Chapter 29: Wanted Again
“Coordinates…?” Dong Li murmured.
He more or less understood what coordinates were, but this time he deliberately refused to say anything more, leaving only one reply:
[Just wait.]
[Floor 55: Why’d you disappear halfway through?]
[Floor 56: Are you messing with us?]
[Floor 60: Heard there are clues about the demon king here?]
Dong Li closed the forum and put away the metal plate.
He did intend to “leak” something, but the time wasn’t right yet.
There weren’t many half-demons. He wanted to make as many pills for them as possible first.
After last night’s incident, Maidong City had tightened security, and the players would be more prepared too.
If Dong Li could trick some of them into going somewhere else first and feed them to Heidan…
He told Lufiel his idea.
Lufiel didn’t stop him.
“A distraction?” The corner of his mouth lifted. “All right. I can be the bait.”
“No, no.” Dong Li quickly shook his head. “We can just tell them some random place. If they don’t believe it, forget it.”
Lufiel gave a quiet acknowledgment, apparently agreeing.
“But…” Dong Li grew curious again. “Is the demon king Heidan or Yuanbao? Heidan’s level is higher, but Yuanbao’s ability seems stronger…”
Ever since Yuanbao’s blizzard had frozen everyone to death in Northern Dark Forest and saved Heidan, Heidan had become especially fond of sticking close to Yuanbao and currying favor.
“Neither,” Lufiel said. “They’re demonic beasts.”
The Ice Qilin and Bronze-Armored Taotie were preexisting demonic-beast bosses. They wouldn’t simultaneously serve as another boss character.
Dong Li looked confused.
“Then where’s the demon king?”
He had only been in Dragonbone Town for a couple of days when he first heard about the demon king on the forum.
Dragonbone Town had even borrowed a half-demon because of it.
At the time, Dong Li had assumed the demon king was either Heidan or Yuanbao, whom he had taken from the dungeon cave.
Afraid the players would discover them, he had hurriedly left.
“I’m not sure,” Lufiel said after a moment’s thought. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
So far, the NPC most closely connected to the demon-king storyline seemed to be Dong Li.
But Dong Li had escaped the system on his own, found the metal plate, and learned about players. His awareness had already gone far beyond that of an ordinary NPC.
Lufiel had noticed how unusual Dong Li was a long time ago, so none of this surprised him too much.
More detailed checks could wait until Liufeng arrived and met them.
For now, Dong Li traveling with two demonic beasts could still be nothing more than coincidence.
Fortunately, after eating his pills, both the Ice Qilin and Bronze-Armored Taotie had become obedient and docile.
There was no need to worry too much for the moment.
Dong Li nodded obediently.
Then he leaned closer.
“Lulu, can I see your golden glass?”
By “golden glass,” he meant Lufiel’s sword aura.
Dong Li roughly understood what it was, but couldn’t describe it accurately.
Lufiel held him close and agreed.
A small cluster of golden light gathered in his palm, forming something that really did resemble a transparent golden glass ball.
Dong Li carefully accepted it and cupped it in both hands.
The sword aura was actually projected mental energy, deliberately shaped into a smooth sphere.
It felt hard to the touch but had no weight.
Dong Li played with it for a while and thought Rongrong would probably like it too.
At that moment, Rongrong was guarding the little medicine furnace.
Perhaps because it sensed how important this was to Dong Li, the usually playful little fox had become unusually serious.
Its violet eyes looked steadier than usual.
Whenever the half-demons brought over fresh herbs, they respectfully greeted it as well.
“My Lord Fox Spirit.”
Dong Li’s spirit form naturally represented Dong Li himself.
Rongrong gave a tiny nod, then lifted a paw to indicate that they should put the herbs into the furnace.
By nightfall, three more batches of pills had been completed and distributed among the half-demons.
Dong Li left the original pills alone.
Those were food for the two little beasts, so he stored them safely again.
He had spent almost the entire day making medicine and was tired.
The half-demons therefore decided to launch their attack on Maidong City at noon the next day.
Daylight made it harder to conceal their movements, but it might also catch the city off guard.
And after receiving all the pills, the Titmouse seemed extremely confident.
Lufiel helped with the preparations too.
He asked Liufeng to find out where the remaining half-demons from the beast arena had been moved.
As long as a player had an entry pass and a sufficiently high level, the NPCs inside the city barely guarded against them at all.
Once everything was prepared, Dong Li hugged Heidan before bed and carefully instructed,
“When the time comes, I’ll lure some people out. Eat them, then hurry and hide.”
