In Virtual Reality 91 ☆ The Hydrangea Park (15/33)

 

“I have no grudge against you!” The Old Attorney's voice cracked as he screamed the sentence.
The peach wood sword in his hand made a sharp, metallic sound, and a red light flashed across its surface.
He winced as the sword's edge grazed his palm, drawing a thin line of blood.
Meanwhile, the fish-headed man writhed on the ground like a fish on a chopping board.

Celestial Master reached out his hand in despair, “Old Attorney–!!” Even before the battle started, a member of their team was defeated.
The audience in Celestial Master's live broadcast room whispered in amazement.

【Team wipe is a must.】

【Team wipe is a must.】

【Can't you just hope that the host will do well? Tears are coming from the host's eyes just by looking at his teammate.】

Celestial Master caught a glimpse of the barrage and quickly wiped his mouth.
“Nonsense!” he spat out.

The audience began sending him messages: 【He's anxious.】

The fish-headed man, burnt black, could only lift one arm, and the trembling middle finger stretched out from the flowers was its last stubbornness.
The fish-headed man, who was supposed to attract firepower, fell down.
The attention of the red-clothed demon was naturally on Celestial Master, who was still standing.
For some reason, Celestial Master always felt that there was double the killing intent in the demon's eyes.

The red-clothed demon floated in the air, slowly approaching.
Celestial Master couldn't help but take a few steps back, but once he retreated, the monster's speed doubled instantly! Almost the next moment, a dishevelled, blood-dripping female ghost appeared before Celestial Master! The game was about to end…even now, Celestial Master could spare some energy to glance at the number of viewers in the live broadcast room.

57.8 million…Not bad; it was almost as good as his peak broadcast.
Anyway, he had met Excelsior and the well-known Old Attorney.
His fan count had increased.
Being invited to play a game in closed beta was already pretty good.

He pressed his lips together, his eyes fixed with determination.

“Bring it on!” Celestial Master spread his arms wide and yelled, “Come at me! Old Attorney,” he said, his voice full of sadness and anger, “Let's be brothers again offline!”

Amid the pink embroidered ball flowers, the black charcoal arm shook as it held on with all its might.
Old Attorney's face was covered in black ash as he raised his head from the suffocating pollen and, opening his thick, fish-like lips, spoke in a dialect that nobody present understood.

Celestial Master couldn't comprehend his fish-lip language, so he simply closed his eyes, awaiting his fate–

The Red-Clothed Fiend's bone-chillingly long fingers came dangerously close to Celestial Master's heart.
Before they made contact, a stem of Hydrangea flowers burst forth from the ghost's chest.
The green and white stem was stained with fresh red blood, and droplets of viscous liquid dripped from its tip in a graceful arc.

The Red-Clothed Fiend, stabbed twice in the chest, reacted swiftly and turned around to hook but didn't expect the person behind him to jump away first.

The sea of pink hydrangeas almost swallowed the pink hoodie, making Xu Jin Yi nearly invisible as she donned the hood.
She lightly pressed the brim, her bright black pupils sparkling like stars in the night sky.

Old Attorney, burnt to resemble a braised fish, struggled to stand up behind her.
His tone was surprised and uncertain as he spoke, “You are…
Excelsior?”

At the mention of the name, Xu Jin Yi paused and calmly replied, “No,” while staring directly at the Red-Robed Fiend.

Old Attorney, who was originally unsure, said expressionlessly, “Who are you trying to deceive?”

The 3D modelling character with their back turned helplessly shrugged and sounded rather helpless.
“Who's deceiving anyone? If I, Wang Jin Long, am lying, I won't have a good death.
I'll become a pig and be roasted in the morning.”

Old Attorney's eyebrows furrowed.
He was about to say something when his ears perked up, and his sharp gaze turned toward the main gate.

A humanoid figure could be seen through the gaps in the original iron gate, holding a large pair of gardening shears.
The thing had been electrified by the fence.
However, it was still stubbornly holding onto shears and cutting away, displaying an almost shocking perseverance that stunned everyone.

Even more remarkable was that, despite being electrocuted, the shears continued cutting through the electrified gate.

“Did you summon it?” Old Attorney asked.

“I have no idea,” Excelsior replied ambiguously.
“If you don't want to be eliminated so early, bring that thing along and let's get out of here quickly.”

During their brief conversation, Celestial Master gestured back and forth at the two, stuttering and unable to speak.
Apart from its previous lunge, the Red-Clothed Demon in front of him had been immobilized by the flower stem on its chest.

Only when the other party turned around did that Celestial Master see the white Hydrangea flower blooming behind the Red-Clothed Demon's back.
Celestial Master was dumbfounded.
“White…”

“What white?!” The Fish-Head Man rushed to Celestial Master's side and grabbed his collar with one hand, pulling him towards the direction of Excelsior.
“Do you want to become flower fertilizer and be eliminated? Run now!”

Reluctantly, Celestial Master stretched his hand towards the Red-Clothed Demon, still fixed in place.
“White flowers–“

Xu Jin Yi removed the discarded Peach Wood Sword from the pink Hydrangea flower sea and blew it lightly.
“It's okay; we'll meet again in the future.
Hurry up and go.” She turned to the group.
“Follow me.”

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the three quickly left along the small path, two production staff members and an internal tester sneaking out from the small unblocked path in minutes.

