T0 Gaming Guild Saves the World.

Chapter 283, Section 282: The Flickering Candlelight

Jiang Heyi emerged from Xilu's trial and immediately saw several private messages from Liu Jinhong.

First, they shared their joy at getting the item—they had good luck, opening a [Sage's Memory Fragment] from the golden ball.

Liu Jinhong, the bigwig, naturally became the one to be assigned.

This is even more enjoyable than being swept away by the vast battlefield at the boundary between the virtual and real worlds.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Jinhong asked the magic warrior which skills to choose.

Finally, I'd like to ask for some tips on skipping class on the later floors.

Liu Jinhong was destined to be a big shot, even if he humbly claimed it was just a lucky accident, others only took it as a joke.

The former captain, at Twilight Bookstore, confidently and vividly described what he had seen.

Predict the landing point two seconds in advance and attack with magic that matches the speed of the Stitches monster.

Everything is so just right.

Lu Xinxin even suspected that he had a hidden talent for gaming, which was gradually discovered as the battles progressed.

Jiang Heyi saw through it but didn't say anything. If he really wanted to prove himself, there were always more ways than difficulties. As long as French Fries Dad was happy, that was all that mattered.

"Still waiting?"

Liu Jinhong replied instantly: "No, we divided the spoils and are resupplying in Fengjia City."

"The newbies don't know anything, so I'm here with them, helping them choose materials."

"Mentoring newbies is a big responsibility," Jiang Heyi joked.

You have to help me!

Jiang Heyi seized the opportunity to make her presence known: "French fries and I are friends, how could I not help Uncle with this?"

"Why have you been grinning like an idiot all day?"

French fries suddenly popped their heads out, and Jiang Heyi, who was editing the information, only flinched, then continued calmly.

"Your dad is having trouble with the dungeon, and I'm giving him advice."

The fries tilted their heads.

She wanted to ask again, "What's so funny about this?"

Thinking about it carefully, it's true that Dad's humorous skills are hard to suppress.

Except for Mint, who requires intensive training, the boundary between reality and illusion, and the three guilds they visited, everyone else has entered rest mode.

The battle with Yuru was extremely intense.

Not long ago, some people wondered whether, since Yuu-dew is a challenge level, there are no restrictions on who can participate and whether anyone is welcome to participate.
With questions in mind, 28 people from 4 guilds gathered together.

Yuu-ro smiled and accepted the challenge application, adjusting her strength to suit 28 people.

The four top guilds in the Chinese server collaborated to create more skill variations for Xilu.

[Roll call inside and outside the venue].

Yuu-roy created a brand new celestial globe, which would suck the selected player into it.

The celestial globe will first conduct a round of random selection, with different planets flashing by, and finally one of them will be fixed as the battlefield.

The process felt a lot like choosing a map in a fighting game.

The two challenges that have already taken place include one where players inside the Celestial Sphere are in an elemental world where a volcano erupts violently and scalding lava is everywhere.

In one battle, they arrived at a desolate, lush forest, where the battlefield seemed to be on the body of some strange, giant beast with soft, sticky skin.

It was so huge that it seemed to be carrying the entire forest on its back, and its skin was so thick that even when players fought the inner boss, they could not budge it an inch.

Depending on the battlefield, players will face different enemies.

The Elemental World is a colossal entity formed by the fusion of various elemental fragments.

In the realm of the forest, they need to deal with a fairy queen who can communicate with giants and manipulate the soil and trees.

【Mirror Reversal】

Yuru's celestial globe sucked the entire battle platform into a starry sky with a backdrop of countless stars.

Located inside the celestial globe, the player's sense of direction will be affected, and any attack aimed to the left will be forcibly reversed to the right.

Move forward, then turn backward.

Players must overcome the sudden change in their operating habits, dodging the puppets summoned by Yuu-dōu that appear on the platform while attacking the floating celestial globe until it is destroyed.

If the output is insufficient, the Celestial Sphere will merge into Xilu's body, making her gigantic.

Players will witness the beautiful Yuru transform into a giant.

Among the countless stars, the floating platform was merely something in her grasp.

As Xi Lu closed her hands, a "crackling" sound rang in her ears, and everything returned to dust.

The Scarlet Music Box was described as "an episode with top-notch visual effects".

Stand: Freya

Yuru suddenly disappeared, and Freya was summoned to take her place.

The skill pattern is no different from the 9th floor, but perhaps because there are more challengers, Freya's attacks are particularly brutal.

It's a monster that gives players absolutely no breathing room, attacking one after another with an explosive desire to attack.

The most terrifying thing is that at the same time Freya is summoned, the Nest of Ever-Changing Dolls will appear at the edge of the floating platform.

