Chapter 146

Chapter 1 Main Storyline: While waiting for the event to go live, they were also continuously exploring new gameplay mechanics and started participating in boss speedruns.

Far away, in a pretty little house in Chunhai City, a man who looked like a hardcore otaku rubbed his sleepy eyes.

“Let me see how many points you scored after pulling an all-nighter.”

Qu Wan snatched the tablet from his hands and glanced at the data, her expression changing instantly. “Only five thousandth place?”

“I did my best,” Yuan Weicheng said helplessly.

At least he played all night.

“You didn’t tell me that drawing some full-life, full-gold character would easily get you into the top hundred? Why is it so far off?”

Back then, Qu Wan had listened excitedly as Yuan Weicheng said, “Our daughter’s already in the game; as parents, we definitely can’t lose to others!”

So they allocated over ten thousand funds and drew a fully upgraded Water Dragon LORD to participate in the first boss speedrun organized by netizens.

But the result was…

Yuan Weicheng hadn’t expected it either. Nowadays, players were so rich. He originally thought there wouldn’t be many people who could max out their characters and rely on pay-to-win to take the lead. But once he entered the game, he discovered everyone had double max stats, forcing them to compete purely on skill.

As an old player who couldn’t even maintain his rank in Scarlet Lotus, being able to reach the top five thousand in a nationwide new game was already pushing his limits.

But there was nothing he could do. Now Yuan Weicheng could only sit on the chair muttering things like “too old, slow hand speed,” “young people react too fast,” “the glory of the older generation of esports players” — stuff Qu Wan couldn’t understand.

“In short, it’s just not good enough.”

Qu Wan sat beside him, sighed, “I didn’t expect Ningning to hide so deeply. Last time when she came home during the vacation, she acted all mysterious when I asked.”

Peak Fourth-tier… ranking among the top few in the entire Yuan family.

Yuan Weicheng nodded while thinking strangely, wasn’t Ningning just at the beginning of Fourth-tier when she returned to the Yuan household during summer break? How did she reach peak Fourth-tier after just a few months?

Could she really be a genius?

“Don’t sleep yet,” Qu Wan pushed him, “teach me how to play, how to draw our daughter.”

“Not now,” Yuan Weicheng shrugged, “server maintenance.”

“What?”

……

In the Tianhai University Dormitory, following Yuan Xiaoling’s command, Heart’s Sea entered server maintenance.

At that moment, she even heard a huge sigh echo throughout the campus.

“Wow, is it really that exaggerated?” Ningning was startled.

She only heard such synchronized sounds during district-wide power outages.

No one in the dorm replied. Gu Hui and Qiao Lili went to class, and Bai Ling… Bai Ling didn’t always raid the Broadcasting Department Dormitory; most of the time, she stayed in her Physical Education Department.

[Little Cousin Ningning, the server has been shut down. Can we start installing the new content?] Yuan Tong sent a message.

Yuan Xiaoling’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, giving her a feeling of being a micro-operation master.

[Start.]

Soon, with the game offline, bored netizens began acting crazy, posting things like “I’ll die without Heart’s Sea” or writing essays about Miss Water Dragon.

After several hours, the first update of Heart’s Sea was about to go online.

Limited-time Event — Phantom Shadows, Prelude “The Change of Four Squares.”

……

In a certain affiliated county on the southern outskirts of Tianhai City, in a place called Xiao’an Town, the afternoon sun slanted down, and the townsfolk relaxed in their courtyards, slowly working on their tasks.

The town wasn’t too far nor too close to the city, and most people here had been doing the same thing for a long time—handicrafts, weaving machines, or other miscellaneous activities. Life was monotonous, like a long wait.

At this time, usually playful children would add vitality to the town. But today, none of these little ones could be seen anywhere.

“They’re all inside playing games,” Aunt Wang from the convenience store sighed, “these kids nowadays. Still, young people like Fang are better; they don’t have such worries.”

The woman sitting at the entrance of the convenience store doing embroidery raised her head and smiled shyly.

Fang had come to the town last year, living alone at the street corner, usually doing embroidery and other handicrafts. It was rumored that she sold them through an online shop to the city, though no one had ever seen her send packages.

People in the town came and went. Some left to work in the city, while others moved here due to high housing prices in the city. This small county near Tianhai City had such a positioning, so the arrival of new residents didn’t arouse much curiosity.

Fang was under thirty, unmarried, gentle, and meticulous. She got along well with everyone in the town.

“My daughter LiLi knows nothing but playing video games,” Aunt Wang complained again, “she doesn’t read books or do homework. What will happen in the future?”

“Mom, stop bothering me.”

A little head popped up behind the counter of the convenience store. “I’m exploring ‘The Change of Four Squares.’ Real events that happened a year ago, would books cover them?”

