Working Records in a Weird World - 88

 

| WRIAWW | Lele, You Should Know What I Mean, Right? | 88

"The strength of this rule... That A-level just now was clearly a strength-type. He must have some trump cards up his sleeve. Surely he wouldn't just die immediately after being captured, right?"

Hearing Zhou Ke'er's words, the survivor in front stiffened.

After a long pause, he sighed slowly, "Sir 10th, he might have been fine originally, but now that you've said this, he's probably doomed."

Everyone in the Infinite Space knew that 10th had a notorious crow's mouth. This skill manifested in his uncanny ability to make bad predictions come true the moment he voiced them.

This was also why, despite Zhou Ke'er's wide circle of acquaintances, few genuinely wanted to team up with him in missions. For someone as talkative as him, his mouth often moved faster than his brain.

Zhou Ke'er didn’t appreciate this comment at all. "Hey hey, how many times do I have to say it? This skill isn’t called 'crow's mouth'—it's 'Misfortune Prophecy'! It randomly activates to predict a bad event in the near future, which then gets voiced through me. I don't have a crow's mouth!"

The survivor didn’t argue, simply nodding with a look that said, 'Sure, keep telling yourself that.'

This reaction nearly drove Zhou Ke'er mad.

Ever since a fellow survivor had spilled the beans about this on the forums after a mission together, Zhou Ke'er had been permanently branded with the nickname "Crow mouth." No matter how tirelessly he tried to explain, his efforts were largely in vain.

Only Zong Le offered sincere comfort: "This talent is actually amazing! You can predict the future! Can you make a prophecy for me?"

The moment these words left his mouth, the entire group was stunned.

First of all, whether Zhou Ke'er had a crow mouth or Misfortune Prophecy was still up for debate. Even if it was the latter, who in their right mind would actively ask someone to predict potential misfortunes?

Most importantly, they were currently in an S-level mission within the Ultimate Dungeon. If anything went wrong, death was a real possibility.

Even Zhou Ke'er himself was taken aback.

But he recovered quickly. Being thick-skinned, he immediately responded enthusiastically, "Sure, sure! Let me focus for a bit. Actually, my Misfortune Prophecy is a passive skill. I can’t activate it at will, and it doesn’t trigger on command. So I might not be able to come up with anything right away."

"That’s fine. Just look at me more often so you can make the prophecy as soon as possible."

After being a survivor for so many years, Zhou Ke'er could easily distinguish genuine kindness from pretense. That was precisely why he was especially delighted. "No problem, you can count on me!"

Meanwhile, Joshua watched coldly as the two chatted enthusiastically, The atmosphere was so good that other people had no reason to interrupt.

When talking to Zhou Ke'er, the black-haired young man wore a relaxed, cheerful smile, one he himself didn’t even realize he had. 

It was a stark contrast to the tense, guarded demeanor he’d shown during their two solo missions together, where he’d been as tightly strung as a drawn bow.

Even though he’d verbally claimed to have changed his attitude, and the number above his head reflected a breakthrough, the moment he learned of Joshua’s pursuit, he’d unconsciously begun keeping his distance again.

This was evident in the slight shift of his seat after returning and the fact that he no longer glanced Joshua’s way during his conversation

This subtle attitude wasn't even noticed by Zong Le himself, but Joshua saw everything clearly with his keen perception.

The silver-haired patriarch narrowed his ice-blue eyes.

Although his identity was firmly fixed as a "pursuer," it wasn't to distance his prey but to draw closer.

"Alright, now that the report cards have been distributed, parents can head to the activity room downstairs to find their children," the homeroom teacher announced, clapping her hands to conclude the first phase of the parent-teacher meeting.

Hearing this, the survivors stood up one after another.

The viscous black shadows on the windowsill receded like a tide, but the mediums present knew all too well that the weird domain hadn't lifted. The weird would never leave so easily.

Instead, it had shifted to a more covert method of surveillance. At the very least, those among them with slightly heightened medium sensitivity could feel the prickling sensation of being watched.

"What happened to that survivor who was dragged out earlier?"

The first thing Zong Le did upon leaving the classroom was look around, searching for any trace of the person.

Yet no matter how hard he scanned, the hallway remained empty.

"Who knows? They broke the rules of the weird domain, he's probably not in a good spot," Zhou Ke'er remarked casually.

He was still trying to recall the appearance of the child he had just glanced at briefly, but when he turned around, he saw a worried look on the face of the black-haired young man, and was a little surprised: "You're actually concerned for that survivor?"

Zong Le didn’t understand his astonishment. "Yeah. I mean, they're still our teammate, right? Isn’t it normal to worry?"

"Not normal."

To his surprise, Zhou Ke 'er shook his head. "This is a mid-level S-level mission, it's not easy by any means. Most survivors are lucky just to keep themselves alive. Who would have the time to worry about others? Or rather, no survivor would even think about it."

