But…

How did he get his heart ripped out again….

In the last instance, he got his heart ripped out. In this instance, his heart was ripped out again. Why did these BOSSes like to rip out his heart so much?

As the sharp pain in his chest spread out, Xiao Tangqiu began to faint. But right before he fainted, he seemed to hear the cold sound of the system in his ear again.

“Dear players congratulations for completing the S-level mission [Demon’s Castle]. The objective of the mission is to lift the curse of the castle. The time limit is 7 days and the players will receive 50000 points…”

“The mission is completed, you will be leaving this instance soon…”

Mission accomplished?

The mission was completed?

…… Before Xiao Tangqiu could feel any shock, he fainted.

When Xiao Tangqiu woke up again, he had already returned to the white transfer module when he opened his eyes. He was lying on his back inside the module. After he regained consciousness, he quickly sat up and touched his chest only to find that the wound on his chest had disappeared again.

Not only that, all other wounds on his body had disappeared as well, except for the burning pain in his back.

……What’s going on? Weren’t all wounds automatically healed when players were transferred back?

“Qiuqiu! Qiuqiu!”

Just then, Tang Mianmian’s anxious voice sounded from outside the transfer module. Xiao Tangqiu couldn’t be bothered to ponder more about his doubts. He immediately pushed the hatch of the transfer module open and climbed out.

Seeing that Xiao Tangqiu was still alive, Tang Mianmian instantly wept with joy. He cried loudly as he hugged Xiao Tangqiu. “Qiuqiu! I thought you would die this time! Wuwuwu! You actually survived again! How are you so lucky ah!”

Xiao Tangqiu laughed bitterly, “It seems that I did right by helping grannnies cross the street.”

Tang Mianmian cried while he asked, “What happened earlier? Why did you suddenly attack Shen Yuan? Why did he suddenly attack you?”

Xiao Tangqiu gritted his teeth, “I don’t know… but I think I may have been possessed by Lippinobert… That’s right! Where is Shen Yuan? How is he now?”

Tang Mianmian blanked out, “I don’t know. I came to see you as soon as I got up. But since you are alright, with Shen Yuan being how powerful he is, he will certainly be fine!”

Xiao Tangqiu pushed Tang Mianmian aside and turned to look for Shen Yuan. He passed through the transfer modules and finally found Duan Hongzhen after coming across groups of players who were about to enter the instance or had just left the instance.

However, Shen Yuan’s condition was obviously very bad. His face was pale and his eyes were closed, his dark, feather-like lashes trembling slightly. This made him look very fragile; delicate and vulnerable.

Xiao Tangqiu’s heart sank at once. He remembered Su Manluo once told him that when a player left the instance, no matter how serious the injury was, he would automatically recover. But Shen Yuan hadn’t regained consciousness until now…

From the appearance of the open transfer module, it looked like Shen Yuan woke up the moment he was sent back, pushed open the hatch with the last of his strength, and then fell into a coma again. After all, the transfer module could only be opened from the inside.

Duan Hongzhen and the others looked dismal. Yu Fuling and Sai Lulu’s expressions were as cold as ice. Although they knew that Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian had come, they didn’t even spare them a look.

Xiao Tangqiu wanted to say something but held himself back. Although there were many things in his heart that he wanted to ask, at this moment, the words got stuck in his throat when he saw Yu Fuling and Sai Lulu’s chilly looks.

What happened to Shen Yuan?

Why was Shen Yuan still in a coma and hadn’t regained consciousness?

……Was it all because of him?

Moments later, Duan Hongzhen finally took the lead in breaking the silence. He gave Yu Fuling and Sai Lulu a look and said with an unprecedented seriousness. “There’s no point waiting here. Let’s take the captain home first.”

Yu Fuling and Sai Lulu solemnly nodded. Then, both of them each held Shen Yuan on the left and right side and lifted him from the transfer module. The three turned and walked towards the transfer matrix under the sculpture.

Xiao Tangqiu panicked immediately. Once Shen Yuan was taken away by them, he could no longer find out about his condition. So he asked earnestly, “How is Shen Yuan now?”

Yu Fuling and Sai Lulu simply ignored Xiao Tangqiu’s question so he could only chase after them. “How is he now?”

Xiao Tangqiu asked several times before Yu Fuling finally raised her head and looked at him but her eyes were filled with a profound coldness. “Stay away from him!”

Xiao Tangqiu was nailed to the spot by that frosty gaze. He stood still, not knowing what to do.

Yu Fuling and Sai Lulu continued to walk as they carried Shen Yuan. Duan Hongzhen followed behind them, his face looking gloomy. He took a few steps forward but suddenly stopped.

Xiao Tangqiu nervously watched Duan Hongzhen’s back. Did he change his mind?

In the next second, Duan Hongzhen said with his back still turned towards him, “Just forget it.”

Xiao Tangqiu asked blankly, “Forget… what?”

“Forget everything about the last instance,” Duan Hongzhen quietly answered. Then, he added coldly, “There are some things you shouldn’t know.”

