The outside world was indeed more dazzling and surreal. The streets exuded an air of grandeur, and both the sky and the buildings were a hazy gray, as if blending into one. Hovercars had become commonplace, making the entire scene feel like a gray stone jungle.
There were no super wristbands in stock. Luo Yan registered his name and then went to buy a VR headset. Different VR headsets were compatible with different games, so he bought one that was fully compatible.
When he paid, Wan Tong felt distressed for him. He wouldn’t even be able to afford noodles tomorrow. Thankfully, there were still some self-heating meal boxes at home.
On the way back, Luo Yan kept his eyes locked on the small figure on his optical computer, never looking away for even a second.
Wan Tong knew she had caused trouble, so she obediently crouched beside the little house icon, occasionally looking up at him with big, pitiful eyes.
Back in the slums, Luo Yan found a quiet place with plenty of obstacles and spoke in a low voice, “Wanwan, come out.”
Wan Tong had just retreated into the small house, but upon hearing his voice, she quickly emerged onto the screen. “Master~”
With a swipe of his finger, a few recent reports appeared.
[<Forest Elves> and <Wish Wand> Players Gather in the Slums!]
[<Wish Wand> Wish Ambassador’s Image Optimized!]
[<Wish Wand> Wish Ambassador Beloved by Players!]
The reports included dynamic videos of Wan Tong surrounded by countless players!
What shocked players the most was that the slum’s Wish Ambassador wasn’t just beautiful but had a particularly unique temperament. A female player named ‘Rui Rui’ had first thrown her a strawberry cake, then later a pearl necklace. However, the Wish Ambassador haughtily responded, “I hate you,” before vanishing.
Now, Rui Rui had even declared that she would camp out in the slums until she contracted this special Wish Ambassador!
In the captured game footage, Rui Rui had decent looks, but she paled in comparison to the “Wish Ambassador.” The ambassador’s sheer presence alone was enough to outshine her completely, leading players to praise Songyu Games’ designers for finally improving their aesthetics!
In short, despite her brief appearance in <Wish Wand>, Wan Tong’s image had already spread across the entire internet.
Although Luo Yan had already guessed what had happened, seeing the reports still felt surreal. At the same time, a sour feeling welled up inside him. So many people had seen her…
It felt like the whole world was coveting her.
This feeling was deeply unsettling.
Seeing that Luo Yan remained silent for a long time, Wan Tong hesitantly spoke.
“Master, I didn’t mean to cause trouble. I really don’t like Rui Rui—she rolled her eyes at you.” Rui Rui was that black long straight haired girl.
Because of her slightly petulant tone, Luo Yan’s heavy mood eased a little. He followed her lead and said, “I don’t like her either.”
Lowering his gaze, Luo Yan rubbed the VR headset in his hands and pointed to the <Dragon’s Source> icon. “Wanwan, come here.”
“Huh? But won’t I attract other players?” Wan Tong asked, a little worried.
“Don’t worry,” Luo Yan replied calmly.
<Dragon’s Source> had a similar game setting to <Forest Elves>, but with far fewer players.
Hearing his reassurance, Wan Tong nodded and entered <Dragon’s Source>.
Ancient towering trees blocked the sunlight, and an old pool in front of her shimmered with an eerie green glow, exuding a sense of mystery. Wisps of green light flickered over its surface.
Luo Yan slowed his breathing, put on the VR headset, and the moment he entered the game, he saw her.
She stood facing the green lake, her entire figure seemingly wrapped in a faint halo. The moment she turned around, she gave him a sweet smile.
“Master~”
Compared to the sound coming from his optical computer, hearing her voice in the immersive game world was even softer and sweeter, making it impossible not to smile along with her.
Unlike the flat imagery on his optical computer, the virtual version of her looked so real that one would never guess she was just a program.
Luo Yan subconsciously held his breath, afraid that he was dreaming. The system’s *beep beep* alerts snapped him back to reality.
[Detected a hatchable entity. Level: Unknown.]
Wanwan had been detected again.
“Wanwan, come out,” Luo Yan said calmly. “Players are gathering.”
“Okay.”
As soon as Wan Tong disappeared, Luo Yan exited the game, took off the VR headset, and swiftly left before the players arrived.
Soon after, a new update appeared, this time about <Dragon’s Source>.
When Luo Yan returned to the underground hideout, he found Hei Pang and the others there.
Hei Pang was holding a tiny, golden-haired figure in his palm, grinning as he chatted with it.
At the sound of footsteps, Hu Ming nudged Hei Pang. Li Zi and Xiao Nuo also straightened up, but all of them looked uneasy.
“Luo Yan, you’re back,” Hei Pang greeted him while subtly pulling down his sleeves to hide the super wristband on his wrist.
After getting a large sum of money last time, the four of them had split it and been living comfortably.
But they couldn’t let Luo Yan know about it. So, they had continued dressing sloppily and moving through the slums as if nothing had changed.
In reality, <Palm Pet> was mainly developed by Luo Yan. The four of them had only helped with testing. Back then, they had been obsessed with the game, so now that they had money, they naturally bought super wristbands and full-body sensory suits.
However, all this cost a lot. If Luo Yan saw them, he would surely suspect where their money came from. That was why they were so nervous.
