, a look of frustration on his face, clearly ready to lash out.
A-Lian spoke weakly: “You won’t even be able to catch Yangyang, right?”
The God of Chuunibyou: “Are you still my fan?! What happened to the aircraft carrier?!”
A-Lian quickly grabbed a glass of water and drank it quickly, as though she hadn’t heard anything.
The God of Chuunibyou: He’s about to lose his mind!!
He opened the door, walked in, and slammed it shut behind him!
Two minutes later, the God of Chuunibyou gloomily dragged out a little ghost. Just as Xu Yin had said, it was like a little chocolate person, all black, but you could still make out its facial features — it was definitely Yangyang.
The God of Chuunibyou threw Yangyang to the ground, glaring fiercely: “Here, take him!”
A-Lian screamed, then quickly shrank to Xu Yin’s side, while Yan Shixiu’s vigilant gaze swept back and forth.
Yan Shixiu’s face stiffened, and he pulled Xu Yin closer to him.
After Yangyang fell to the ground, he didn’t make a sound, shrinking into the corner, trembling in fear.
Seeing his state, Xu Yin and Yan Shixiu exchanged a glance.
At the same time, Shuangcheng walked out of Yangyang’s room.
As soon as she emerged, the God of Chuunibyou’s eyes locked onto her.
Shuangcheng was completely unharmed, and she was holding a thick notebook in her hands.
The notebook’s cover was pink, and A-Lian blurted out: “A journal?”
Shuangcheng glanced at Yangyang, who was in the corner, and tossed the notebook onto the dining table: “It’s Yangyang’s murder diary.”
Murder diary?
A-Lian’s face turned pale.
Shuangcheng sat down and said, “Dad is still in the room, but he’s not aggressive. He’s hiding in the wardrobe and hasn’t come out.”
Upon hearing this, the God of Chuunibyou’s expression stiffened. He was visibly nervous.
A-Lian was incredulous: “That’s impossible! When we went in earlier, he jumped out immediately, so aggressive!”
“You should take a look at the contents of this journal. It might give us some clues,” Shuangcheng said.
So they focused their attention on the journal, but only the God of Chuunibyou was distracted, his expression strange.
Yan Shixiu and Xu Yin glanced at him but remained unfazed.
Shuangcheng flipped open the journal and said, “You see, the whole journal is divided into three parts. The first part is a diary. It lists which days he ate what people or animals. This seems to be Yangyang’s own record. Later, he started writing about people who had gone missing in the neighborhood. But the people and animals he listed in the early part of the journal were never mentioned in his mother’s diaries.”
A-Lian looked closely, her face turning pale. “Did he eat those people and animals while in the orphanage?”
“Most likely,” Shuangcheng replied. “Here, he wrote: ‘Today I ate the orange cat that everyone in the orphanage liked. I’m sorry, Fatty, I really am sorry. I couldn’t resist, I was just too hungry.'”
Clearly, Yangyang had started eating people or animals even back in the orphanage. At that time, he ate more animals, and since there was a long gap between these incidents, it didn’t attract much attention.
“The second part,” Shuangcheng frowned, “Look at this. It’s full of newspaper clippings, and the news is all from three or four years ago. They’re all about missing persons or lost pet notices.”
But the events described in these clippings were very scattered.
It should be noted that the first part of the journal, which clearly belonged to Yangyang, started two years ago, right after the photo of Mother and Yangyang was taken. The people and animals Yangyang ate were all from the area around the orphanage.
But in the second part, the news stories were not only scattered, but they also took place far away from the orphanage, implying that these incidents weren’t committed by Yangyang.
“The third part is obviously the record of animals eaten after the father turned into a ghost,” Shuangcheng read aloud. “Yangyang wrote: ‘Dad can’t go out and eat people for now. We can only catch some small birds to feed Dad, at least until the police leave…'”
“Agh, this is such a mess,” A-Lian hugged her head. “Wait, but what about the second part? The first part is Yangyang’s own record, the third part is the father’s record, so the second part—”
“The second part is the mother’s record,” Xu Yin said, looking at the journal.
A-Lian froze.
Xu Yin thought for a moment, trying to piece everything together. “Three or four years ago, similar incidents started happening all over the city—people and animals were eaten, but people just assumed they were missing. Two years ago, Mother and Yangyang took that photo, and then Mother had a car accident, lost her memory, and began searching for Yangyang. Meanwhile, in the orphanage, Yangyang started eating people and animals. Two years later, the Mother found Yangyang and brought him home, and then Yangyang ate his father.”
“And then Dad ate Mom…” A-Lian instinctively finished the sentence.
“No,” Yan Shixiu’s voice was low as he corrected her.
A-Lian was once again confused.
“Mom wasn’t eaten by Dad,” Xu Yin sighed. “Mom was the first ghost.”
Bullet comments:
“Wait, I think I’m starting to get it…”
“Ah, the clues are so messy!”
“Could Yin explain it more clearly, please? qaq”
“Mom lost her memory, so she didn’t realize she was a ghost. That’s why she was confused about everything that happened in the neighborhood, which is why her diary looks like that,” Xu Yin continued.