What can’t he know?

Shen Yuan’s tattoos and the secret behind them?

Before Xiao Tangqiu could react, Duan Hongzhen had already started to catch up to Yu Fuling and Sai Lulu. Soon, the three of them, together with Shen Yuan, disappeared into the transmission array in the center of the square.

Xiao Tangqiu merely watched in a daze as their silhouettes faded away. His heart felt empty, like a large piece was missing, the cold wind infiltrating its depths through that empty hole.

Things that he didn’t have the right to know about…

Was he and Shen Yuan… doomed to remain as two people from different worlds?

Would he never be able to catch up to Shen Yuan no matter what he did and how much he tried?

Just when Xiao Tangqiu lost himself to melancholy, Tang Mianmian came up to him, stretched out his hand and patted him on the shoulder. “They’re probably not in a good mood now. After all, their captain was seriously injured and in a coma… I don’t think they hate you or anything…”

Xiao Tangqiu glanced at Tang Mianmian and gave him a bitter smile. If this didn’t count as being hated, then what was? But he knew that Tang Mianmian was comforting him out of his kindness and didn’t open his mouth to refute him.

The two men looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

At this time, a familiar woman’s voice sounded out.

“It seems that you’ve successfully completed another mission. Congratulations.”

Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian turned back at the same time. A beautiful and sexy woman in black stood not far behind them, smiling at them.

It was Su Manluo whom they had met in the last instance.

Xiao Tangqiu stared blankly, “Miss Su…”

Su Manluo smiled faintly, “Just call me Su Manluo. It seems like you’ve successfully hooked up with Shen Yuan?”

Xiao Tangqiu gave a wry smile, “We just happened to be in the same instance.”

“You entered the same instance?” Su Manluo couldn’t help showing an expression of disbelief. “S-level mission? You survived an S-level mission? That’s impossible!”

Tang Mianmian immediately looked horrified. “Yes! I still think that it’s impossible! That S-level mission was really terrible! I can’t believe we came out alive! “

Su Manluo was shocked but soon regained her calm. She looked at Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian inquiringly and laughed slightly. “You two rookies who’ve only completed a D-level mission actually survived an S-level mission. This is absolutely unheard of… But that’s what I expect of the people that I have my eye on.”

Tang Mianmian scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. “We’re not that great at all…”

Xiao Tangqiu laughed bitterly. “It’s all because Shen Yuan and his team carried us through. We definitely wouldn’t have made it if we were on our own.”

Tang Mianmian chimed in, “Yes ah, yes ah! It’s all thanks to these great gods for taking us up to the clouds with them!”

Su Manluo smiled, “Old players won’t simply bring newbies along unless those newbies have something to offer.”

Tang Mianmian laughed, “It’s nothing…”

Su Manluo went on to say, “Moreover, even if you have old players taking you, it’s unlikely for the average newbie to pass an S-level mission on their second try. It seems that I underestimated you in the last instance.”

Tang Mianmian was obviously flattered. He laughed and seemed to have completely forgotten how miserable he was in the instance before.

But Xiao Tangqiu couldn’t smile at all. The thought that Shen Yuan was still in a coma weighed heavily on his mind. Right now, all he wanted to do was to find someone and ask about Shen Yuan’s condition but he didn’t dare to casually ask anyone. In case Shen Yuan’s current condition was leaked out to others, he might get him into trouble.

After much hesitation, he tentatively asked Su Manluo, “Miss Su, do you know if there are demons in this world?”

Su Manluo’s face suddenly changed. Her eyes sank as a bunch of complicated emotions flashed through. There was a trace of fear and more of some unknown emotion. A moment later, she took out a cigarette from her pocket, “Do you mind if I smoke?”

Xiao Tangqiu realized that this matter should be quite unusual so he didn’t rush her. Although his heart was extremely anxious, he endured it. “…Of course, please feel free.”

Su Manluo lit a cigarette, the smoke clouding her expression. She waited a while, smiling faintly with a cigarette between her lips. “Do you know that if you ask for this information from an information broker, it will cost you a lot of points. In this world, an important piece of information can even save your life at the critical moment… Do you know how many points the question you just asked is worth?”

Xiao Tangqiu shook his head honestly. “I didn’t know that, but if you need points, I can…”

Su Manluo interrupted Xiao Tangqiu’s words, “There are many people here, so let’s talk as we walk.”

This was the transmission square of the city of the abyss. There was busy foot traffic with many people passing through. Clearly, it wasn’t a good place to discuss things. Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian looked at each other and left the transmission square with Su Manluo.

~~~

P.S. Idk if you guys have noticed but I don’t have an editor mainly because I translate every day right before I release the chapter and I don’t really follow a set time (due to work) so it would be hard to work with someone else. Anyways, I released an unedited chapter yesterday by mistake, so excuse the blatant grammatical errors. Also, I would like to give a shoutout to Cat who made a point to list them out for me ❤