Kyou Fujibayashi gazed at Lin Ye, and the two different faces slowly overlapped in her mind.
The more she looked, the more they resembled each other. Subtle details were constantly merging.
Shock!
In this moment, a fact that was difficult to accept was placed right before her eyes.
The man she had constantly tried to stop from being with her sister was actually Zero, who had saved her a full three times. She owed this man three lives!
Kyou Fujibayashi wanted to cry.
At the same time, Kyou Fujibayashi recalled that she had just opened her mouth to hope he would try contacting her sister, and even said that if the contact with her sister failed, she could take her sister's place and try with Zero.
What kind of... situation was this!
Kyou Fujibayashi's brain went dizzy, and she almost couldn't hold it together.
The shock and helplessness of this moment far exceeded Yoriko Sawada's betrayal. She would even rather accept Yoriko Sawada's betrayal than accept the true identity of the man before her.
The smile at the corner of Lin Ye's mouth could not be concealed. What he had been looking forward to was exactly this shocked expression from Kyou Fujibayashi.
Facing the disbelief in the girl's eyes, Lin Ye continued, "I didn't lie to you. She should have also told you about the fact that Veteran players can sculpt their faces."
Lin Ye didn't think Yoriko Sawada had this face in reality. Hearing those jealous words from Kyou Fujibayashi earlier, he estimated that Yoriko Sawada's true appearance should be ordinary, or even very ugly; otherwise, she wouldn't have been jealous.
"Mn."
Ten seconds passed, but Kyou Fujibayashi's mood was still difficult to calm.
To think she actually met Lin Ye in a Strange Game instance; this was too coincidental.
Lin Ye was already a Level 3 Veteran player, but thinking of Lin Ye's special abilities in reality, Kyou Fujibayashi felt relieved. Everything could be explained.
She couldn't help but wonder how long Lin Ye had struggled in the Strange Game. Kyou Fujibayashi was unexpectedly a bit worried, but then thinking that she had also become a member of the Strange Game, she smiled self-mockingly.
Lin Ye was already a capable Level 3 Veteran player, while she was just a Newcomer with no ability to protect herself. What qualifications did she have to worry about Lin Ye!
"So, I said you wouldn't be willing, hahaha."
A laugh made Kyou Fujibayashi glance away awkwardly.
"I apologize to you for my previous behavior."
She spoke up. Apologize! At this point, there was nothing she couldn't apologize for. Kyou Fujibayashi wasn't so stubborn that she would refuse to admit defeat even now.
Lin Ye was surprised. It was a pity that his superpower this week was Invisibility. If it were Sleight of Hand, he could have tested the girl's favorability toward him again.
"I accept your apology, but in the future, before you are sure of the other party's identity, don't make similar promises. Were you still thinking of hoping I would contact and date Ryou?"
Don't! Ai Hoshino shouted internally. She was anxious to speak up, but was too embarrassed to interrupt. She could only look on eagerly with watery eyes, hoping Lin Ye would understand her meaning.
"Do you still need my help?" Kyou Fujibayashi sighed lightly. "As long as you confess to my sister, could she possibly disagree?"
Lin Ye smiled awkwardly. His relationship with Ryou Fujibayashi had indeed reached an ambiguous stage. If he took the initiative to pierce the veil, the possibility of Ryou refusing was very small.
Looking at Lin Ye, Kyou Fujibayashi continued, "But Ryou knows about you dating other girls in Akihabara last weekend."
Kyou Fujibayashi took the initiative to continue dropping bombshells. "Also, Ryou knows about you eating Italian cuisine with another girl."
Ai Hoshino blinked. She was the one strolling in Akihabara with Lin Ye, but who was the Italian cuisine with!
Sob sob sob. Lin-kun really was ambiguous with other girls too. It was too much; she was heartbroken. Was having her not enough? Could neither black stockings nor white stockings keep Lin Ye's heart?
In the future, how should she keep Lin Ye's heart? In an instant, Ai Hoshino thought of many methods. She absolutely could not let Lin Ye be deceived and taken away by other girls, absolutely not. The idol girl Ai Hoshino was going to give her all for her love.
Lin Ye became increasingly awkward.
It wasn't hard to understand Ryou Fujibayashi knowing about the Italian restaurant. It was a normal thing for Isami Suzuka, who was friends with Ren Nanase and Kyou Fujibayashi, to tell Ryou Fujibayashi.
That woman even blessed him and Ren Nanase, hoping they would get together soon, but the result... Lin Ye also knew he couldn't blame Isami Suzuka. Isami Suzuka simply didn't know that he and Ryou Fujibayashi also had an ambiguous relationship.
