This bug is amazing!

Chapter 179 Reunion with Fallen Leaves and Misty Rain
Three kilometers away from an unusually tall cherry blossom tree.

A boy who looks about sixteen or seventeen years old is talking to a little girl.

Looking at his ID, "How many floors does it take to carry a bag of rice?", Ye Luo realized that he perfectly matched the persona in both his demeanor and his speech.

"You said you're looking for Ji Yi? I know him! What do you want with him? Is there some lingering emotional debt he owes you? Oh, sorry, you don't look like it, or did he do something to you?"

Ye Luo talked on and on, much like a lively and cheerful young man. Of course, if you only look at his appearance, he is indeed a very energetic young man.

Misaki was clutching her forehead, her mind trembling and shaking uncontrollably, as if the overwhelming resentment was distorting her vision.

Since arriving in the Forbidden Zone of Strange Tales, her strength has actually risen to the top of the S+ level, and she even has a faint feeling of breaking through to the next level.

But along with the power came a strange consciousness that seemed to be invading the mind.

It was less a consciousness and more a primal impulse that seemed to have robbed her of her ability to reason.

This is what makes the forbidden zone of ghost stories so terrifying. As strength increases, so does the price. The stronger the ghost story becomes, the greater the impact it will suffer.

I'm here to see him.

As Misaki spoke, the image of her face seemed to twitch intermittently, as if malfunctioning.

"What did I come to see Ji Yi for?"

Seeing this, Ye Luo gently coaxed, "Have you forgotten? You just called him 'big brother'. It's okay, think about it slowly. Do you remember what Ji Yi looks like? Do you still have any memories of him?"

Seeing Misaki's face gradually turn to pain, Ye Luo remained completely calm:
"Trust me, I'm here to help you. Relax."

His expression gradually matured, as there seemed to be no need for him to pretend anymore.

"Misaki-chan, you must be from outside, so it's normal that you can't adapt to the environment here right away. How about this?"

Ye Luo stretched out a hand: "Give me some of that resentment that's making you feel uncomfortable, and you'll feel better."

Maeda Misaki shook her head: "No, you won't be able to stand it either."

Ye Luo's lips curled into a slight smile: "Don't worry, I can do it. Although I'm happy to help others, I won't risk my life."

At this point, Ye Luo glanced at one of his skills.

【Name: Self-deception】

[Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, Permanently Mastered]

[Effect: Consumes spiritual energy. You can deceive yourself about your current state to gain buffs, remove debuffs, restore health, etc. The more you believe it, the stronger the effect.]

[Learning Requirements: Trickster]

[Note: I remember that Chicken Leg Immortal Venerable had a gentle, kind, cute, arrogant, sharp-tongued, big-breasted girlfriend who was devoted to him.]

Ye Luo wasn't too worried about the negative effects of resentment. The [Self-Deception] skill had a characteristic: the more he didn't understand something, the easier it was for him to deceive himself.

For example, it is extremely difficult to self-hypnotize in cases of disability such as amputation, while the abstract concept of "revenge backlash" is easier to overcome.

Thinking of this, Ye Luo continued to patiently guide him:

"Come on, let me take some of your resentment, and you'll feel better. Once you're not upset anymore, tell me about Brother Ji Yi. I really want to hear about you two."

He gave a harmless smile and stretched out his hands.

Misaki hesitated for a moment, feeling increasingly confused. It seemed that the more she tried to recall or think, the more intense the uncomfortable feeling would become.

Just now.

boom!
With a buzzing sound, a figure flashed by and rushed towards Ye Luo.

"what!"

Before Ye Luo could react, the person hoisted him onto their shoulder and quickly fled from Maeda Misaki.

"Broken ribs. My ribs are broken."

He shouted weakly.

When he looked closely at the person carrying him, he was shocked to realize that it was none other than Ji Yi!
"What kind of time is this to worry about ribs? You almost died, do you know that?! I saved you from an S+ level ghost story, can't you have a little gratitude?"

Ji Yi, looking annoyed, picked up Ye Luo and rushed off into the distance.

Almost as soon as the words were spoken, the two people sitting on the ground under the black cherry blossom tree suddenly became four.

Ye Luo composed herself and looked at the three players on the field.

At this moment, he was playing the role of "carrying a bag of rice up several floors," and said in a feignedly cheerful tone, "Wow, you guys are still in the mood for camping in this dungeon?"

Ji Yi raised her hand and punched Ye Luo in the chest, causing him to howl in pain.

"How about it? I saved you from death, shouldn't you thank me?"

He gave a smug and licentious smile, and even raised an eyebrow.