But Luo Yan merely glanced at them. His gaze was cold, unfamiliar, and filled with deep-seated disdain.
“What are you doing here?”
“A’Yan, you’ve been acting strange lately. We were worried about you, so we came to talk.”
Luo Yan acted as if he hadn’t heard them and spoke to himself instead. “You just came to see if I was making a new game, didn’t you?”
The four of them instantly turned pale.
Last time, Lin Jielin’s behavior had been a little off, and she hadn’t appeared since. So… she had already known that Luo Yan had figured it out?
“Betrayal and deceit, once is enough.”
Luo Yan’s voice was slow, but each word pierced like a needle into their hearts.
At first, they hesitated too. After all, starting a company, making a game, and getting a license wasn’t easy. If they sold it to Lin Jielin, the money they earned would be enough for them to live a wealthy life.
But then Lin Jielin resold it to Sou Ben, and the game exploded globally. That’s when they started to panic, but only for a moment. Once they got their money, they were at ease.
Later, when Lin Jielin asked them to keep an eye on Lou Yan, they were tempted again. They knew his capabilities, if he could create <Palm Pet>, he could surely make even bigger hits, right?
Even through the screen, Wan Tong could feel the awkward tension in the air.
But before long, Hu Ming’s expression changed, and he spoke with mocking sarcasm.
“Lou Yan, sure, you developed the game, but the super dracelet and the full-body sensory suit were all our ideas. Do you really think you could’ve found a team to develop such high-tech gear all on your own?”
“So, you just sold <Palm Pet>? How much did Lin Jielin pay you?” Lou Yan didn’t seem angry, his expression was even a little nonchalant.
Hei Pang was about to speak, but Li Zi, his face dark, stopped him with a look, signaling him not to say anything reckless.
Who knew if Lou Yan was trying to bait them into revealing something?
“Lou Yan, with that attitude, are you saying you don’t want to be with us anymore?” Xiao Nuo narrowed his upturned eyes, his expression wary.
Lou Yan sat to the side, his long lashes casting a shadow as a hint of cold sharpness flickered in his gaze. “That’s funny. It was never me who wants to be with you guys, it’s always been you following me.”
“Heh.” Li Zi let out a cold laugh, his thin shoulders shaking slightly. “Since it’s come to this, let’s drop the act. Lou Yan, I’d love to see how you struggle to survive in this slum.”
Lou Yan didn’t look at them. His long fingers tapped lightly on the back of his optical computer, the corner of his lips curling into a bone-chilling smile.
This place was practically a playground now. Anyone who wanted to come in just waltzed right in.
As soon as they left the basement, Hei Pang eagerly opened <Palm Pet>. But the little figure projected from his Super Bracelet had turned gray!
“Ahhh!” His first reaction was to scream, completely dumbfounded.
The three young men beside him stared at the gray figure, their faces full of disbelief.
To build hype and encourage players to cherish their in-game characters, the game had a strict rule: each person could have only one account and one character for life. The only known way to ‘kill’ a character was for a player to physically abuse them while wearing the full-body sensory suit.
But Hei Pang hadn’t done anything!
“Shit, my CC is dead too!”
“My Yueyue!”
“My Muzi’s gone too.” Li Zi stared at the gray figure in his palm, gritting his teeth. “This has to be Lou Yan! He must’ve done something! He killed our babies!”
“I’m gonna make him pay!” Hei Pang, furious, was about to storm back inside.
Hu Ming kicked him. “Calm the hell down. Consider this a debt repaid, none of us will bring this up again.”
Hu Ming knew better than anyone how dangerous Lou Yan was. He wasn’t someone they could afford to provoke.
“But my baby…” Black Fatty was so angry he almost coughed up blood, his expression grief-stricken.
“Go to Lin Jielin. She can pull some strings for us.” Xiao Nuo suggested.
There had been a news report before. Some rich guy used the full-body sensory suit to do unspeakable things to his pet character, accidentally killing them. In the end, he paid a hefty price to Sou Ben to revive them.
They weren’t willing to spend that kind of money, but Lin Jielin had connections with Sou Ben. Asking her for a favor wasn’t unreasonable.
“Alright, let’s go find her!” Hei Pang said excitedly.
In the basement.
“…Master.”
A weak voice suddenly came from the optical computer.
The icy curve of Lou Yan’s lips instantly softened. He lowered his gaze to the screen.
Wan Tong bit her lip, hesitating several times before speaking.
But Lou Yan knew her too well. His lips curled slightly, a faint gentleness flickering in his eyes. “What trouble did you cause this time?”
Wan Tong couldn’t hold it in anymore. She spilled everything in a rush.
“Master, I really didn’t mean to! I just wanted to teach them a lesson, so I went into their <Palm Pet> program. Their pet characters were so annoying! They kept cursing at me and even tried to hit me, so I fought back… and then… and then they just… died.”
When she reached the last two words, she squatted down, looking conflicted, her voice turning pitiful.
“I thought they would respawn…”
She had assumed in-game deaths were reversible. So she took them all down one by one. But when she checked back later, they had turned gray, with a system message : [Deceased.]
Lou Yan : “……”
After a long pause, he finally comforted her, “It’s fine. They were just too weak. Wanwan did nothing wrong.”
Wan Tong: “……” She wasn’t comforted at all.