Chapter 139: Blood-Red Sky

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"Goodness, wipe that drool off your face!" Murong Shanshan teased, smiling as she looked at me. I quickly wiped the corner of my mouth—there wasn’t any drool, but I’d already fallen for this little rascal’s trick.

She stifled a laugh, then took the blanket into the farthest room. I followed her. This room faced the sun with a huge floor-to-ceiling window. A modest-sized bed was placed beneath it, and the curtains covering the window had already been drawn back by Murong Shanshan. A brilliant ray of sunlight flooded the room, bathing it in warmth.

“If we set up the equipment by the bed, wouldn’t it be great to lie there, basking in the sun while playing games?” Murong Shanshan began to envision the future.

I rubbed my chin and smiled. “Sounds good, but there’s a serious problem you might not have noticed.”

“What problem?” she asked, surprised.

I said seriously, “The bed’s too small for two people to sleep on…”

“Not enough?” She measured the space with her hands for a few seconds, then suddenly blushed prettily and glared at me, puffing her cheeks in anger. “Keep dreaming! If you come to live here, you’ll have to sleep by the door with a chain tied to the corner!”

“That’s cruel!” I exclaimed.

Murong Shanshan stuck out her tongue playfully. “You set up the equipment here. I’m going down to the vegetable market to buy some ingredients. I’ll cook a few of my specialties for lunch. Just so you know, not everyone gets the privilege of tasting my cooking.”

“Really? Then go ahead and shop!” I replied, full of anticipation.

...

Murong Shanshan grabbed some change from the cabinet and stepped lightly out the door. I began setting up the equipment. It was simple: just find the sockets and connect the power. Within a few minutes, I was done. I even hooked up the helmet and put it on to see if it worked.

To my disappointment, as soon as I put on the helmet, the system sprite appeared before my eyes, warning, “The account bound to this helmet does not match your identity. Unable to enter the game. Please exit immediately!”

As expected from what I’d read on the forums, while the game console could be swapped freely, the helmet was bound to the player’s identity. The iris scan and other verification systems easily recognized the game owner.

Taking off the helmet, I looked out at the view below. There were no buildings across the way, just a newly built park. Lying here on the bed to play games, Murong Shanshan wouldn’t be at risk of being spied on. Otherwise, I was certain someone would try to sneak photos of her—after all, a beauty with such bright eyes and flawless features was rare.

Just as boredom crept in, there was a knock at the door—

Only a few minutes had passed. Could Murong Shanshan have been so quick at shopping?

I eagerly ran to open the door, but the figure before me wasn’t the charming girl. Instead, it was a young man in a suit, looking very refined, with his shoes polished to a shine.

“Wh-who are you looking for?” I asked in surprise.

He looked equally surprised and hesitated before saying, “I’m looking for Murong Shanshan. Is she home?”

“Do you have business with her?” I asked, instinctively wary.

“Oh, I’m her neighbor. My brother and I are home for lunch today. I heard Shanshan is on holiday too, so I wanted to invite her over for a meal. We haven’t seen each other in almost half a year.”

My facial muscles twitched. Damn! Still no invitation for me—you better believe that was unforgivable!

“She went out to buy vegetables. She’ll eat lunch with me. Thanks for the invitation,” I said coldly.

The young man looked a bit surprised. “I see. We haven’t met before. May I ask who you are?”

“I’m Murong Shanshan’s friend—a very good friend!” I smiled, showing my teeth. I can only imagine how sleazy I must have looked then.

He was stunned for a moment, his face darkening, but he forced a smile. “I see. Well, please tell her when she returns. If she’s willing, you can both come over for lunch.”

Finally, I was remembered!

I smoothed my expression and said with a smile, “I don’t think that will be necessary. Thanks for your kindness.”

...

The young man left, and a few minutes later, Murong Shanshan returned.

“What’s with the sour face?” she immediately noticed my mood and laughed, putting down the groceries. “Did you just get a breakup text from the studio’s beauties?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not involved with them, so no breakups. There was a handsome guy earlier who invited you for lunch. Who is he?”

