Volume 3: Deep Blue Sea
With the approaching date of the public beta test of “Deep Blue Sea”, the internet has plunged into an unprecedented frenzy. Due to the limitations of the special-grade nutrient pods, the number of players entering the game this time is almost half compared to “Winter’s End”. However, in contrast, the viewership from those watching the game has reached an all-time high.
24 hours before the game begins, major game streaming platforms have already categorized “Deep Blue Sea”. In just a short hour, these platforms have been dominated by “Deep Blue Sea”, and StarPlay Entertainment is no exception. Half of the top ten live streams on the platform are from gamers about to enter “Deep Blue Sea.”.
Lie Yang, who had not been seen, is also present. But because the game hasn’t started yet, Lie Yang is just displaying the logo of “Deep Blue Sea”. In reality, he is utilizing the exterior view feature of the nutrient pod to livestream his daily life at home. Even so, the popularity of Lie Yang’s live stream is rapidly growing, quickly securing the top position.
Due to the collaboration between Lie Yang and Ye Qian in “Winter’s End”, they unexpectedly gained a large number of fans among both humans and Zerg races. Online, there are fervent suggestions for the two to team up again.
Of course, the story wouldn’t be complete without Shu Xun, the elusive little dumpling. After completing the game, many dumpling fans lost their focus, and some even refused to give up on tracing Shu Xun’s whereabouts online. However, the results were almost fruitless. The public beta of “Deep Blue Sea” has sparked renewed anticipation among countless players. Whether the clever little dumpling, who could be considered a baby, and was last seen carrying two gods to victory, will appear in the survival game again remains uncertain.
However, the difficulty of “Deep Blue Sea” can be foreseen in the promotional video. Deep down, many people are speculating. This time, it’s probably unlikely to see the dumpling since, after all, despite his intelligence, the dumpling is underage, even bordering on being an infant. Depressed dumpling fans can only occasionally log into the “Winter’s End” official website, where the memoirs of the first batch of players have already been compiled. Shu Xun and the others who completed the game naturally occupy a significant portion of it. Surprisingly, Shu Xun’s popularity surpasses that of Ye Qian and Lie Yang, securing the top position.
Opening the integrated album, prominently displayed on the cover is a scene of Shu Xun earnestly washing dishes. As you continue, there are scenes of the little dumpling diligently sewing his own little socks, his first time slipping on the icy surface of a small lake, casually strolling while contemplating on Ye Qian’s leg, the moment he slept in a small sleeping bag with a satisfied expression due to warmth, an unconscious picture of using Ye Qian’s wolf ears as a small blanket wrapped around himself, and the image of tying Lie Yang’s antennae into a bow…
As these scenes pass by, it’s like reliving the winter world. Despite being in the face of an end, accompanying various strange and chaotic mysteries, because of a small player, the entire heavy and tense survival game took on a different appearance. They saw the beautiful side of that end-world from another perspective, whether it’s the picturesque white and ice-blue scenery or the poignant stories of the indigenous people. It captivated them, or rather, it allowed those watching the game to have a wonderful sense of immersion, experiencing the gamut1used to describe a wide variety or a full extent of possibilities, emotions, colors, sounds, or any other measurable quantity of emotions.
Since Ye Jian hadn’t started the live stream yet, a large number of players who used to watch Ye Qian’s live broadcasts in “Winter’s End” gathered in Lie Yang’s live stream. So, the confidently smiling Lie Yang sees completely off-topic barrage messages in his livestream.
“Just finished watching the memoirs, missing Shu Xun, don’t know if we’ll see him again.”
“Missing the little dumpling. I watched so many live broadcasts of survival games, and “Winter’s End” with Shu Xun is the most real and joyful game live stream for me.”
“Big Lie! Why isn’t Ye Qian online yet? Can you call Ye Qian and ask if he knows where Shu Xun is?”
“Want to see the little dumpling, already saved the memoirs.”
“My king, just watched the memoirs, and I think the most handsome picture of my king is when Shu Xun tied his antennae into a bow!”
“At the moment, it seems that the difficulty of “Deep Blue Sea” is definitely higher than “Winter’s End”. My king, go connect with Ye Qian! Otherwise, I feel my king might kneel with his intelligence!”