If Isami Suzuka knew about both relationships, she couldn't possibly support him and would definitely object. However, why did Ryou Fujibayashi also know about him strolling and playing in Akihabara with Ai Hoshino?
Ultimately, Lin Ye could only attribute it to luck.
"Thank you," Lin Ye thanked her.
If Kyou Fujibayashi hadn't said it, he wouldn't have known about this. Of course, above that, he realized one more thing: Kyou Fujibayashi had accepted him and would no longer oppose his contact and interaction with Ryou Fujibayashi as she had in the past.
But the problem was...
"No need to thank me. Compared to your grace of saving my life, this is nothing." Kyou Fujibayashi looked at the man before her. "Ryou is sincere about you. Don't be a philanderer. Make a decision early. Although Ryou is weak, she isn't a girl you can bully casually. If you make Ryou sad and cry, I definitely won't let you off."
She was still that girl who cherished and protected her sister.
"Your attitude sure changed fast!" Lin Ye exclaimed, constantly shaking his head.
This made Kyou Fujibayashi look slightly awkward.
"If you like me continuing to stop you and Ryou, I don't have any problem with that either. How about this! I warn you, stay away from my sister. Don't let me see you secretly contacting my sister, otherwise, you'll be sorry."
She stretched her wrist, her eyes becoming sharp. This feeling... was right.
"I refuse."
Kyou Fujibayashi smiled after hearing this. Suddenly, she thought of something and immediately spoke up to ask, "I have one thing to ask you, and you must answer me seriously?"
She stared at Lin Ye, her attitude solemn.
"Speak."
Ask him if he had touched her sister Ryou? He had at most held hands.
"Was it you who saved me at school?"
So it was this matter! Lin Ye reacted. This was indeed a very important matter to Kyou Fujibayashi.
In Lin Ye's view, this matter was already in the past and there was no need to mention it again. But seeing the girl's determined look, Lin Ye said, "If I say yes, will you believe it?"
"I believe," she nodded. She believed Lin Ye now.
"So, can you give me the answer?"
"Yes." Lin Ye nodded.
Kyou Fujibayashi pursed her lips, her expression becoming increasingly complex. She both desired it to be true and desired it not to be.
After realizing Lin Ye was a Level 3 Strange Player, she knew Lin Ye had the ability to save her from that 'Strange little boy'.
"Why did you have to do that back then? Admitting it and then denying it, deliberately playing with me."
This was the doubt lingering in Kyou Fujibayashi's heart.
Lin Ye had said it at the time, but immediately denied it, being capricious, as if he were toying with her. At least in that moment, Kyou Fujibayashi felt she was being played like a monkey by Lin Ye.
This led to her increasing dissatisfaction with Lin Ye, especially with that weird ability; she simply didn't dare let Lin Ye get close to Ryou. But now, the situation had changed.
"Ahem," Lin Ye coughed twice. "There was a reason, I needed to test something."
As soon as he said this, Kyou Fujibayashi thought of Lin Ye's 'shake hands and steal clothes' ability test. It was related to that ability, right! She was curious about the specific details, but after thinking about it, she didn't ask. She would ask again after returning to reality!
But now, another problem was placed before her eyes.
Giving herself to him.
Back then, right in front of Lin Ye, she had solemnly vowed to give herself to her savior!
What to do, what to do, what to do?
How could she have relations with the man Ryou liked!
Kyou Fujibayashi's face flushed red with a swish, and she lowered her head shyly.
Lin Ye caught Kyou Fujibayashi's strange reaction and immediately associated it with the reason for the girl's worry.
It should be that!
Lin Ye instantly felt the urge to tease the girl again.
"Miss Fujibayashi," Lin Ye leaned closer, moving to Kyou Fujibayashi's ear, and lowered his voice to whisper, "I remember someone said she would give herself to me."
In a flash, Kyou Fujibayashi blushed. The gray dust on her face couldn't mask the flush on the girl's cheeks.
"Someone wouldn't be thinking of breaking her word, right!"
Kyou Fujibayashi trembled.
How could she, Kyou Fujibayashi, break her word!
She stared with gritted teeth, her red lips slowly opening. "I, Kyou Fujibayashi, absolutely will not break my word. You set the time."
Ai Hoshino cried. She hadn't even done it yet! Where did this woman come from, wanting to overtake on a curve? Detestable, detestable, too detestable.
Lin Ye was shocked. He thought the girl would refuse angrily, or remain silent and not respond. But the only thing he didn't expect was that Kyou Fujibayashi would agree.
She was joking, right!
The next second, Kyou Fujibayashi held up one hand.
"Five nights."
Her face was even redder, her voice filled with shyness.
"Saving me once means accompanying you for one night."