Murong Shanshan’s smile deepened. “Oh, so you’re jealous!”

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“Jealous? Of what?”

“Hmph, never mind then. Look what I bought—we’re having a feast for lunch!”

I looked closely. Four bags in total. One held several cleaned blackfish; another had a few pounds of beef and lamb. Looks like Murong Shanshan is stocking up for winter.

The last bag surprised me most: two bottles of low-alcohol red wine, and high-end stuff at that.

I asked in wonder, “Do you drink alone?”

She smiled, pursing her lips. “This is for you, so you have a reason to visit me more often!”

“Visit you often? What’s in it for me?”

“Cut it out! Don’t tell me you want to exploit me now that you’ve got money?”

“Good grief! Living in a place like this and you still call yourself poor?” I laughed.

Murong Shanshan shot me a displeased glance. “Compared to you, maybe. Come to the kitchen and help!”

I hurried over. The kitchen here was quite like Xulin’s. I took out the blackfish and washed it carefully, asking, “By the way, who was that young man who invited you to lunch? Didn’t Aunt Wang say her son and daughter-in-law were coming? How come that guy has a wife but still flirts with you?”

“That’s probably her second son,” Murong Shanshan said, throwing me a look. “If a man has a wife but still thinks about other girls, that’s too much. But you keep so many pretty girls in the studio—does that make it right?”

“I’m not keeping them!” I protested immediately.

“Good,” she said with a smile.

Then she lit the stove and started cooking. I finished washing the fish and helped with the rice.

Half an hour later, the meal was nearly ready. Murong Shanshan moved her chair and gestured for me to sit. She poured me some wine and said with a smile, “Drink a little to warm up. A man can quit smoking, but he absolutely must know how to drink. A man who doesn’t drink is missing something deep inside.”

I chuckled. “Don’t you like men who smoke? I heard smoking men have a particular scent that attracts women. I was thinking of buying some premium stuff to practice.”

“If you really start smoking, then don’t come into my room anymore,” Murong Shanshan shot me a glare. “Smoking is unhealthy.”

“Oh,” I said, suddenly recalling, “You once said smoking affects certain functions and is a no-go!”

Murong Shanshan blushed rare and handed me the wine glass. “Enough nonsense—drink up!”

I smiled, “Don’t blame me if things get wild after a few drinks!”

“Go ahead, and see if I can’t deal with you,” she said fiercely.

By the time we finished, it was past one in the afternoon. I hadn’t drunk much, but the wine was low in alcohol, so no chance for mischief.

After cleaning up, Murong Shanshan began ushering me out. She had to log in to farm red names, and my game helmet was at home, so I had to leave first.

Before I left, I reminded her, “Call me if you need anything!”

I felt uneasy leaving such a beautiful girl alone here, but I couldn’t bring myself to move in. Besides, I didn’t want to leave Xulin or the others.

...

Back at my place, Xulin and the others had finished lunch and were probably dragging Xuehan to level up. It was funny—mages and archers needed priests to do the killing for them.

Logging in, I checked my gear—all nearly worn out. Luckily, the Silver Moon Valley had a neutral faction that could repair equipment and sell some potions. It had become a temporary supply point for hundreds of red-name members of the Sword and Rose guild. I wondered if any trouble had occurred since yesterday.

Murong Shanshan was online and sent a message: “We’re at coordinates xxxxxx. Come on over!”

I fixed my gear and hurried over. From afar, I saw Murong Shanshan with a group—Young and Reckless and Never-Setting Sun were also there. There were about thirty people, enough to form a temporary party.

Young and Reckless approached, and I asked, “Nothing happened last night while Murong Shanshan and I were offline, right?”

“No big deal, but small troubles kept coming. I haven’t logged off yet. Now that you and Murong Shanshan are here, I can finally go to sleep…”

I was surprised. “What small trouble kept you from sleeping?”