It wasn't until this point that Old Attorney had the chance to ask Excelsior, “What were you thinking?” The Fish-Head Man stared at her with dead fish eyes, ridiculing, “Electrically charging the iron door? Seriously?”

Xu Jin Yi cried in defence, “Wasn't it for the players' good game experience?”

【Thank you, but we don't want this kind of game experience!】

【Even Old Attorney got a new skin from being electrocuted…】

While Celestial Master struggled to keep up with the lightning-fast pace of the two, he adopted a gentle and observant approach while speaking.
“Excelsior, why didn't we teach the Red-Clothed Fiend a lesson earlier? Didn't you flaunt your skills with a peach wood sword before?” His eyes sparkled with curiosity, and his observant manner even caught the attention of Old Attorney.

Turning his gaze to Excelsior, he asked, “Did you cast a spell on him?”

Xu Jin Yi retorted, “…Is that how you perceive me?”

“It's not that,” Old Attorney denied after a momentary pause, “but can't you change your voice package? Your voice doesn't match your appearance.”

Xu Jin Yi fell silent.
“Do you have a problem with my real voice?”

Old Attorney looked baffled.

In just a few moments, the scene grew quiet once again.

“We didn't fight him because,” Xu Jin Yi explained, turning to Celestial Master, “if we defeated him and fled, we would still have to face the gardening ghost lurking outside.
Once the iron gate was cut open, these two ghosts will clash.”

One was an artist who adored the beauty of gardening, while the other was the Red-Clothed Fiend, who admired the beauty of nature.

The two factions were opposed.
When the Gardening Ghost ventured into the Red-Clothed Fiend's garden, he had to prune a few branches here and there.
The Red-Clothed Fiend, who was provoked, would undoubtedly retaliate and engage in a battle.

Old Attorney, who had been eavesdropping for some time, suddenly cleared his throat and spoke uncomfortably, “Hold on, where exactly are we heading?”

Xu Jin Yi halted and scanned their surroundings.
The towering trees enveloped them, and even though a few Laughing and Smiling trees were present within this dim and restricted field of view, their current location would be close to Nine Springs Laundry Chain as long as there was one nearby.

Although leaving the task unfinished was an option, it wouldn't help with the progress later if it wasn't completed.
Wang Jin Long could easily exploit this loophole and ruin the plan.

“We still have unfinished business, Celestial Master and I,” Excelsior chuckled, trying to sound considerate.
“Perhaps you should attend to your own affairs first.
If fate allows, we'll meet again.”

Old Attorney knew Excelsior was trying to shake him off and do his own thing.
He smiled and grabbed the other's wrist, refusing to let go.
“Don't go without explaining,” he said through gritted teeth.
“What's with that bounty notice?”

Despite being held, Excelsior's smile didn't falter.
She was even a bit surprised.
Though she sounded like she was feigning ignorance, “Bounty notice? Where did you get that? It's just a friendly invitation to exchange ideas.”

“…Aren't you afraid they'll attack you regardless of the game's outcome?” Old Attorney asked.

Xu Jin Yi grinned and stroked her chin with her free hand.
“That would be perfect.
Everyone should attack me,” she said nonchalantly.
And then, as if that wasn't enough, she added, “Beat me to death.”

Old Attorney: “?”

Even Celestial Master couldn't help but look at his idol with shock and disbelief.
“Excelsior, are you crazy?”

【Who do they think they are? Excelsior? Well, that's different, then.】

【What kind of person wants to be beaten to death? Sadomasochist? I'm a little sceptical.】

【I can do it! I really can! I'm amazing!】

【Don't think your previous words were without malice; I've already sensed your evil intentions!】

As the situation in the barrage area grew increasingly bizarre, Celestial Master interrupted, “I think Excelsior must have her own reasons, right?” His hopeful eyes searched for confirmation.
— Excelsior, you're definitely not a pervert, right?

Xu Jin Yi blinked and touched her arm, feeling a bit chilly.

Facing the two pairs of curious eyes, Xu Jin Yi pondered momentarily.
She and Old Attorney were on the same front;.
However, he was obsessed with winning and losing; he focused more on defeating Excelsior.
From the current situation, the civilian card Old Attorney might think that Excelsior was also a civilian card or a judgment card.
Still, they would not think a werewolf, or else they would have been eliminated earlier.

As for Celestial Master…

Xu Jin Yi sighed, feeling a bit helpless.

This guy's fan filter was too strict, and there was no way to get him to play the role and backstab Wang Jin Long.

In the end, she decided to tell them the truth.
However, before she could begin, a piercing screech echoed through the park, followed by an elegant male voice filling the airwaves.

“Hello friends, this is the park radio station,” the voice announced.
“I'm looking for companions who share my purpose.
My name is 'Silence', and I believe that those who know my name must have the same goal as I do.
I'll be waiting for you at the southeast corner of the park's radio station.”

The radio station's sound was so loud that it startled the birds resting on the treetops of the woods.
The birds flew into the air chaotically, forming a dark cloud in the blue sky of the Blue Moon.

Xu Jin Yi turned her head and shrugged nonchalantly at the two stunned people.
“You see, 'Excelsior' just came out, didn't they?”

 

——— Translator's Notes ———

乐昌含笑 (yuè chāng hán xiào) – Laughing and Smiling trees; mythical trees in Chinese folklore believed to bring good luck and fortune to those who find them