'Tch, you idiot.'

Ye Luo cursed inwardly.

That's an S+ level ghost story, how could anyone outrun it? It was clearly Misaki's unintentional attack, otherwise the two of them would have been crushed to dust the moment they started running.

However, he couldn't say such things now, so he could only express his gratitude with a bitter expression, "Thank you, Brother Ji, but could you be a little gentler next time? By the way..."

Ye Luo changed the subject and took the initiative to gather intelligence.

"What was that move you just made? How were you running so fast?!"

Ji Yi knew that Ye Luo's test had begun. The content of Ye Luo's conversation with Misaki was unknown, but if Ji Yi was mentioned, then Ye Luo must have some suspicions about Ji Yi. Moreover, the amazing strength that Ji Yi had shown was somewhat different from his previous impression.

However, Ji Yi had no intention of hiding this ability.

It's no secret that he once escaped from Brother Jiao's sniping using only his physical speed.

Ji Yi smiled slightly and patted Ye Luo's head:
"Impressive, right? This move of mine, 'Wild Boar Charge,' was taught to me by Luo Shen! Do you know Luo Shen? He's a hugely popular bodybuilding influencer!"

As she spoke, Ji Yi took out a bag of rice and an ice cream that appeared out of nowhere.

"Let me show you some other skills I learned from Luo Shen. Watch closely."

"This is raw rice mixed with charcoal."

He grabbed a handful of rice and stuffed it into his mouth.

"This is ice cream preparing for the competition."

He swallowed the ice cream in one gulp.

Then, Ji Yi rolled up his sleeve, showing off his arm with dozens of bulging veins: "Cool, right?"

"Handsome." Ye Luo nodded. "Besides being handsome, does it have any other uses?"

"Hey! As long as he's handsome enough, who cares about any other function?"

Leaf Fall: "."

Is this what it means to be a gigolo? Is this the self-cultivation of a gigolo?
"By the way, I've been wanting to ask this for a while now."

Ye Luoyanyu pointed to Ji Yi's purplish-red left forearm: "What's wrong with this arm?"

Ji Yi waved her hand: "Sigh! It's upsetting to talk about this. Let Brother Mang and Brother Pang tell you about it."

As she spoke, Ji Yi said to the two women in panties with a fawning expression:
“If it weren’t for the two big shots being alert, we would have almost lost another teammate. Come on, which big shot can tell Brother ‘A Bag of Rice’ about the dungeon information? I’m afraid I’ll say something wrong.”

Panties waved her hand, looking helpless, and said, "Alright, stop fooling around, go downstairs."

Then, he began to describe the script he had previously fabricated in a pretentious manner.

Ji Yi didn't tell the two of Ye Luoyanyu's identity directly, so they would naturally act out whatever came up, whether they encountered the "Russian Big Beta" or the "how many floors a bag of rice has to be carried up."

Panties became the main character in the haunted building storyline, while Ji Yi became a minor character. The number one loser encountered danger in the game and used the logout button, while Ji Yi almost lost her life due to being contaminated by her reckless actions.

Next was the information about the dungeon. The entire narrative was half true and half false, but the explanations of the forbidden areas were all true. Ye Luo was clearly attracted by the latter half and ignored some vague details in the first half.

His facial expressions were almost perfectly controlled, without a trace of acting. Unfortunately, what's fake is fake; his body, his name, and all the expressions he showed were fake.

Judging from Ye Luo's reaction, he should know the origin of the Forbidden Zone of Strange Tales. No, it can be asserted that Ye Luo is the culprit behind the creation of the Forbidden Zone of Strange Tales. Although the current progress is far beyond his expectations, he is secretly delighted.

Looking at the sincere expression on Ye Luo's face, Ji Yi couldn't help but feel a deep admiration.

When it comes to acting skills, Ji Yi feels that she does have some talent.

For example, when using X-ray vision to peek at Miss Cat, you can hold it in by using all your strength.

But Ye Luoyanyu is clearly a natural actor. He portrayed the youth's agility and clarity to perfection, something Ji Yi admits he is far inferior to.

Without the Eye of Data, Ji Yi would have had no chance of recognizing Ye Luo's identity and might have been deceived.

'But unfortunately, this time I'm the hunter.'

Ji Yi now holds an absolute information advantage.

However, the weakness is also obvious. Ye Luoyanyu is clearly stronger, and it is almost impossible for her to launch a sneak attack and kill him by using the [Mask of the Faceless].

He checked the other party's panel.

