ITOTIABSAM | Infinite Flow | 190
Xie Ye's hand didn't exert much force, but Gu Cong obediently stopped his movements.
In terms of posture, Xie Ye's head was pressed against the lower part of his abdomen, making it impossible for any romantic thoughts to arise. Instead, it felt as though even the coldest heart would soften like water.
When he was about to open his mouth and speak, Gu Cong, who had already adapted to playing various roles in different worlds, suddenly felt an urge, like a naughty child, to make Xie Ye change the way he addressed him and call him by his real name.
However, ultimately, the regulations of the Quick Transmigration Bureau prevented him from doing so. He didn't want to cause Xie Ye any more trouble. Gu Cong lowered his eyes and simply asked, "What do you want to hear?"
Xie Ye shook his head. Although he possessed memories from many deceased players, most of those memories were negative and chaotic. Even the fairy tales, which should have been the most innocent and beautiful, were distorted versions.
Fortunately, when it came to himself, Gu Cong was always patient.
He obediently followed the other's suggestion, taking off his coat and lying down in bed. Xie Ye closed his eyes, carefully listening to the sound of water coming from the bathroom, trying to divert his attention from the pull of the black mist.
He had once visited a dungeon related to a festival.
Stirred by distant thoughts, Xie Ye couldn't help but feel like one of those children in background stories eagerly anticipating gifts for no apparent reason.
But unlike those souls who could never be satisfied, his gift soon approached him.
The sound of water stopped, followed by the familiar footsteps. The bed on his left side sank slightly as someone sat down, using a warm towel to gently wipe his face.
Xie Ye opened his eyes and met Gu Cong's smiling gaze. "You're frowning, relax," he said.
With a happy family life and a childhood filled with happiness, in his original world, Gu Cong's parents were very open-minded. During his time working at the Quick Transmigration Bureau, he often read many "idle books" when he was bored.
Lifting his legs onto the bed, Gu Cong casually placed the towel on the low cabinet and sat comfortably against the headboard, making room for the young man to join him under the covers.
With closed eyes, Xie Ye felt content. Gu Cong's deep and magnetic voice, so close yet gentle yet commanding, dispersed most of the noisy murmurs, leaving him drowsy and immersed in the fading story.
The best room in the hotel, compared to the inn in "Nightmare Town," always had softer mattresses. Slowly, Xie Ye, who was initially two fists away from Gu Cong, moved closer and closer, eventually leaning into his embrace without even fluttering his eyelashes.
Surrounded by silence, Gu Cong's storytelling paused briefly but didn't stop. Instead, he adjusted his position, sinking down slightly to make the embrace more comfortable for Xie Ye.
In response to the movement, Xie Ye's forehead rested against Gu Cong's shoulder. Then, following his instincts, he snuggled closer, pressing against Gu Cong's chest.
The steady and powerful heartbeat reassured him. It was vibrant and lively, contrasting sharply with him. Unprotected, Xie Ye drifted into a deep sleep, but half an hour later, a hand lifted his shirt hem.
The warmth of the covers enveloped him, and his skin absorbed the same temperature.
Therefore, the small intrusion didn't wake up Xie Ye. The fingers, distinct in their articulation, lightly explored, seemingly probing and searching. Inadvertently, they encountered a patch of uneven scar tissue.
That should be the mark left by a stun gun.
Circular in shape, with the depth gradually decreasing from the center outwards, Gu Cong could even imagine how Xie Ye, in some unexpected circumstance, was struck at the side of his waist by it, and in the paralysis caused by the high-voltage current, walked unknowingly towards death.
There were many similar wounds.
Both he and the original owner, Jiang Chuan, were familiar with various weapons, which led Gu Cong to be able to discern clearly every lethal wound on Xie Ye's body. Uncontrollably, he repeatedly simulated the possible scenarios in his mind.
He thought that in "Nightmare Town," Xie Ye’s neck wrapped in bandages, which he had let him do voluntarily, was enough to make him feel both distressed and annoyed. Little did he know that for Xie Ye, that was just the tip of the iceberg.
Feeling an itch, perhaps, Xie Ye, half asleep and half awake, pressed down on his arm when Gu Cong almost pressed him against Xie Ye's back and embraced him entirely.
Being as accommodating as ever, Gu Cong stopped moving.
Feeling like he was holding a warm stove, when Xie Ye regained consciousness again, his limbs were all limp and weak, and his exposed ears were gently covered by someone's palm.
Rarely indulging in laziness for a while longer in bed, the black-haired Xie Ye opened his eyes, lifted his head, and looked upward, almost bumping into Gu Cong's smoothly contoured chin.
Gu Cong couldn't help but smile. "Morning."
Xie Ye followed suit, squinting his eyes playfully. "Morning."
Although the curtains in the room were not drawn, it still felt dim. He stepped into the bathroom wearing the disposable slippers provided by the hotel to freshen up. When he came out, he was surprised to find that the sky hadn't changed at all.
Out of habit, Xie Ye buttoned his shirt all the way to the top and asked, puzzled, "Did I sleep for a long time?"
Gu Cong, pausing for a moment while arranging the bedding, replied, "Yeah."
The passage of time in the transit station was constant and regular. In the absence of a connection to the real world, it served as the benchmark for players to reference dates.
Glancing discreetly at the decorative clock in the room, Xie Ye noticed that the shortest hand was pointed straight at twelve.
But there was no moon outside the window.
Memories of the "Eternal Rest" instance flooded Xie Ye's mind, and he pursed his lips, asking, "Is it already noon?"
Gu Cong nodded, then smiled, "It's nice, it’s the weather you like."