Shuangcheng began to understand: “Wait, so the last person Mom ate was Yangyang?”
Xu Yin: “Yes.”
Shuangcheng slowly said, “Three or four years ago, when Mom started eating people and animals, when she ate Yangyang… she probably… got full? Gained enough energy? And then she split off into a ghost version of Yangyang? Of course, the ghosts we see are all dark shadows, but clearly, these ghosts can take on a normal appearance in front of others, which is also why Mom didn’t recognize that her husband had been replaced by a ghost.”
This could be understood as the game not wanting the player to spend too much energy in this area, so it simply presented the “ghost” identity through the “shadow” form.
“After the ghost of Yangyang was split off…” Shuangcheng paused, then continued, “The Mom probably stopped eating people after that.”
“Yes, at least there’s no clue in the game pointing to her continuing to eat. So, her appetite must have faded at that point,” Xu Yin nodded.
“Mom probably had the thought of adopting Yangyang at that time, which is why she took the photo with him. She probably wanted to adopt him because… she knew that her appetite had transferred to Yangyang?” A-Lian mumbled.
Shuangcheng frowned and kept analyzing: “Yangyang started eating people and animals until Mom found him and brought him back home.”
“By the way, should a new ghost still retain some of the memories of the person they ate? After all, the dad ghost still managed to live with Mom for a while after being split off,” Shuangcheng said. “Yangyang should be the same. When he was first split off, he probably had some faint memories, but he must have been confused about his existence, so he started investigating and collecting those news clippings from three or four years ago. At that time, he must have realized something was wrong with his mother.”
Of course, all these discoveries were meant to serve as clues for the players. For Yangyang, however, these discoveries couldn’t change his reality.
“After Yangyang ate his dad, he finally got full and split off from a dad ghost. His appetite stopped, and he lost his aggression, turning into the current form,” Yan Shixiu said indifferently.
Everyone looked again at the trembling Yangyang.
“Then the appetite transferred to the dad. But when we first investigated, the dad still had aggression, but now it’s gone…” A-Lian suddenly thought of something.
It means the appetite has already been transferred.
And a ghost only transfers its appetite after it eats enough and splits off a new ghost…
—However, just now, before she and the God of Chuuni entered, the dad ghost was still in a state of hunger, but now he’s already full.
Who did he eat during this process?
—Wait a second, when leaving Yangyang’s room earlier, the God of Chuuni was the last one to leave…
Instantly, goosebumps crawled up her spine.
A-Lian froze, suddenly screamed sharply, and jumped up, wanting to flee from the dining table.
The next second, the God of Chuuni, who had been silent throughout the discussion, suddenly lunged at Xu Yin, who was closest to him!
His face was a dark blue, his mouth showed fangs, and his face was covered with veins. This terrifying look sent a wave of “Holy crap” flooding the live chat!
Xu Yin and Yan Shixiu were prepared. Xu Yin kicked the God of Chuuni’s chin, flipping him over, and Yan Shixiu pulled Xu Yin behind him, directly kicking the God of Chuuni to the ground!
The God of Chuuni groaned, trying to get up. At the same time, his whole body was gradually turning black, turning into a dark chocolate color.
Bullet comments:
“Fvck, Fvck, Fvck! He’s turning black! He’s turning black!”
“He was eaten by the dad ghost in the first round! The dad ghost split him off, which stopped his appetite and made him lose his aggression!”
“Damn, he’s been lurking so sneakily all this time!!”
Shuangcheng directly stomped on the God of Chuuni’s face, incredulously saying, “You got taken out in the first round? Your combat ability is trash!”
The God of Chuuni let out some meaningless angry roars. He struggled desperately, and his angry eyes showed that he was conscious enough to hear what Shuangcheng said but couldn’t control his body. At this point, it was clear that the system had completely taken over his body control.
Looking back on the whole process, all the clues suddenly made sense.
After the Chuunibyou God came out of Yangyang’s room in the first round, his behavior was already a bit suspicious.
Later, he was very restless, and when he saw Yangyang’s room light up again, he panicked.
Actually, if he hadn’t caught Yangyang after going to the kitchen, maybe he could have briefly disrupted everyone’s thinking. But, he obediently brought Yangyang back.
—This was probably because he realized the room’s door could light up repeatedly. Once the kitchen door lit up again, and someone else went in, his lies would be easily exposed, and everything would end.
Of course, no matter what, now he was finished.
It was lucky that he endured up to this point—also, probably because he was a player, the system didn’t set him up as a weird new ghost, but kept his sanity and ability to speak, allowing him to participate in conversations and answer truth questions. Otherwise, the game wouldn’t have been playable.
“What should we do now?” A-Lian screamed.
Xu Yin calmly responded: “Mom split off Yangyang, Yangyang split off Dad. They’re actually the same ghost, just the difference between the main body and the split body. If we trace it back, the real ‘Yangyang’ can’t be traced at all, probably going back hundreds of years, thousands of years—”
Yan Shixiu slowly said, “But if the system really wants us to find a ‘Yangyang,’ it probably wants us to find the current aggressive ‘Yangyang,’ the latest split body.”