The needle of the embroidery slightly deviated, surprising Fang as she looked up.

“LiLi, what’s the name of the game you’re playing?”

……

The prelude “The Change of Four Squares,” as the precursor “DLC” of the version event, was completed by players almost immediately.

Four Squares used to be a base for Spiritual Energy Manipulators. One day, a dispute over interests erupted, causing dark energy to burst forth. Everyone at Four Squares was caught up in it, meeting an unfortunate end. Their bodies and spiritual powers provided nourishment for the dark energy, which, after a year of brewing, eventually erupted with even greater strength.

The then-manager of Four Squares, whose wife died in the incident a year ago, harbored resentment, exacerbating the eruption of this dark energy.

This was the cause of “Phantom Shadows.”

To be honest, if such a plot appeared in another game, there would surely be complaints about cryptic storytelling. However, since everyone knew that Heart’s Sea was based on real-world templates, meaning that this actually happened in reality, leaving half the story untold added an extra layer of mystery.

Especially when considering the recent comprehensive blockade of a certain area in the eastern district. Local players in Tianhai City could confirm by asking their elders that the old site of Four Squares was located there.

Of course, some people directly questioned online, asking whether the situation could be explained more clearly. A reply soon appeared before everyone.

[Heart’s Sea (V): No, first, the matter is too complicated to explain in a short time, second, it involves too many factors, and I barely managed to persuade them.]

Netizens immediately became excited because they knew Miss Water Dragon was back online.

[Wife wife wife wife wife!]

[For you, I transformed into a werewolf appearance (referring to enhancing Beast-type Foundation Stones), for you, I succumbed to madness.]

[Miss Water Dragon, may I take a look at your delicate feet?]

[…]

The comment section was flooded instantly, making even Yuan Xiaoling feel a headache.

After refreshing a few times, she picked out some relatively serious questions and selectively replied—

[Are the ghost-like monsters recently appearing in Tianhai City the result of the dark energy eruption?]

[Heart’s Sea (V): Yes, exactly.]

[How should we deal with the crisis of ghost appearances? A few days ago, one appeared two streets away from my neighbor, scaring the hell out of me.]

[Heart’s Sea (V): Those above Third-tier can attempt to handle it themselves, otherwise, retreat and wait for reinforcements.]

[Won’t you get in trouble for badmouthing the manager of Four Squares?]

[Heart’s Sea (V): Not afraid, he’s dead. I saw it with my own eyes.]

[Is the ghost attack event in the event dungeon corresponding to what really happened?]

[Heart’s Sea (V): Yes, and if it happens again, it will also be updated in the game.]

[What does “undetermined end time” mean?]

[Heart’s Sea (V): The activity ends when the dark energy is dealt with.]

This final reply also reassured most people in Tianhai City.

It can be resolved, good thing, looks like it won’t take long.

After selecting replies, seeing the comment section gradually being overwhelmed by fanatical essays, Yuan Xiaoling quickly handed the official account back to operations.

Answering so many questions was truly exhausting herself. Time to sleep.

Zzzz

……

At this moment, in a high-end residential area in the eastern district, Xin Lan vigorously scrolled her mouse wheel, looking at these comments online, frowning deeply.

After talking with the guard last time, she specifically watched the drama “Three-Body” to somewhat understand what the other party meant.

This Yuan Xiaoling was trying to win people’s hearts and expand her influence.

Although Xin Lan didn’t know Yun Liang’s specific plan for coming to Tianhai City, whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t about getting along well with Yuan Xiaoling’s forces. Therefore, her actions were detrimental to Yun Liang.

Yet, in such circumstances, with Yun Liang showing no response, Yuan Xiaoling’s plans were proceeding smoothly step by step, seemingly unstoppable. Just like now, online comments had already deified Miss Water Dragon as a goddess.

No, something must be done.

Xin Lan placed her hands on the keyboard, hesitating slightly because exposing someone’s private information behind their back might be disgraceful…

No, that’s not right. She merely believed that Yuan Xiaoling using a virtual game character image to gain others’ affection was a form of deception. She just wanted everyone to see Yuan Xiaoling’s true face and not be deceived by her anymore.

This was an act of justice and kindness!

……

Huff huff, hmm?

Summer was hot, perfect for an afternoon nap. Yuan Xiaoling slept until the afternoon, waking up only when someone nudged her.

Before opening her eyes, she heard her roommate’s voice nearby:

“Wake up, Ningning, wake up, something happened.”

Yuan Xiaoling rubbed her eyes, lazily stretched, and sat up a bit: “What’s wrong? Did the server crash?”

Ah, it’s fine. Any game launch crashes sometimes, indicating active players. It’s a good thing. Just give out more compensation…

“No,” Qiao Lili said anxiously, “your identity has been exposed!”