[How many flights of stairs does it take to carry a bag of rice: LV.16]

[Occupation: Ninja]

【Strength: 20】

[Spiritual power: 30]

[Defense: 10]

【Speed: 15】

[Agility: 20]

This was superficial and fabricated data, which the data expert quickly erased, revealing new information.

【Fallen Leaves in the Misty Rain: LV.25】

[Occupation: Trickster]

【Strength: 51】

[Spiritual power: 43]

[Defense: 22]

【Speed: 37】

[Agility: 55]

Looking at the other party's exaggerated panel, Ji Yi couldn't help but sigh.

This level of strength clearly far exceeds the strength that an ordinary level 25 player should have. Even Zuiwan Guhong would be far inferior to it.

The source of his terrifying numerical value is self-evident.

Getting back to the main point, with only 55 points of agility, even if Ji Yi's sneak attack is very fast, the opponent can still react in time.

The reason Ye Luo didn't dodge Ji Yi's collision earlier was simply because he was putting on an act; he never took Ji Yi seriously from the beginning.

After all, Ye Luo possesses the skill of "dangerous sense," allowing her to anticipate Ji Yi's potential threat before Ji Yi poses any real danger.

Thinking that he could kill the opponent with just the "Faceless Mask" was wishful thinking. At least in the opponent's prime, Ji Yi had no confidence whatsoever and would only alert the enemy.

'At this terrifying rate of improvement in his stats, he might be able to crush Gu Hong next time just based on his numbers alone.'

In any case, it seems that Ye Luo can now easily withstand Ying Ge's mecha form.

With this in mind, Ji Yi began to seriously consider his plan to kill Ye Luo.

Soon, after Pangci finished explaining the information, Ye Luo began to recount his experiences:
[In the following statements, I will mark any statements containing lies with quotation marks.]

"When I first came to the dungeon, I was the only one around me, and I didn't see any other players."

Ye Luo spoke, and everyone listened attentively.

"I didn't see the [Russian Great Beta], and I was just wandering around aimlessly the whole time."

"But I'm trying my best to find a way out. I've found that this place is too big, and it would be very difficult to get out. I'm also bound to encounter unexpected things along the way."

"So I thought, maybe I could use the power of ghost stories to get out of here? Coincidentally, I came across a ghost story about a woman named Maeda Misaki, and I was planning to have some conversations with her."

"Hey, that's right!"

Ye Luoyanyu's eyes suddenly lit up with a sharp light as she looked at Ji Yi.

“That girl named Maeda Misaki seems to know you. She said she came to see you.”

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone else looked at Ji Yi with curiosity.

Hehe, we've finally reached this point.

Ji Yi thought to herself that this was troublesome, but she had no choice but to reveal some information.

If this part were a lie, it would easily arouse Ye Luo Yan Yu's suspicion, so I had to give a half-truthful account.
"Um"

Ji Yi pondered for a moment.

"Now that you mention it, I think I have indeed seen this girl before, but she looks very different from the one I just saw. I didn't even recognize her."

Ji Yi casually took off the hair clip from Maeda Misaki's head: "Here, take a look."

Then Ji Yi gave a brief account of the alternate version of the island nation's ghost stories.

Meanwhile, the content focuses on how he met and fell in love with Miss Cat.

Ye Luo felt nauseous from listening to it.

Thinking back to the strange noises and some offensive words I heard in the lakeside cabin instance last time.

Even with his extensive experience, he found it hard to accept.

Having endured Ji Yi's fabricated love story until he finished, Ye Luo finally concluded in his youthful voice:
"So, you only met Misaki once, so why would he contact you?"

"Yeah, they probably think I'm handsome."

Leaf Fall: "."

Panties & Little Busy: "."

In short, Ji Yi managed to gloss over the matter for now, hoping that Ye Luo wouldn't suspect anything.

While Ji Yi was narrating, he was also secretly adjusting his perspective using his God's Eyes to observe Misaki's movements.

At this moment, Misaki had already disappeared three kilometers away.

Don't worry, she's just not used to the influence of the forbidden zone for ghost stories; it won't endanger her safety. By the way, this girl seems to have run away from Minako in a huff because of you, and came specifically to find you.

Ji Yi was slightly taken aback upon seeing this.

Although he rescued Misaki and established a good relationship with her.

But after all, they hadn't seen each other many times since then. Why did this little girl abandon Minako and the other two who adopted him and come looking for him?
Am I that charming?
Just then, the system announcement suddenly sounded:
[Player "Russian Big Beta" LV.17 has died]

What followed was even more alarming news from the data analysis:

She died here forever.

This account has been cancelled.

(End of this chapter)