“Connect with Ye Qian! Connect with Ye Qian! Keep lying down and winning! Keep lying down and winning!”
“Get ready for the pose, lie down, and win! Lie down and win!”
Lie Yang: “…”
Watching the Zerg race in the livestream preparing various poses to lie down and win, Lie Yang never felt that his race lacked combat desire and spirit so much. His smile was almost freezing on his face. Suddenly, as if thinking of something, he confidently smiled again, spreading out his slender palm. A blue light faintly shimmered, and an ice-blue butterfly appeared in the palm of Lie Yang’s hand. “As powerful as I am! I don’t need teammates at all!”
In the live stream chat: “…”
“My king might have a problem with his brain!”
“Isn’t that butterfly the Blue Butterfly from “Winter’s End”? Is it the awakening ability of the Blue Amber Potion?”
“I think the correct interpretation of my king’s words is: As powerful as I am! No need for a brain!”
“Hahaha! The one upstairs is brilliant!”
“Big Lie! I believe in you! You can do it!”
“My king, wake up quickly! Find the little dumpling! Find the little dumpling! I have a premonition that “Deep Blue Sea” will be even more complicated!”
“The official website has already announced that the manifestation of the awakened form after the evolution of the interstellar race using the Blue Amber Potion is the accompanying Blue Butterfly, and the abilities are diverse. What is Big Lie’s ability?”
Ignoring the questioning voices in the barrage, Lie Yang continued confidently, “My Blue Butterfly can definitely rival the little dumpling! The awakened domain ability, high intelligence spiritual body, logical reasoning, and whatnot, are not too simple. But still, I need to find the little dumpling. This time, I, the king, will lie down and win with the little dumpling! Let’s go! Connect with Ye Qian.”
Livestream chat:
“Liar! With Lie Yang’s intelligence, the awakened ability is unexpectedly a brain domain spiritual power, with Lie Yang’s brain, it’s definitely a judgment error.”
“I heard that the awakened ability of the Blue Butterfly is related to the original abilities. Big Lie’s Blue Butterfly? I can’t believe it.”
“Anyway, connect with Ye Qian, connect with Ye Qian, I want to see the little dumpling!”
“What if Ye Qian also doesn’t know where the little dumpling is? Suddenly feeling so desperate! In such a high-difficulty game, the little dumpling probably won’t participate.”
Amidst the anticipation, Lie Yang found Ye Qian’s livestream ID. At this moment, Ye Qian’s ID was still in gray, indicating an offline status. However, Lie Yang had a high level, and when connecting with someone offline, the other person would receive a notification. So, in the countless eager eyes, a prompt box appeared on the screen along with a childish notification sound: The other party heartlessly rejected your connection request, please try harder~
The first time being rejected, Lie Yang: “…”
Audience: “…” If I remember correctly, the rejection notification sound is chosen by the rejecting party, so is this childish rejection sound set by Ye Qian? Thinking of Ye Qian’s cold and expressionless demeanor, everyone shivered simultaneously, not understanding what aesthetic Ye Qian’s rich inner world was.
Persistent Lie Yang squinted his eyes slightly and clicked on the connection again.
The screen displayed a prompt box and notification sound again: The other party heartlessly rejected your connection request again, please try harder~
Continuing to connect.
Notification sound: The other party heartlessly rejected your connection request for the third time, it is recommended to give up~
Continuing to connect.
Notification sound: Although moved by your persistence, your face is already swollen. It is recommended to seek treatment~
Continuing to connect.
Notification sound: You might not only have a swollen face. It is recommended to check your brain as well~
Audience: “…”
Under the gaze of the audience, they witnessed Lie Yang continuously attempting to connect, and prompt boxes kept popping up. Lie Yang had transformed from a dangerous squinting state to being enthusiastically engaged. It seemed that, for the first time after being rejected, the notification sound had become quite diverse.
Finally, after countless rejections, the once childish notification sound turned into a roar: “Damn it, don’t you understand?! If you try to connect again, I’ll go on strike!”