He had woken up early and took some time to browse the forums. In the photos shared by ordinary players, the inner city was bathed in bright sunlight, typical of late summer or early autumn, while the outer city was enveloped in thick fog, almost tangible, blocking out the light but not obstructing people or NPCs. It seemed to have intercepted only the light.
Furthermore, there were panicked posts from players who had just come out of the instance, mistakenly believing that the game had undergone a major update while they were racing against death.
Gu Cong's private chat channel was also packed to the brim.
After discarding his wristwatch, Xie Ye received a flood of concern and worry from Cheng Xiaorong and others. He reassured them of his safety and mentioned that no players intending to kill him had found their way to the base yet.
Seeing that Xie Ye was feeling a bit down, Gu Cong patted the bed, gesturing for Xie Ye to sit down. They sat shoulder to shoulder, and Gu Cong showed him each message one by one.
Despite already knowing the host's response, 0028 still reminded them, "Mission, plot."
The protagonist had yet to make an appearance, but the plot had completely gone off track. Even with the formidable skills of the Quick Transmigration Bureau, they couldn't maintain the stability of this small world.
The task that the host accepted before the transmigration was destined to fail.
Gu Cong was also well aware of this fact.
Calmly, he replied, "There is still a long way to go before the original ending."
Before the ending, he and Xie Ye still had time.
Completely ignoring the annoying game system, in the days that followed, Gu Cong never mentioned the instance again, nor did he bring up reality. Instead, he simply took Xie Ye around the outer city.
With the discreet guidance of 0028, they never encountered those players who had been consumed by the black mist, lost their sanity, and wandered aimlessly. Gu Cong found it difficult to sympathize with these individuals who were so eager to kill the boss and unwilling to retreat, after all, adults always have to pay for their choices.
Of course, under the black mist, the number of players retreating far outnumbered those staying behind. The entire outer city appeared deserted. Fortunately, this was originally a gathering place for NPCs. The environment without sunlight was most suitable for the survival of ghosts and monsters. Most shops remained open as usual, and NPCs became increasingly enthusiastic towards Xie Ye.
The only thing that made them curious was when Xie Ye would finally eat up the emergency rations that were following him around.
0028 chuckled, "Do you know? You seem like a piece of Tang monk meat now."
Every time he accompanied Xie Ye outside, they would be secretly scrutinized by ghosts and monsters. But due to Xie Ye's deterrence and the inherent danger of the host himself, none dared to openly discuss or even pounce on them.
Not far from the host, the black-haired Xie Ye was diligently making a cake.
The landlady, who could rotate her head 360 degrees, lent him the kitchen. As for Gu Cong, after wasting a dozen eggs and half a bag of flour in a row, his job naturally turned into handing over tools and assisting.
He never had much talent in cooking, but Xie Ye was quite skilled. Now, gradually taking shape under Xie Ye's hands, was an old-fashioned cake no larger than ten fingers combined.
With a base of pure white cream and slightly gaudy pink flowers resembling leaves...
The landlady, who appeared to be in her early thirties but had probably passed away quite some time ago, recognized the style. Gu Cong had only eaten cakes like this in his childhood.
But the one made by Xie Ye was somehow different from what he had tasted before.
Xie Ye's hands were skillful; the delicate pink cream roses he piped out were exquisite, each petal unique and lifelike, clustered together beautifully.
The landlady, who had nothing else to teach, idly moved her neck back and forth, chatting, "Today seems to be a festival for players. There will be fireworks."
"If you're interested, you can wait until evening when the fog disperses to have a look."
Carefully packing the cake into boxes, Xie Ye took off the apron with little yellow chicks printed on it and neatly folded it, then looked up.
Gu Cong responded in agreement, "Mid-Autumn Festival."
As if to stir up the players' fighting spirit, the system always seemed to cooperate with a special sense of ceremony during these holidays that easily evoked thoughts of reality, thoughts of family and friends.
Xie Ye knew about the Mid-Autumn Festival.
In the players' memories, it should be a day of reunion.
Jiang Chuan was also a player.
So, in the evening, Xie Ye deliberately set up a small round table in front of the window of the hotel's top floor room, with a small cake he made himself on it, two cups of fruit tea, and a few last-minute mooncakes.
Lacking a mold, although Xie Ye carved some patterns on them with a knife, at first glance, they still looked somewhat plain.
But Gu Cong felt that among the hundreds and thousands of worlds he had experienced, there were no mooncakes better than these.
As the players in the inner city, who had gradually become accustomed to the existence of the black mist, also discovered, the outer city, which had been under heavy clouds all day, unexpectedly cleared up perfectly on this day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, "waiting for the clouds to part and reveal the moonlight".
This immediately sparked a lively discussion on the forums.
【Is it the boss's weak period?】
【Is this the chance to complete the mission?】
【Chance? Haha, it might be a trap. Are they still not satisfied with the number of players stuck in the outer city?】
Pulling one hair triggers the movement of the whole body. Various speculations emerged endlessly. No one knew that this was just a gift from the boss they couldn't avoid, presented to those who he cared about.
Boom—
At exactly eight o'clock in the evening, the magnificent fireworks blossomed as usual, one after another, soaring into the sky, piercing through the darkness, and then dispersing brilliantly, falling like shooting stars.
Romantic, passionate.
...But they deliberately avoided the sky above Xie Ye's head.
Without a doubt, it was the game system playing tricks. Gu Cong immediately asked 0028 to change to the most expensive fireworks in the mall to try to remedy the situation, but before any action was taken, Xie Ye turned his head.
With clear eyes, Xie Ye clearly knew what the system had done, yet he didn't get upset or make a fuss. Instead, he looked earnestly into the amber eyes of Gu Cong, pursed his lips, and asked, "Would you be willing to stay with me forever here?”
Even without fireworks?
Even if... we never see the light of day again?
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