"Then... that should be four nights!"
He saved Kyou Fujibayashi once in the inner world, and three times in the instance mission, adding up to four times.
"The extra one counts as compensation to you."
Every sentence required the girl to use up what little courage she had left.
Kyou Fujibayashi thought of Yoriko Sawada. If Lin Ye hadn't acted, she would have been too soft-hearted to act in the end.
Lin Ye looked at the girl, pondering the girl's compensation. What was this compensation for? Compensation for doubting him? Or compensation for obstructing him and Ryou Fujibayashi? Or perhaps some other compensation?
Right, could it be compensation for killing Yoriko Sawada?
This girl left Lin Ye unsure of how to evaluate her.
Lin Ye continued to tease, "How about rounding it up to ten nights?"
Upon hearing this, Kyou Fujibayashi immediately rolled her eyes at Lin Ye, her eyes showing a slightly dissatisfied look. This is called rounding up? You doubled it for me. How is this rounding up!
"Seven nights, but I have a condition."
This woman was really serious! Otherwise, she definitely wouldn't be bargaining with him.
"Speak."
"Ryou cannot know. Also, before our term expires, you cannot confirm a romantic relationship with Ryou."
As long as Lin Ye and her sister didn't confirm a romantic relationship, her psychological burden wouldn't be so heavy. Moreover, Ryou's attitude toward Lin Ye was currently quite complicated; she liked him, but was also hurt by Lin Ye's philandering.
This period of time might be the best time!
"That's two conditions, isn't it!"
"Then two."
"I also want you to agree to one request of mine."
"Speak." Kyou Fujibayashi awaited Lin Ye's answer.
"After the mission ends, the Strange Game will ask if you are willing to accept the invitation to become a Strange Player. I need you to refuse."
Seeing Kyou Fujibayashi's reaction, Lin Ye knew Yoriko Sawada hadn't told Kyou Fujibayashi about this matter at all. That woman indeed hadn't planned to let Kyou Fujibayashi leave here alive from the beginning; otherwise, this kind of information should have been actively shared during their interactions.
"You can refuse?" Kyou Fujibayashi was astonished.
"Yes. Promise me, refuse the invitation." Lin Ye spoke very seriously.
"I understand, I will choose to refuse." Kyou Fujibayashi nodded.
She thought that once she came to the Strange Game, she would never have the chance to escape and could only continue facing the challenges of the Strange Game. This dangerous Strange Game was truly too difficult for an ordinary girl like her.
But she didn't notice the change in Ai Hoshino's expression.
In this moment, Ai Hoshino understood that by proposing this condition, Lin Ye had no intention of letting the girl fulfill her promise. Once Kyou Fujibayashi chose to refuse, everything experienced in this instance would become the past forever.
She was worried for nothing!
Ai Hoshino felt relieved. She wiped the sweat from her forehead. This woman posed no threat to her. It was fine, not a threat at all; she didn't need to worry about her safety.
Only one minute remained.
Lin Ye walked toward the three Veteran players. At this time, he had to communicate with the three Veteran players and establish a basic relationship.
"Thanks to the three of you for this instance."
"We are the ones who should be thanking you."
At least if Lin Ye hadn't given items and Strange objects, and fought a bloody battle against the Strange Experiment Subject with Holy Knight, some of them would definitely have died here.
But now, they had all survived. There were also a few Newcomers.
The reward for killing the Strange Experiment Subject this time would definitely be very high, with more points. Otherwise, they wouldn't have united and risked their lives trying to kill the Strange infected body at the end; this was all for high evaluation scores and experience.
"I wonder if there are any Newcomer players alive in other places."
This wasn't very important to them anymore. If other Newcomers were still alive, it would increase the evaluation score and game points.
This round of the game was finally over.
"Next time, let's cooperate again if there's a chance."
"No problem."
Holy Knight went without saying. Jack still had a breath left and wouldn't refuse Lin Ye's invitation to cooperate. As for Lilith...
"Don't you think about breaking the contract. Next time we meet, remember to tell me all your secrets." The blond little loli hmphed.
She looked at Lin Ye, her interest even stronger.
"Telling you is fine."
"What, you want to set conditions?"
"Can I kill you to hide my secrets?"
Lilith instantly gritted her teeth in anger. She knew Lin Ye wouldn't say it, but what if he did! So, holding that thought, she tried.
Although the result was rejection as expected, this guy was deliberately teasing her.
"I'll know sooner or later, you just wait."
The time finally arrived.
Lin Ye made his final farewells to the two girls.
The countdown in the lower right corner of his vision returned to zero.
Everyone's vision went blank, followed by their bodies losing gravity. A burst of dizziness, and they disappeared.