Jiang Heyi speculated that it was a failure of some mechanism, which might lead to a total wipeout at the start.

[The World Inside and Out]

The view of all players is split in two.

Just like the bizarre scene that occurs when the world's consciousness forcibly interferes with the player's consciousness during the completion of the story.

After discussion, everyone agreed that this was the most exciting mechanism among today's experiences, resulting in an explosive gaming experience.

Under the "Inner and Outer Worlds" mechanism, Yuru exhibits two distinct appearances: the outer world and the inner world.

When her entire body fully enters the surface world, it means she will launch a normalized attack.

But if players enter the inner world... they will have to face the erosion of flesh and blood behemoths.

In the Otherworld, players will also experience parasitic behavior. If their skills fail to neutralize the parasite, they will be transformed into flesh puppets by Yulu and attack their companions.

The flesh puppet can only be dispelled, attacked, and awakened by players who have also encountered the attack from the otherworld, Yuu-dō in this round; attacks from other players are ineffective.

Having played games for so long, none of us have ever seen a BOSS with such a diverse skill set.

"Potato, can I borrow your Yulu for training sometime?"

"Yes, we can also help you guard your house."

"Dragon Knights, come one by one, and we'll take them down!"

Although there are no challenge rewards and they will only be treated like players by Yulu, it is of great significance to them in their preparation for the World Championship.

If Yuu-dō's skills can be twisted, how could players' skills not be twisted?

After seeing Yulu's terrifying skill set, no one thought that any future opponent could be more troublesome than her.

“If she’s willing to play with you guys, then I have no objection,” Jiang Heyi shrugged.

With only one month left, everyone was actively preparing for the World Championship, but the World Championship suddenly fell silent.

There has been no official information released, the venue for the competition is still undecided, and everyone is wondering how long this will remain a secret.
It wouldn't be right to hold a grand qualifier, distribute the rewards, and then suddenly announce that the World Championship is postponed due to force majeure, would it?
Without the virtual-real boundary mini-theater to watch, the enamel mug naturally took notice of the discussions within the player community.

Aside from the battles between the boundary between reality and illusion and the Dragon Knights, discussions about the World Championship have gradually increased.

He asked curiously, "Has the venue for the candlelight event been chosen yet?"

Chen Shaoyu was startled, but responded calmly without changing his expression.

"She didn't discuss this with me."

The enamel mug sighed and didn't press the matter further.

He felt like he had been granted a pardon when he handed over his shift to his colleagues.

Another day has passed without any slip-ups or questions – that's great. The weather is getting colder, and Chen Shaoyu, who got up early, is huddled in bed, his mind in turmoil. He can't tell if he wants to stay in bed or if he's just too anxious and unwilling to face reality.

The candle has been out of service for almost a week.

He exposed those who spread rumors in the public sphere one by one, and provided the evidence to the boundary between truth and falsehood for prosecution, so that they would get their just deserts.

At work, he was conscientious and diligent, maintaining the illusion that the candlelight was still burning brightly for everyone.

In the game, he pretended to be nonchalant with the enamel mug to avoid alerting the big shot to anything amiss.

How long can this role of a mender last?
Washing my face with cold water gradually cleared my dazed mind.

Chen Shaoyu arrived at the company as usual and pushed open the office door that no one but himself would visit.

The candle flame still burns, just as it has for the days and nights since she left.

He covered his face and sat on the sofa, his mind filled with the realization that the candlelight had lost contact and was about to collapse.

A gentle breeze blew by, bringing a touch of coolness to the quiet room. The tranquil atmosphere was enhanced by the soft murmur of flowing water, which gently passed by Chen Shaoyu's ears.

Distracted, he paid no attention until the clicking sound gradually became piercing, like a bearing that was not properly lubricated turning awkwardly.

His head jerked up.

The candle's body, which was performing a self-check by rotating in a fixed rhythm, suddenly deviated from its operating "track".

The head, hands, torso, and thighs all returned to their positions and meshed tightly.

Chen Shaoyu stood up and stared intently at the candle flame, which had reverted to a human form instead of being torn apart by five horses.

Maintaining its stiff posture, the candlelight's lifeless eyes gradually regained their human color.

Like a sky full of stars reflected in it, the starlight is dazzling.

The candlelight raised its hand, touched its face, and patted it gently, as if it were readjusting to its physical senses.

Everything was fine, and her gaze finally fell on Chen Shaoyu.

Seeing Chen Shaoyu's twitching lips and aggrieved expression, she seemed to understand something.

"Sorry... something unexpected happened, I'm late."

