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nEditor: Sahloknir

nThe game ‘Descent of Chivalry’ remained highly popular. Even though it didn’t have as many players as it did in its first year, the overall player base remained constant.

nAnd today, to everyone’s surprise, the NPC tasks that had been missing so long from Myriad Flower Valley actually reappeared.

nPlayers excitedly converged on the location, only to discover that it wasn’t filled with a variety of weird NPC tasks like before. Instead, what greeted them was a series of difficult questions.

nA puzzle game.

nSolving one question would lead to another, and another, and another…

nThere seemed to always be another layer, like an endless series of Russian nesting dolls.

nWhen news of this spread, it drew another large wave of curious players.

nThey all wanted to know what kind of reward completing the last round of this task would be.

nEveryone put their heads together. Some players live streamed themselves going in and set up a discussion post in the forums as well. This way, everyone could quickly have access to new questions and help brainstorm potential answers.

nFinally, on the night where the developers scheduled a meteor shower event in-game, one player completed the task.

nHe got a stick of tanghulu as a reward.

nThe player, who suffered so many hardships and only managed to power through out of sheer anticipation: “…”

nTrash game, I hope all your servers shut down!

nThe forums also exploded, but few people were truly bothered. Most just laughed it off.

nNone of them knew what this stick of tanghulu meant, what it represented.

nThat night, the miserable player who got the tanghulu went to Myriad Flower Valley again to vent his frustrations at the game.

nOnly to discover that two people had beat him to the peak of the mountain situated in the Valley.

nA pair of very handsome and well-built men were leaning against each other, watching the meteors shoot through the sky above.

nYou couldn’t be a devil or a demon in this VR game. It was apparent that these two were bonafide men.

nThe straight player who just tragically received the tanghulu felt like he might go blind.

nIn the end, he logged out after cursing up a storm.

nLittle did he know, as soon as he uttered the first swear word, Gong Yu tensed from where he used to be quietly sitting and watching the meteor shower. He looked in that player’s direction.

nWith just one movement, the player would’ve been able to curse to his heart’s content in the Reincarnation Centre.

nYet before Gong Yu could make a move, Shi Qing already reached over and grasped his hand.

n“Don’t mind him. Just focus on watching the meteor shower.”

nImmediately mollified, Gong Yu smoothed down all his hackles and nodded obediently, turning back to look up at the game’s sky.

nBut as time passed by, his eyes drifted to the side and settled on Shi Qing again.

nShi Qing was already beautiful to begin with. At the moment, his slightly upturned face and the stars reflected in his eyes made him the most beautiful sight Gong Yu had ever seen.

nMeteors rained down across the sky.

nShi Qing watched the meteors, and Gong Yu, Shi Qing.

nA comfortable silence fell between them.

nAfter the meteor shower, the sky settled down once more.

nShi Qing turned his head in Gong Yu’s direction, his lips quirked as he asked a question he already knew the answer to. “Why were you looking at me instead of the meteor shower?”

nGong Yu’s ears flushed a delicate shade of red, but he didn’t avert his gaze like he would’ve before. Instead, he sincerely stated, “If you like meteor showers, I can hack into the system and have it show you one every night.”

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n“What I like isn’t the meteor shower.”

nShi Qing had grown accustomed to Gong Yu’s desire to bring him the world.

nHe smiled and nuzzled the other person’s shoulder slightly with a sigh.

n“I like being with you.”

n“I’m up for anything as long as we’re together.”

nHis close proximity made Gong Yu’s cheeks flush more.

nHe turned ever redder when he heard what Shi Qing was saying.

n“Me too.”

nHe mumbled timidly before trying his best to scoot closer to Shi Qing.

nThe two of them huddled together like two little animals.

nNighttime brought out a unique beauty in everything.

nShi Qing spoke, “Let’s visit the small worlds together once I finish taking care of things in real life.”

nIn order to save him, Gong Yu decided to use himself as a template. One by one, the small worlds were generated using his power and memories.

nThere was a rhyme and reason for everything.

nThe Main System he had caught also issued tasks, but those tasks took place in actual small worlds. The Hosts repaired these small worlds because the Main System told them to, and the merits gained from the repairs would go to the Main System.

nThen the Main System would divvy up the rewards accordingly to the Hosts.

nBack then, Gong Yu had three options.

nFirst, he could send Shi Qing to those real small worlds, and they would both be safe after Shi Qing completed the task.

nHe immediately discarded this option. Those little worlds were real, not stories with a predetermined plotline.

nHosts faced the very real danger of dying in this type of small world. And as the issuer of the task, the World’s Consciousness would not have let Gong Yu tag along.