A few minutes later, the gate of the Experiment Center opened.
A group of fully armed soldiers holding weapons broke in.
In the hall, dilapidated and full of traces of battle, only the fallen Strange Experiment Subject remained.
...
[You have completed the 'Strange Invitation Mission — Strange Experiment Center'.]
[Difficulty: One and a Half Stars]
[Basic Reward: 2000 Points, 400 Experience, 2 Free Attribute Points, Random Blue Quality Item x2]
[You have completed the following hidden missions, triggering rewards.]
[You successfully obtained the weapons and items from the Storage Room. Game Points +500.]
[You successfully used Strange Suppression Potions to kill 4 Strange infected bodies. Game Points +2000.]
[You successfully defeated and killed the Strange Experiment Subject by joining forces with companions. Game Points +2000.]
[Survivor player count reached 9. Game Points +900.]
[You killed two Killer Players. Game Points +1000.]
[Due to your 'Outstanding Performance' in this game, and due to the effect of your Blessing 'Point Splitting', your Game Points will receive a 300% bonus. You finally obtain 25200 Points.]
[You have achieved the following achievements.]
[Joint Effort: You cooperated with other players in battle and successfully lived until the end of the game.] [Strength +1]
[Lifesaver: You took the initiative to propose rescuing other players and saved multiple players.] [Charm +1]
[One-Hit Kill: Facing the provocation, ridicule, and posturing of a Killer Player, you killed him with a single strike.] [Agility +1]
['He' looks forward to your future performance.]
[Settlement ended.]
[Your experience is currently 550/500. You can consume experience to level up. Do you wish to level up?]
"Level up."
[Congratulations, your level has increased to LV4.]
...
Returning to his own apartment,
It took Lin Ye a good while to come back to his senses. He propped himself up and found he was already wearing his own clothes.
Through the game's reward information, Lin Ye realized that 1 to 2 Newcomers hiding elsewhere must have survived. Their luck was really good.
"I'm back."
The four-hour instance mission caused a relatively high burden on his body and mind.
The injuries on his body had recovered, but the psychological burden wasn't so easily dissipated.
Especially the battle with the Strange Experiment Subject. Under the circumstances where his Time Stop uses were exhausted, he resolutely launched an attack, cooperating with Holy Knight to attack the Strange Experiment Subject.
The danger within was something only he knew. Lin Ye knew that if he considered his own life safety, retreating and running far away would have been the best choice at that time.
But he wanted to break through, wanted to leave the safe comfort zone. When it was time to risk his life, he should try risking it. Only in this way could he go a step further. This was not only a step further physiologically, but also a step further psychologically.
Lin Ye took his phone and checked the time.
"One hour?"
This instance mission time was four hours, but only one hour had passed in reality.
"In that case, I have to go to Yukinoshita's place."
Lin Ye hadn't forgotten about this matter.
But before that, Lin Ye planned to contact Ai Hoshino first.
Buzz buzz buzz...
The phone rang one step ahead of him.
It was Ai Hoshino's call.
"Lin-kun."
"Mn, it's over. Don't worry about next month's mandatory mission. It will take at least half a month. During this half month, rest well, relax, and just live a daily life."
"Mn."
Ai Hoshino hummed in agreement.
"You must be tired too! Rest early."
Ai Hoshino, holding the phone, cared more about Lin Ye. "Lin-kun, you are the one who is tired. You are much more tired than me. How about I go to Chiba right now to give you a massage?"
Her words carried a tiny bit of shyness.
"No need, rest well. There's no need to drag your tired body over to give me a massage. If I need it, I can just find a massage parlor."
"..."
Ai Hoshino was unhappy. She didn't want those other old women touching Lin Ye!
"Alright, next time. Next time we meet, give me a good massage."
"Mn, I'll wear black stockings to massage you."
Ai Hoshino felt Lin Ye still liked black stockings more.
Lin Ye could only exclaim that this girl really understood!
"Lin-kun, next time tell me about those two girls. I am very... curious!"
Her tone was cheerful, but ultimately contained a hint of resentment.
"I'll tell you then."
Ai Hoshino continued to be unhappy.
"By the way, Lin-kun, do you know why the nickname I chose is 'Rina'?"
"Wasn't it chosen randomly?"
"Lin-kun, you dummy."
Ai Hoshino made a sound of dissatisfaction.
"That is..."
"I'm ignoring Lin-kun. I won't talk to Lin-kun tonight. Goodbye, goodnight."
Ai Hoshino hung up the phone.
Beep beep beep... Only the notification tone remained.
Lin Ye frowned slightly in thought.
A while later, he thought of it.
"Originally... it was like that!"
____
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