Heidan’s eyes immediately lit up.
“Mm, mm!”
Its tail wagged eagerly.
Yuanbao sat nearby and touched Dong Li’s fingertip with one paw, signaling that it would protect Heidan too.
Dong Li didn’t need to worry.
Rongrong, meanwhile, was already asleep beside the pillow.
As usual, the half-demons had prepared small wooden houses for Dong Li and Lufiel.
Originally, they had arranged two separate ones.
But Lufiel insisted on continuing to stay beside Dong Li, so the two of them shared one for the night.
Dong Li set down the two little beasts, yawned, rubbed his eyes, then turned and crawled into Lufiel’s arms.
It was his first time spending the night away from home with his boyfriend…
For some reason, the thought made him strangely excited.
His violet eyes remained fixed on Lufiel, his thoughts unreadable.
Lufiel pulled the thin blanket over him.
“Not sleepy yet?”
“I am…”
Dong Li yawned again, his eyes watering.
He rubbed his face against Lufiel and said in a spoiled little voice,
“Lulu, after we finish the partnership quest… will you teach me how to kiss?”
Lufiel asked softly, “Teach you how to kiss properly?”
Dong Li lifted his face and nodded.
“Mm.”
He didn’t hide what he wanted in the slightest.
His fingertips lightly touched Lufiel’s lips, and he couldn’t resist leaning in for a kiss.
When Dong Li tried to move closer again and lick him, Lufiel stopped him in time.
“Rongrong.”
His Adam’s apple shifted.
“I’ll teach you once we’re out of here.”
If he lost control again the way he had at noon, he would receive his second warning tonight.
Dong Li restrained himself too and obediently nodded.
He was genuinely exhausted.
After Lufiel extinguished the light inside the little house, Dong Li quickly fell asleep.
Pale moonlight filtered in through the window.
The forest outside was silent.
Lufiel stayed awake for a while.
After placing a monitoring device nearby, he temporarily logged out.
Once he emerged from the gaming pod, he replenished himself with nutrient solution and took a shower as usual.
He ignored the numerous messages on his communicator.
He lived in a single dorm room, and the door had already been locked.
By now, everyone probably assumed he had gone somewhere else and wasn’t staying in the dormitory these past two days.
When he logged back in, Lufiel returned to the wooden house.
Yuanbao heard the movement and opened its eyes.
After glancing at him once, it rolled over and went back to sleep.
Heidan was squeezed beside it, already completely lost in dreams.
Lufiel lay down silently.
Still half-asleep, Dong Li shifted toward him and nestled into his arms.
—
The next day, Dong Li slept until ten in the morning.
After a full night’s rest, he was energetic again.
He ate the breakfast Lufiel had prepared along with the berries delivered by the Titmouse.
When the time was right, Liufeng received their message from outside and entered the center of the dungeon.
The half-demons sensed the passage above opening.
They immediately began moving.
There were equal numbers of Titmouse and Illusion Snakes, just enough for each Titmouse to carry one Illusion Snake into the air.
Dong Li hugged Rongrong and carefully stepped onto the Crimson-Gold Sword.
The sword could fly for short distances.
Lufiel held Dong Li securely in his arms while controlling it.
The two little beasts poked their heads from Dong Li’s pockets and watched the grass below grow farther and farther away.
Dong Li looked down too for a moment, then tightened his arms around Lufiel’s waist.
Not long afterward, the two of them followed the half-demons to the central area of the Illusion Forest dungeon.
Liufeng was waiting there.
When he saw several half-demons appear, he took a deep breath.
They weren’t due to respawn yet.
And yet here they really were…
It looked as though the entire settlement had come out.
There were more than twenty Titmouse and Illusion Snakes altogether.
A huge flock of smaller Titmouse had been summoned from the forest as well, circling overhead.
Lufiel and Dong Li were the last to arrive.
The Crimson-Gold Sword landed smoothly.
Dong Li looked up and saw two figures standing not far away.
One man and one woman.
Their features were somewhat similar.
Dong Li recognized one of them as the man he had seen outside Maidong City.
“They’re Liufeng and Liuye,” Lufiel said.
Liufeng raised a hand and waved.
“Hi!”
Beside him, Liuye studied the gathered half-demons with considerable interest.
“Half-demons launching an attack on players by themselves? Interesting.”
Dong Li had never really interacted with other players before.
He hugged Rongrong a little tighter and asked softly, “They won’t capture demonic beasts, right?”
“They won’t,” Lufiel reassured him. “They know about your situation too.”