A-Lian: “So that’s the God of Chuuni?!”
At this moment, a line of subtitles appeared in the air.
“Such a tragedy cannot happen again. Please find Yangyang and kill him, ending everything.”
Immediately, all four pairs of eyes focused on the God of Chuuni.
At this moment, Chen Yu, who couldn’t control his body and could only let out meaningless roars, froze.
Shuangcheng twisted his wrist: “I can do this one.”
A-Lian quickly ran over: “I… I can too, let’s quickly finish this dungeon, waahhh!”
Xu Yin stretched his shoulder: “This is easy.”
Yan Shixiu rolled up his sleeves: “Mm.”
Chen Yu: “………”
The four of them crouched down, and the next second—
Chen Yu: “Waaahhh ahhhh ahhhh!!!!”
Subtitles appeared in the air.
“Congratulations on completing the level!”
“You are the first batch of players to clear this instance!”
At 7:30 PM, the “Horror Chain” forum exploded again, with replies on each post increasing rapidly.
“Did you guys watch the livestream of Yin and their team just now?? Holy crap, didn’t expect the ending to be like this!”
“The God of Chuuni got beaten up by the group! He really got beaten up, even his fan was beating him, haha!”
“Who will summarize how many scandals were revealed during the truth or dare session?”
“I don’t know how many scandals, but I know if the God of Chuuni dares to stick around, I’ll call him ruthless!”
“Yin and Flower God are so smart, strong in combat, high IQ, I’m so in love!!”
“This instance is really funny, Shuangcheng, God of Chuuni, and A-Lian are in that dramatic mess, while Yin and Flower God are there being all lovey-dovey, it’s too funny, hahaha!”
“I feel like the God of Chuuni has lost his super big sponsor, A-Lian…”
“Damn, did anyone notice that in just half an hour, the God of Chuuni lost 500,000 followers?!”
In the university dormitory, Chen Yu took off his helmet and threw it on the ground, angrily stomping on it, scaring his roommates.
His roommates stared at his enraged, almost mad appearance, hesitating: “Are you okay? Do you want us to call 120?”
Chen Yu was so angry he was about to cry: “What the hell! I’m finished! Just let me die already!!”
In a distant city, Shuangcheng took off her helmet, walked to the window, took a deep breath, and felt refreshed.
In another city, A-Lian took off her helmet, trembling as she picked up her phone and unfollowed the God of Chuuni.
Just at that moment, her mom rushed in, startling her!
Her mother angrily said, “Lian Lian, I just found out that 100,000 was transferred from my x-bank card. Did you do this? Are you doing this again? Did you donate money to some online streamer again?!”
A-Lian shrank back, then started crying loudly, “Mom, I’m sorry! I was wrong, I’ll never do this again. That streamer… he’s so pathetic, ugly, stingy, and cowardly, woo woo woo!”
Did her mom even care about her complaints about the online male streamer?!
Her mom walked over, grabbed her ear, and sternly said, “How old are you?! You’re only in sixth grade, how do you have these thoughts? You used to have a crush on a boy in your class, now you’re donating to male streamers and secretly transferring my money? Do you know what this is? It’s stealing! Only thieves do this! I’ve told you before, but you haven’t changed… stop crying! What’s there to cry about?? I think I need to give you a good lesson today so you can remember this!!”
The little girl’s face turned pale with fear, crying as if she were screaming in agony, “No, mom! Woo woo woo! Dad, help me!”
Meanwhile, in the hotel…
After taking off their helmets, Xu Yin stood up and stretched his neck and shoulders.
Taking a deep breath, he turned around, draped his arm around Yan Shixiu’s neck, and chuckled, “I earned some side money.”
The whole process wasn’t that difficult, and the ending was quite satisfying.
This event was definitely worth participating in.
“Mm,” Yan Shixiu smiled, holding Xu Yin’s waist. After a brief pause, he lowered his voice, “Yin Yin, it’s been over 500 years.”
Before they entered the game, neither of them expected to face such a problem.
At this moment, Xu Yin closed his eyes, recalling the past, and sighed softly, “Yeah…”
A moment later.
He opened his eyes, pinched Yan Shixiu’s face, and grinned, “Old monster.”
Yan Shixiu thought for a second, then said seriously, “You’re the little monster.”
Xu Yin: “………”
Yan Shixiu chuckled lightly.
Xu Yin didn’t expect this usually serious man to suddenly tease him. He was left speechless, looking at him with a silent yet amused expression.
Yan Shixiu gazed at Xu Yin with a gentle look in his eyes, “When we recover our memories and return to the real world, will this 500 years continue?”
“Of course not. Xiao 018 wouldn’t play the ‘forget when we return to the real world’ game with me,” Xu Yin squinted, walking over and sitting on Yan Shixiu’s lap. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against the man’s, his voice low and husky, “I want to see where I first get entangled with you, a blockhead.”
Their journey of over 500 years, where did it all begin?