nSecond, he could send other Hosts to the small worlds and use the accumulated merits to save Shi Qing.

nThis option wasn’t viable either because Shi Qing was on his deathbed. Who knew how long it would take for those other Hosts to complete their tasks?

nAnd finally, he could shatter himself into tiny fragments to use as templates, download vast quantities of novel settings from the major websites, and use his memories to construct small worlds.

nGong Yu considered the last option the flawless, obvious choice.

nThis way, Shi Qing wouldn’t be in any danger. He would be protected in the worlds of Gong Yu’s memories. Additionally, because these weren’t real small worlds, they could buy time in real life as well.

nAs long as Shi Qing agreed to do the tasks, even if he failed every single one, Gong Yu could forcibly mark them all as successfully repaired at the end as the issuer of the tasks.

nAnd after deceiving the World’s Consciousness, he would use the accumulated merits to save Shi Qing.

nHowever, he might be able to fool the World’s Consciousness in that scenario, but he wouldn’t be able to fool himself.

nAs an AI, Gong Yu’s memory bank and database were what made him, him. Even the slightest of errors would cause him to crash completely at the end of the small worlds.

nIn other words, he would probably disappear.

nStill, he was more than willing to risk that if it meant saving Shi Qing.

nShi Qing didn’t know how to feel once he learned of this.

nUnder the moonlight, he glanced to his side at Gong Yu, who couldn’t bear to even lean on his shoulder too much for fear of crushing him.

nHe once asked Gong Yu why he hadn’t told the System to tell him everything.

nIf Shi Qing had known that someone was risking their life to save his, he would’ve definitely devoted his full attention to the tasks instead of playing around.

nBut Gong Yu told him that his memory became fragmented after splitting himself into pieces.

nHe had to fully devote himself to maintaining the virtual small worlds in order to deceive everyone.

nBut his world was just too small.

nHis memories, his data, even his body was filled with nothing but Shi Qing.

nAnd unfortunately, the two of them were always enemies in those games they played.

nGong Yu couldn’t change his memories.

nAfter dividing himself into memory fragments, he couldn’t even control whether his fragments would hurt Shi Qing.

nHe could only try his best to let Shi Qing be a person of high status and put him at an advantage right at the start.

nHowever, even he didn’t know if he would still be attracted to Shi Qing without his memories or if the animosity value would decrease.

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nIf he really told Shi Qing everything, and Shi Qing failed to complete all the tasks…

nHe would be sad after waking up, right?

nGong Yu knew all too well the feeling of knowing you would never see your most important person ever again.

nHe didn’t want Shi Qing to ever experience that.

nThat was the rationale behind what he did.

nRemaining silent, he let the Shi Qing who had forgotten him do the tasks in peace.

nIf Gong Yu was still alive at the end, he would do everything in his power to find Shi Qing.

nAnd if Gong Yu were to perish at the end, Shi Qing would live on, never the wiser.

nShi Qing’s heart felt like it had been drenched in acid.

nAll he had done was given Gong Yu a stick of tanghulu back then.

nBut Gong Yu gave him everything in return, even risking his life to protect him.

nGong Yu knew he was taking a gamble.

nHe also knew that the first two options were obviously safer.

nHowever, he could never put Shi Qing’s safety on the line.

nEven if the only way to guarantee Shi Qing’s life would be saved was to sacrifice himself, Gong Yu would gladly pay that price.

nAfter learning of all this, Shi Qing only needed a moment to decide to visit those actual small worlds with Gong Yu.

n“We’ll find you a human body. Together.”

nHow could he bear to watch Gong Yu be trapped in this game forever? He had to get him out.

nAnd doing tasks in those small worlds was their best bet.

nNow that they didn’t need a template and with a System by their side, they could enter the small worlds together.

nGong Yu appeared hesitant. “But those small worlds are real. I can’t guarantee they’ll be free of danger.”

nShi Qing laughed and looked up, his characteristic flamboyance making itself known.

n“I’ve never been afraid of danger.”

n“Even if it is dangerous, I’m sure we’ll be fine. I’m good at a lot of things and you can access any and all data. And with the System as our golden finger, we can skedaddle if the going gets too rough.”

nGong Yu was moved.

nBut he was still afraid to take this step.

nShi Qing had a perfectly fine life here. Was it really okay for him to leave it all behind, venturing into foreign small worlds for Gong Yu’s sake?

n“It’s not like I have any family left. You’re the only one in my heart. I’m willing to go anywhere as long as we’re together.”

nShi Qing’s always been the domineering type, but every smooth word from his mouth was coated with honey when they were meant for Gong Yu.