As they spoke, the other survivors had already hurried off, most wearing grave expressions. Some were lost in thought about their mission details, while others showed no concern whatsoever, their detachment and indifference was shown clearly.

This was something everyone had long grown accustomed to.

In all his years in the Infinite Space, Zhou Ke'er had never met someone like Zong Le.

Even the famously charitable 1st wouldn’t recklessly challenge the rules of an S-level weird domain.

"Parent of Zhou Lian, please come here!"

Just then, another call rang out.

Zhou Ke'er wasn’t sure if it was good or bad luck, but the child he’d randomly picked happened to be the class monitor of Grade 2-A, which meant he was frequently summoned to assist. The upside was that it helped him avoid some dangers, but the downside was missing the chance to fight alongside his new friend.

"I’ll head over now," Zhou Ke'er said hurriedly before leaving. "Ah Le, you're only a B-level. This mission’s too dangerous for you. If things get bad, just stick close to 1st. He might seem unapproachable, but he’s actually really easy to talk to. If you ask him for help, he won't likely refuse, especially since... well, he’s pursuing you."

He couldn’t resist teasing him a little more. "But don’t take everything a gay guy says at face value! 1st might be great, but gay men don’t have the best reputation in the Infinite Space. Be careful not to be tricked by some sweet words!"

Watching Zhou Ke’er's retreating figure, Zong Le fell deep into thought.

"Wait, that last thing you said before leaving... was that a misfortune prophecy?"

But there was no one left to answer that question.

This was the downside of passive abilities, sometimes even Zhou Ke'er himself wasn't aware he was making prophecies.

Seeing the situation, Zong Le didn't linger. He was about to follow the survivors to pick up Xiao Fu when he heard a familiar, gentle voice behind him.

"Lele."

Hearing this short yet intimate nickname, Zong Le broke out in goosebumps.

Sure enough, the silver-haired man was leaning casually against the classroom door, watching him with an amused smile. It was impossible to tell how long he'd been standing there.

With no lights around, the shadows of night draped over Joshua like a hazy black veil. The saintly aura he carried during the day was now hidden, replaced by an intensely aggressive and dangerous presence.

"You had more to say to me in the classroom earlier," Joshua stated confidently. "What was it?"

"Well, if I had to say, it's nothing much," Zong Le replied, running a hand through his hair.

After their earlier conversation, he already understood Joshua's feelings and knew the man wasn't joking. But the more certain he became, the more he hesitated about speaking up.

Because what he was about to say would be hurtful. And Zong Le, who always sought peace and avoided conflict, usually made sure to leave no room for misunderstanding in such matters.

Yet Joshua seemed to be able to see through people and saw through his hesitation at a glance.

"Go on, Lele. Hiding it would only upset me more."

"Um... well... what I want to say is that I don't like you."

Joshua: ?

No, he waited for so long, and the result was just like this? To say he was slightly annoyed would be an understatement.

Watching the silver-haired man chuckle, Zong Le frowned in confusion. "What's so funny? Are you happy that I rejected you?"

"No." Joshua shook his head with a curved smile. "Lele, confessions require clear rejection or acceptance. But I am only pursuing you, I don't need your permission. In other words, even if you explicitly reject me to my face, it won't affect my pursuit. Because I haven't confessed to you nor asked for your approval."

Seeing Zong Le's stunned expression, Joshua added mischievously, "Oh, and I know that after learning of my pursuit, you've been trying hard to distance yourself from me. You've probably even thought something extreme like 'I'll never speak to or approach him again.' But..."

"While I might be a 'bad guy' in your book, I'm also someone who might act on dangerous impulses at any moment. Someone dangerous like me needs constant supervision, or I can't help but do bad things. You understand what I mean, don't you, Lele?"

The man deliberately lowered his voice on that last sentence, the deep timbre vibrating through the night air like the lingering notes of a cello.

Combined with those glowing blue eyes that peered through the darkness like a predator beneath Arctic ice, Zong Le was left speechless by this rogue logic and inexplicably felt his ears grow hot.

Damn it, how could someone be so unreasonable?!

It's okay to be unreasonable, but he also said this kind of words that sounded ambiguous.

Fortunately, most people around had already left. Zong Le thought, otherwise his hard-earned reputation would be completely ruined.

"You..."

Just as he was about to speak, a cold mechanical voice suddenly interrupted.

Not just them, at that very moment, all survivors currently on missions or preparing for missions received this server-wide announcement.

[Completion rate of Guiyi City Southern District mission has reached the standard]

[The second ?-level mission of the ultimate dungeon has been activated]

[?-level mission: Central Court]

[This mission does not require the participation of all survivors, only one person needs to complete the mission to achieve the result of all survivors completing the mission]

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