Only then did Dong Li relax.
He followed Lufiel forward and greeted them.
“Hello…”
“Hi, hi!”
Liufeng secretly studied him, growing more curious the longer he looked.
This was the first time he had ever seen Dong Li up close.
At a glance, he looked almost no different from an ordinary player…
But the subtle expressions and movements were nothing like those of a standard NPC.
Especially the little fox in Dong Li’s arms.
It was completely different from the dull, rigid spirit forms Liufeng had seen before.
Its violet eyes moved around curiously, observing Liufeng and Liuye in return.
An NPC had developed genuine consciousness…
Liufeng was privately astonished.
Then Dong Li took the metal plate from his pocket.
Liufeng couldn’t resist moving closer.
He asked carefully,
“What are you doing?”
Dong Li lowered his head and skillfully opened the Player Forum.
“I want to lure the people in the city out so Heidan can eat them!”
Heidan?
Who was Heidan?
Liufeng’s gaze dropped.
He found himself staring directly into a pair of hostile crimson eyes.
A small black beast poked its head from Dong Li’s pocket.
Beside it was a white one.
…
Liufeng had seen this before.
The black one was the Bronze-Armored Taotie in its weakened form.
The white one was almost certainly the Ice Qilin.
Even though Lufiel had warned him in advance, seeing them in person still left Liufeng with very complicated feelings.
An NPC who had escaped the system’s control.
Two demonic beasts traveling at his side.
A trail of incidents behind him.
Helping half-demons attack a city.
Using the Player Forum…
Liufeng silently backed away.
Beside him, Liuye put on her mask.
“When are we leaving? I want to go watch too.”
“Watching is fine,” Liufeng hurriedly whispered. “But you just got off the wanted list. Don’t start killing people again…”
Meanwhile, Dong Li found the thread from before.
He posted a set of coordinates beneath it.
Lufiel had given him the location.
It was just outside the Illusion Forest dungeon.
Replies appeared almost immediately.
[Floor 231: This is outside Maidong City’s exit?]
[Floor 232: Seriously? I really don’t buy it.]
[Floor 233: You disappeared for this many floors and finally came back.]
[Floor 234: Is the demon king there, or is Lufiel there?]
Before Dong Li sent the coordinates, the half-demons had already set out.
They planned to circle around from behind the Illusion Forest and approach Maidong City from another direction.
There was a small patch of woods there where they could temporarily hide.
Liufeng and Liuye left as well.
The two headed into Maidong City and planned to hide somewhere discreet while monitoring the situation.
Dong Li put away the metal plate and brought the two little beasts to the entrance of the Illusion Forest.
“If nobody comes, or if too many people show up,” he instructed, “hide right away. Try to eat them secretly, and don’t go too far.”
Heidan and Yuanbao sat on the ground and nodded.
Rongrong stood beside them, apparently planning to go along too.
Dong Li still wasn’t completely reassured.
He crouched at the dungeon entrance for a long time without leaving.
“What if they don’t believe me…?”
He was worried he wouldn’t lure enough players away.
There were so many people in the city.
If the half-demons didn’t have enough fighters, their attack might fail.
Lufiel stood beside him.
Then he suddenly called, “Rongrong.”
Dong Li looked up.
Lufiel was holding out a hand.
Dong Li instinctively rose and leaned toward him.
Lufiel bent slightly and pulled him into his arms.
“I can be the bait,” he said. “They’ll come.”
“But…” Dong Li hesitated. “You mean let them see you? Then I’m coming with you.”
“You don’t need to.”
Lufiel lowered his head.
And kissed him.
[New target added to the wanted list! Duration: 30 days. Spirit wielders, assist in the pursuit to receive generous rewards!]
Standing at the gates of Maidong City, Liufeng casually opened the system announcement.
The moment he saw Lufiel’s name, he blurted,
“What the hell is he doing now?”
At the same time, Lufiel had already taken Dong Li deeper into the Illusion Forest.
The two hid together in a secluded corner.
Dong Li sat in Lufiel’s arms.
And kissed him again.
With nothing else left to worry about, Lufiel kissed him much harder this time.
Dong Li couldn’t help letting out a soft sound.
The forest was dim and silent.
All they could hear were each other’s breaths—and the wet sounds of their lips and tongues meeting.
By the time one kiss finally ended, even the tip of Dong Li’s tongue felt faintly numb.
Lufiel leaned in again, kissing away the moisture at the corner of his lips.
Author’s Note:
Other players: They’ll never guess in a million years why he ended up on the wanted list.