After saying that, she covered her forehead with her hand, her expression showing some pain. Her body tilted slightly to the side, and she staggered and fell onto the desk.

She refused Chen Shaoyu's offer of help, waving her hand: "The chaos at the level of consciousness has nothing to do with the body."

Chen Shaoyu didn't press for details; his lack of curiosity was precisely why he was able to stand in this house.

For a full half hour, the room was completely silent.

The candlelight remained tilted on the table, in a somewhat comical and awkward position, and the lifeless eyes regained their sparkle.

"I see. I have a basic understanding of what has happened during this period."

The candlelight smiled and said, "Is this the right way to handle it?"

Chen Shaoyu's heart tightened, and he hurriedly explained.

"I... I got what I deserved, it's a simple value system, anyway..."

He stammered a little and seemed a bit guilty.

With the candlelight broken, the extent of actions to be taken in the future is entirely up to the individual.

"I didn't say you did anything wrong."

"What happens in this world should be resolved by the people of this world."

"The decision was made based on culture and education, and it aligns with the simple values ​​of the general public. I don't think it was wrong."

Chen Shaoyu had a sudden brain fart.

"A flexible moral bottom line?"

He really wanted to slap himself!
What utter nonsense is he spouting?!

The candlelight was taken aback for a moment, then smiled, a slight curve appearing at the corner of its mouth.

“Interesting… In my memory, the greatest Lord whom my master served also gave me this warning.”

"When faced with different living beings and different civilizations, we should readjust our own thoughts and morals."

"To claim to be a higher level of civilization, yet trample on creatures living in different environments, deny their heritage and values, and impose one’s own civilization on them, is nothing but a manifestation of barbarity."

"So you're right, I do have a flexible moral bottom line."

Chen Shaoyu sighed.

No wonder they acted this way after the candlelight was lit.

As dolls, those who created them had listened to a gentle voice from childhood, and they infused that thought into the dolls' bodies.

Compared to the dangerous and terrifying third kind of contact, the supreme dominance of candlelight seems exceptionally warm.

Is there anything to eat?

Chen Shaoyu was stunned for two or three seconds. This seemed to be the first time that Zhu Huo had taken the initiative to ask for food.

Meeting her gaze, Chen Shaoyu quickly nodded: "What do you want to eat?"

"Anything is fine, as long as it fills me up...sweet is fine."

Chen Shaoyu hurriedly pushed open the door and went out. Delivery was too slow, so he decided to go himself.

The office fell silent again. Candlelight covered his head and slowly sat back down in his seat.

The information accumulating in her mind was still being processed rapidly, but this was not the source of her distress.

Gazing at its own reflection in the mirror, the candlelight revealed a sorrowful expression.

"Zi~~~"

"Zi~~~"

The candlelight flickered, its dark red glow swaying like a candle flame blown by the wind.

If you were to gaze intently into the candlelight at this moment, those eyes, as bright as stars, would be covered with countless mosaic-like patches of color.

The dark gray blocks are being rapidly filled with scarlet.

With red eyes, she slowly stood up, walked to the mirror, and silently examined her smart black suit and white shirt outfit.

A disdainful smile played on his lips, and his eyes were filled with disgust.

A candle flame lightly touched his brow, and a ray of light rippled across his entire body.

The colors shifted, and suddenly the black and white dress of the female supporting character from the comic book that hadn't been finished being read appeared on the table.

Immersed in this new self, I hear footsteps approaching from afar.

She raised an eyebrow, her face expressionless, and reached out her hand toward the door, a strange power surging within it.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she quickly withdrew her power.

"Come on, I bought a lot. What would you like to eat?"

"I also bought a jar of the sweet vinegar that you liked last time, so I can use it myself."

With the candlelight returning, the pressure that had been weighing on his shoulders vanished, and Chen Shaoyu felt light and cheerful, his words brimming with joy.

He placed the bags on the desk, and before the candlelight could respond, he looked up and met her gaze.

It's a very strange feeling...

Having spent so much time with the candlelight, he had never felt anything like it from the other person... Was this... a chill?
As if being stared at by a cold, wild beast, Chen Shaoyu couldn't help but shiver.

"Candlelight, aren't you hungry?"

Suddenly, the candlelight covered its forehead and shook its head.

The eerie chill surrounding Chen Shaoyu vanished completely.

"Candlelight?" he called out tentatively again.

Candlelight seemed to finally come to its senses. Seeing the breakfast spread across the table, it smiled and said thank you. Then, it skillfully picked up the sweet vinegar, dipped the steamed buns in it, and ate them one by one.

It seems to really like dipping things in vinegar; it must be a candle flame.

(End of this chapter)