In Virtual Reality 81 ☆ The Hydrangea Park (5/33)

“…Although I'm partial to large dogs,” Xu Jin Yi's smile wilted, and her expression hardened, “I'm certain I've never raised a human before.”

Celestial Master's excitement reached fever pitch as he barked uncontrollably: “No! You can raise one!”

“I refuse.” Xu Jin Yi rebuffed the notion with finality.
She surveyed the area and noticed a veil of fog seemingly engulfed the surroundings.
“We need to leave here immediately.”

She looked up at the partially obscured sky, noting that the curved blue moon had now shifted east.
“It's about to become toxic,” Xu Jin Yi lowered her head and pulled up her hood, leaving only the lower half of her face visible.
She smiled at her newfound companion and said, “Can you keep up?”

Before Celestial Master could answer, the pink silhouette flashed away.
The fanatic follower was thrown into a state of panic, “Wait for me, Excelsior!” He whipped his legs around at breakneck speed, which previously were as supple as noodles, outpacing his prior escape for his life.

The chat barrage was abuzz with disbelief.

【First time seeing a Taoist priest running so actively…
Has someone been replaced??】

【Who was it just a few minutes ago who said they wouldn't run and would wait for death? Who was it?】

Celestial Master ran after the bright pink figure through the hazy mist, his sharp eyes fixed on his target.
He paused briefly to catch his breath and spoke with conviction, “This isn't about life or death; it's about chasing stars; it's about chasing faith.
Do you understand?”

【Ah, yes, yes!】

【But does the anchor really believe she's Excelsior? Could it be a fake by some other anchor?】

【Excelsior hasn't announced their gender.
I used to think Excelsior was a guy.】

【Don't be so stereotypical! Girls can also be good at playing games, and boys can also like pink.
What's the big deal?】

【What are you arguing about? Keep arguing, and I'll ban you all.】

Instantly, the administrators in the live stream room banned the few viewers who were still provoking and cursing.

“Mind your words, this is a serious live stream room!” Celestial Master added.

【Actually, I used to believe it was true…】

【I'm a fan of Excelsior!】

【I'm a fan of Excelsior!】

【I'm a fan of Excelsior!】

Celestial Master said, “…this is called being unable to resist your feelings!” as he huffed and puffed while running.
He spoke firmly, “Who wouldn't be confused when they see their idol!”

【At least our pants won't automatically fall off and beat people up.】

【It's hard not to believe that Excelsior wasn't scared away by you…】

The barrage began to disparage the Taoist priest's worth, and the previously agitated atmosphere in the live stream room settled down.

【But why is the anchor following this player?】

【I'll answer that! That's Excelsior!】

【That's Excelsior!】

【The essence of human beings is a parrot, without error】

【But honestly, even if it's Excelsior, who would believe it if the camp is not revealed? Only the anchor, this fool, would believe it.】

“Please check if the fool is still here before you send a barrage,” Celestial Master retorted.

The barrage area erupted with laughter as the anchor's loyal fans spared no effort to ridicule him.

Struggling to keep up with the player, Celestial Master pulled up his slipping Taoist robe and huffed and puffed as he ran.
Whenever he had the opportunity, he explained, “First of all, Excelsior is my idol.
Because of her speedrun of 'Ghost Ship', I got into gaming websites, so it's not difficult to understand why I'm following her now.
Secondly, I am currently a player in this closed beta test game.
Naturally, I must experience as much of this game as possible.
By following the main developer, I can experience more things!”

“Finally,” he suddenly slowed his pace while running, “this is a live broadcast, and I need traffic.”

“Dear viewers, have you noticed the exponential surge in the viewership of my live broadcast room since we began?” observed Celestial Master.

And true it was.

With Excelsior's name on the tip of everyone's tongue, the number of viewers in Celestial Master's live broadcast room exploded like a rocket.

“More importantly,” he whispered, standing just behind the person in the pink hoodie, his gaze affixed to a ghastly figure hunched before them that stood nearly three meters tall.
“Follow Excelsior, and your chances of survival will increase.” Celestial Master swallowed hard, unsure whether to add, “…probably?”

【Hahaha, this monster-bumping speed】

【Survive until the end? More like cremated until the end】

【Be decisive, and don't hesitate to give up!】

The barrage and the anchor had different, disparate moods.
But Celestial Master paid no mind to the chatter and the levity of the barrage area.
He steadied himself and marched towards where Excelsior was.

Excelsior, rather than remove her hood or seek an opportunity to escape, remained comfortable and casual as she chatted with the towering ghostly figure before her.

The Taoist listened closely.

“Well, the weather today is rather pleasant, isn't it? At least it's not raining.”

【[email protected]$?？*x》。】

Excelsior effortlessly took control of the conversation, her words flowing like the current of a river.
“Indeed, rainy days can cause a bit of a drenching.
Did your robe get wet when you crossed the creek? Perhaps it needs ironing?” she suggested, tilting her head.

【$|+$&ob”?shb|&%。】

Excelsior laughed, tossing back her hood.
“Money? I don't take money.
Helping others is my pleasure.”

The ghost dug the sickle into the soil and carefully handed the robe to Excelsior.
How had Celestial Master missed the figure's lengthy sickle earlier?