Young and Reckless chuckled, “At the valley’s exit, we were harassed by hand mobs until 2 a.m. That wasn’t so bad. Then, the Berserkers learned that our red-name members were leveling here and brought over a thousand people to ambush us. We hid on Silver Moon Mountain overnight, so the losses weren’t too bad.”

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“What do you mean by ‘not too bad’?”

Young and Reckless shrugged helplessly. “You know the monsters on Silver Moon Mountain aren’t low level, and there are a lot of them. Fortunately, we had numbers, and our gear and levels were decent, so only a few dozen of us died. The Berserkers who chased us up the mountain suffered heavier losses. Eventually, they couldn’t hold on and had to retreat.”

“Did those who died get compensation?”

Young and Reckless smiled. “Not yet. We’re waiting for Murong Shanshan to arrive before deciding.”

“By the way, how many recruits has the guild gathered?”

“Already ten thousand. We’re very selective. Otherwise, we could fill twenty thousand in an hour.”

“Take it slow. The timing is perfect now. If you rush, you’ll end up with a lot of trash members that are hard to manage.”

Young and Reckless smiled sheepishly. At that moment, Murong Shanshan walked over. “Hey, start killing monsters and farming red names. Spread out so we kill more. Young and Reckless, Never-Setting Sun, there’s still a mage missing on your side, go over there!”

Young and Reckless chuckled softly, “See, they’re quick to send me away. I won’t bother you anymore!”

“Less talk, hurry up!” she snapped.

...

Everyone was chatting and laughing when the system suddenly sent two announcements—

System Notice: Congratulations to player “Blood Red” for founding the guild “Blood Sky.” The system rewards a level +1!

System Notice: Congratulations to player “Flirtatious Young Master” for founding the guild “Flirtatious World.” The system rewards a level +1!

...

Murong Shanshan looked at me in surprise. “Why didn’t I get that reward when I founded the guild?”

I shook my head. “No idea. Maybe the system defaults that the first guild we established has already attracted top-level players. Don’t feel bad—you already secured a huge advantage by founding the guild a day earlier and recruiting the highest-level players in Silver Moon City.”

No sooner had I spoken than Never-Setting Sun said in the guild chat, “Damn, the brothers in the city say there are people from Flirtatious World and Blood Sky recruiting at all four city gates. Those guys move fast!”

Murong Shanshan comforted me, “Let’s finish farming red names first. The city’s core members keep recruiting. Flirtatious World will definitely be our rival, but hopefully Blood Sky won’t side with them!”

Everyone laughed, surprised that even Murong Shanshan would say something like that...

Murong Shanshan and I formed a small party with Coco and two mages—an offensive group that leveled up quickly. On this large Silver Moon map, with current player levels, we could only hang out in the Silver Moon Forest at the mountain’s base. The monsters up the mountain were mostly above level 50—too tough for most.

We kept grinding until dinner. Young and Reckless and Never-Setting Sun’s names had turned green, while Murong Shanshan’s and mine, though slightly faded from red, were still not green due to all the killing.

Murong Shanshan sent Young and Reckless and Never-Setting Sun back to the city to recruit more. She and I ventured deeper into higher-level monster territory. Player presence thinned out; we easily left the Sword and Rose guild’s leveling parties behind. Good—that way, I wouldn’t have to see all those drooling pig-headed guys when they looked at Murong Shanshan.

When dinner time came, I asked, “I’m going to eat. What about you? Cooking or ordering in?”

Murong Shanshan smiled, “I’m not hungry for now—consider it dieting. I’ll go out for a late-night snack.”

“Your figure’s already great. Why diet? Don’t mess around. It’s dangerous to go out at night alone.”

A faint smile curved Murong Shanshan’s lips.

“Since you care so much, why not move in with me? That way, I can look after you.”

I felt awkward. Honestly, I wanted to, but I had no reason to move out. It wouldn’t be right for either Xinyu or Xuehan.

“Alright, you get offline and go eat something outside. Remember to lock the door.”

“Got it. Wait for me here when I log back in.”

“Okay!”

Watching Murong Shanshan’s figure fade from sight, I felt an unexpected reluctance.