Everyone: “!!!” This familiar tone! It’s Shu Xun! The crowd only realized that Ye Qian must have programmed the nutrient pod’s notification sound to mimic Shu Xun’s way of speaking, albeit with a changed voice, which had prevented them from recognizing it.
Lie Yang’s eyes also lit up. Indeed, this way of speaking was highly distinctive; it was hard not to recognize. So, he continued clicking the connection with high spirits.
Prompt box: The notification sound is on strike. We recommend checking your intelligence. Please reread and comprehend all the above notification sounds before proceeding! Thank you for your cooperation, and we wish you a happy life~
Lie Yang: “…”
Livestream chat:
“Hahaha! Big Lie got rejected by the notification sound! Even the system mocks his intelligence. Truly intelligent.”
“Did Ye Qian program this notification sound himself? Is there anywhere to download it? I want it!”
“Although the little milk voice is also cute, if it’s Shu Xun’s voice, it would be even more adorable!”
However, the persistent Lie Yang seemed to have no concept of giving up. While chatting whimsically, he continued to click on the connection, completely ignoring the system’s mechanical voice wishing him a happy life. Until noon, while enjoying his lunch and interacting cheerfully with the barrage, he habitually clicked on the connection again. However, this time, no prompt box immediately popped up. Instead, the livestream view was divided into two halves. Apart from the side where Lie Yang was, the other side showed a tidy room and Ye Jian with a poker face.
Suddenly seeing Ye Jian’s icy and almost freezing gaze, Lie Yang almost choked on his drink. The live stream chat exploded with countless barrage messages.
“You agreed to connect!” Lie Yang looked at Ye Jian with an expression as if he had seen a ghost, still holding his food.
Seeing Lie Yang’s reaction, Ye Jian coldly said, “If there’s nothing, disconnect.” After speaking, he prepared to end the connection.
“Emergency! Emergency! Emergency!” Watching Ye Qian’s swift actions without any delay, Lie Yang believed that if he had been even a second slower, Ye Qian would undoubtedly have disconnected the video call without hesitation. “Where’s Shu Xun? Do you know where he is? Give me his contact information. In “Deep Blue Sea”, I’ll lie down and win with him!”
Ye Qian: “Heh~”
Then, he instantly ended the video call.
Mocked, Lie Yang fell silent for a few seconds. He almost angrily flipped the dining table but managed to control himself. Furious, he attempted to connect again. Fortunately, this time, he connected to Ye Qian once again.
“Don’t tell me you don’t have it. Give me the little dumpling’s contact information. As for us, we’ll meet in the game!” Lie Yang tilted his head slightly, revealing a supremely confident and slightly provocative smile.
Ye Jian gave Lie Yang an expressionless glance, then suddenly stood up and headed toward the kitchen. Everyone’s attention followed, and they saw in the kitchen a certain little dumpling flapping his wings, skillfully swinging a kitchen knife. The pot next to him was bubbling with steam, and the frying pan was sizzling with hot oil. The little figure moved quite skillfully, chopping the vegetables with the knife a few times, with the cut lengths almost identical.
After Shu Xun finished chopping the vegetables, he turned to Ye Jian. “Just one more dish, it’ll be ready soon~”
Lie Yang, looking bewildered, stared at the familiar figure with a pair of large, dark blue wings. The little dumpling held a knife much larger than himself, wearing a small apron, flying in mid-air.
Lie Yang: “Ye Qian! You’re actually oppressing a toddler! I don’t accept this! I want to eat too!”
Livestream chat:
“Feeling fulfilled. Little Dumpling wearing an apron is simply too cute!”
“Why do I feel like the little dumpling holding a knife looks very mighty and domineering? Hahaha, is it just my illusion? I feel like Ye Qian might have been chased out of the kitchen by Shu Xun wielding a knife.”
“So domesticated! A must-have little dumpling for gaming at home!”
“The dishes look good. Can we open all five senses? I won’t eat, just want to smell the aroma! Huh? Why is the little dumpling at Ye Qian’s house?”
Translator’s corner:
Outside the game, there are times when the name mentioned will be Ye Jian, and sometimes, it’ll be Ye Qian…
But inside the game, the name to be used will be Ye Qian.
Always remember that Ye Jian and Ye Qian are only one person.