Celestial Master thought the robe's hem looked like a fishing net with holes everywhere.
Ironing it would probably exacerbate the situation.
He wondered how much he would have to pay to get it fixed.

Xu Jin Yi quickly took the robe and tucked it into her pocket, leading them to a whole other dimension.

The ghost mumbled something unintelligible, but Xu Jin Yi couldn't quite make it out.
The figure's black eye sockets hinted at reluctance.
Xu Jin Yi felt uncomfortable.
Even though she had orchestrated this game herself, it felt odd to play out her script.
Luckily, the ghost soon returned its focus to the task at hand, averting its gaze.

【The darkness has receded, and the time for voting in the daylight has arrived.】

【Five minutes are allotted for each of you to make a choice.
Bear in mind that every person can only cast a single vote.】

【For a reminder, there are ten surviving players from last night.】

Without hesitation, Xu Jin Yi uttered, “Abstain.”

Perplexed by the suddenness of the decision, the Taoist asked, “What?”

【You're just abstaining like that?】

【They probably haven't sighted any other players yet, so they don't want to cast their vote】

【No way, no way, the jester player's initiating the game right away! Watch me kill randomly!】

【If you managed to stay alive, who should you vote for at the start? Voting without seeing everyone will paint a target on your back once the game ends】

Celestial Master, originally intended to cause chaos, abandoned his wicked thoughts and sheepishly rubbed his nose, “I'll also abstain.”

The three-meter-tall ghost figure nodded before vanishing into thin air with a blink.

Meanwhile, ten numbers manifested in the upper left corner of the pair's field of vision.

【Abstained votes are written in positions 10 and 6.】

【But they aren't named; is this a semi-public vote?】

【Luckily the host abstained; otherwise, fans of other hosts might barge in and create chaos in the live broadcast room after watching the replay.】

“There are a little over four minutes left,” Xu Jin Yi turned her head.
“I'm thinking of checking out the ice rink.
You down?”

Celestial Master responded without hesitation.
“Sounds like a plan; I'm game!”

“Alright, let's move then,” Xu Jin Yi didn't elaborate further, lifting her foot towards a specific direction.
Though this time, she took a leisurely pace, allowing the Taoist to keep up by merely accelerating.

“Um, Excelsior,” Celestial Master leaned closer to her with a hint of hesitation, twiddling his fingers.
Finally, mustering the courage to ask, “What's your identity, if I may ask?”

Xu Jin Yi: “……”

The audience in the live stream room: “……”

Xu Jin Yi remained silent, prompting a lull in the live stream room.

【You have to admit, kid's got guts.】

“Same as the folks above,” Xu Jin Yi replied simply.

Celestial Master, “Oh~huh? But they didn't say anything.” he muttered, eyeing the calm and collected default model in front of him.
He rubbed the back of his head, wondering if he wasn't smart enough to understand the implied meaning behind Excelsior's words.

Xu Jin Yi nodded naturally, “Exactly.”

Celestial Master: “……”

【E is a ruthless woman.】

【She doesn't even want to appease him!】

【The anchor is already teary-eyed…oh, poor anchor, guarded by the idol.
Yet, the idol doesn't even want to appease you.
So pitiful~】

【Why is the upstairs comment so ambiguous? Haha, I like it.】

It seemed that the audience's expectations were still quite high.
After a stunned silence, Celestial Master broke out into a silly grin.
“Wow, the idol was truly smart.”

【…?】

【Buy the child some walnuts to nourish the brain.
Look how foolish they've become?】

【Question, can walnuts pinched by a door still nourish the brain?】

【Anyway, the anchor doesn't mind.
We'll take the pinched ones too.】

Xu Jin Yi's lack of interest dissuaded Celestial Master from asking further questions.

If Excelsior were just an ordinary player, Celestial Master wouldn't have so easily exposed his own identity in Excelsior's highly-anticipated closed beta test live stream.
As expected, most of the invited anchors aimed to survive until the end, hoping to become the game's shining stars.
But for him, Excelsior was already a hot topic, and even a mere appearance on his live stream had skyrocketed his popularity.

Five people remained silent in the top left corner of the screen, abstaining from voting.
The remaining five participants waited, each with their own agenda.
As the voting period entered its final thirty seconds, the chat room exploded with “33377”.

Three people voted for No.
3 and two for No.
7.
The daytime voting time had ended.

Celestial Master stopped in his tracks and furrowed his brow.

Leading the way, Xu Jin Yi perked up and paused to inquire, “What seems to be the issue?”

“After we entered the game, the rules read, 'When the bell tolls, it's werewolf hour,'” He stroked his chin, frowning contemplatively.
“But we didn't hear any bells just now.
We only learned the night was over, and daytime voting commenced after encountering that eerie ghost.”

Xu Jin Yi responded vaguely.
“Perhaps you missed it.”

“Hmm…” Celestial Master pondered briefly before scratching his head, unable to produce a reasonable explanation.
“What of numbers 3 and 7? Has a group of five convened?”

To make matters worse, they started campaigning the instant they encountered one another.
Could it have been a private vendetta?

 

 

——— Translator's Notes ———

八个核桃 (bā ge hé táo) means “eight walnuts.” It's a Chinese idiom that means “to nourish the brain.”