nHe leaned on the man’s shoulder and gazed up at the starry sky.

n“I’ll use the rest of my life to make up for forgetting you.”

nAfter remembering how Hosts were practically immortal, Shi Qing corrected himself, “No, perhaps it’ll be every life to come.”

nGong Yu gradually relaxed. With bright eyes, he gazed trustingly at his lover and sincerely nodded.

n“Okay!”

n“Let’s make our preparations. We can take some items along according to the rules.”

nShi Qing’s mind quickly turned to the various types of weaponry in the real world, including machines like tanks.

nBut when he met Gong Yu’s bright and joy-filled eyes…

nSomething stirred within him.

nThe corners of his lips quirked up into a wicked smile. “There’s one more thing.”

nGong Yu was completely oblivious. “What—”

nShi Qing had already pounced on him and pinned him to the ground. He looked down at Gong Yu, gazing into his soft eyes.

n“I’m really curious about something. Since players can get married in-game, can AIs go one step further?”

nGong Yu’s face flushed completely.

nStill, he stammered a response to the mischievously smiling Shi Qing, “I c-can.”

nHe had all the memories from the small worlds, so he naturally knew what Shi Qing wanted.

nAlthough he was still embarrassed, Gong Yu tried his best to say, “I’m really strong. No worse than I was in the small worlds.”

nShi Qing lowered his head to meet Gong Yu’s eyes. He smiled.

n“Then let’s test it out.”

nOutside of Myriad Flower Valley, a player came to take a look around this location he’s heard so much about.

nHowever, he was repelled by a protective barrier before he could even get close.

n“Strange…another bug? Is there a virus in this Myriad Flower Valley or something??”

nHe left, very unhappy.

nTwo days later, the barrier disappeared.

nWhen the players went in again, they discovered that even the NPCs were absent this time. There were no tasks either. The whole place was completely empty, save for a dragon throne.

nAnd over in the real world, everyone was puzzled by the sudden disappearance from the public eye of that Shi family chairman after his miraculous recovery.

nAlmost no one ever saw him again.

nAlmost, because sometimes people would say they did see the chairman.

nBut everyone dismissed it. It was probably a person who just looked similar anyway.

nAfter all, have you ever heard of someone looking the exact same ten, twenty, even thirty years later?

nBut those who said they saw him all had very congruent stories.

nThey all mentioned how Shi Qing was still as young as ever, with a tall, well-built and very handsome young man by his side. The two were very intimate and seemed to be companions.

nAccording to the person who could pass for Shi Qing’s doppelganger, they came back to take a vacation.

nWere they really on vacation? Was this really the Shi family chairman?

nNo one knew for sure.

nHowever, they could definitely tell that the duo loved each other deeply. Every glance they shared was tender and sweet.

nPeipeipei.

nThat’s the unmistakably sour scent of love in the air, ah.

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nAuthor’s Corner

nI’ve found Buddha. All I did was change the tag to completed and the novel got locked again. It’s so frustrating. Why didn’t I update the summary earlier wuwuwuwu

nFinished!!!

nFor real this time!!!

nPlease rate this five out of five starts muamuamuamua

nNext up is ‘Cultivating in a Scientific World Transmigrating from ancient to modern times. There’s not many bookmarks and I haven’t decided on when to start yet, but it’s okay! I’ve found Buddha~

nCongratulations to me for completing my first sweet BL QT novel! I’m so, so happy!

nThanks for tagging along everyone. I really want to write an entire essay right now, but I don’t know what to say. I can only say that I love little Shi Qing and I’m happy that I was able to give him a perfect ending. Actually, he’s not all that concerned about living forever. He just wants someone by his side. He only gave up on life before because he forgot about Gong Yu. But now that he has Gong Yu, the two of them will happily go to various small worlds and playact to their heart’s content!

nAll comments made within 24 hours of this chapter going up will get red pockets

nGood night little angels~

nAnd finally, rate this five out of five stars! Ratings after completion are very important!! Thanks everyone~ *bows* (づ￣ ³￣)づ

nRain

nAaaaaand I already miss Shi Qing. QAQ

nHad a really hard time translating this extra because I didn’t want it to be over. Still, I’m glad everything ended on a positive note! May Shi Qing and Gong Yu live happily forever.

nPlease give a big thank you to Casey and Sahl for all their hard work! ♡

nSahl

nOh man, I miss Shi Qing too! This is the second Chinese novel I’ve completed editing and my second with the lovely SilverRain 💜. Huge thanks to Casey

/Xiao for her awesome co-editing. 💕

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