At the moment when the two were facing off, Jing Nian suddenly felt a familiar presence in the sky above, and that presence was rapidly approaching his location.
Once it found him, that presence anxiously circled in the clouds.
Jing Nian: “…” There was no doubt about it; that was undoubtedly the aura of a dragon!
Under normal circumstances, if a dragon were flying above his head, hidden in the clouds, he would not have noticed it at all. But now, that presence was so blatantly exposed, even circling, which could only mean it was intentionally making him aware of its presence.
Something must have happened!
Jing Nian quickly looked up and then glanced inquisitively at Huo Yi, who was about to say something.
Feeling that he didn’t see any immediate danger from him, and considering that the little dragon seemed to like him so much, he decided to trust the little dragon’s intuition for now.
After all, they were already friends. He would return to the Dragon Clan first and then investigate this person’s true identity.
After making this decision in his mind, Jing Nian took a step back and whispered, “I have something to do, can we talk later?”
With that, he was ready to make a quick exit.
Huo Yi, who had already been stood up once, didn’t miss the little dragon’s hopeful gaze towards the sky.
He released his spiritual awareness and indeed saw a blue dragon circling anxiously in the clouds, seemingly about to break through the clouds and descend.
He looked knowingly but pretended as if he hadn’t noticed anything unusual, yet he couldn’t help but ask sincerely, “When will that be?”
After all, the last time this little guy said “See you tomorrow,” it was actually ten days later.
Without waiting for Jing Nian’s response, Huo Yi decided to rely on his own abilities. He subtly extended a thread of his spiritual awareness over the little dragon’s head, quietly slipping into its cloak and coiling around its horn.
Jing Nian, who was quietly calling for the sand vulture and Gordon, was caught off guard when he heard the other person’s serious tone as he asked when they would meet again. He couldn’t help but pause.
Everyone who played games knew that in these kinds of games, when you encountered someone by chance and said, “See you next time,” it meant you might meet again if fate allowed, but if there was no connection, there wouldn’t be a next time.
Unknown to Jing Nian, the person he was talking to could either be a newcomer or, as he suspected, an NPC who had ventured into the real world.
Judging by Huo Yi’s level, it was definitely not the former.
With that in mind, Jing Nian’s departure slowed down, and he decided to probe a bit further.
He continued to pretend to be a child from a wealthy family of the Emperor Star, complaining, “Next time… I can’t be sure when. If my private tutor assigns too much homework, I won’t be able to log in. What about you?”
“Big brother, what do you do for a living?”
After saying this, Jing Nian stared at the other person’s eyes, afraid of missing any details. He indeed noticed a passing look of confusion and hesitation in the other person’s eyes.
Suddenly, Jing Nian had a feeling that he had seen through this man’s hidden trait—a somewhat clueless earnestness.
Seemingly not too bad.
He had vaguely felt this when the man had asked him seriously about the next meeting.
Just as Jing Nian had this thought, he heard the man say, “I’m…”
Huo Yi searched his mind for a moment before finding a suitable title, “A programmer.”
In every way, it was a fitting title.
After all, with his powerful spiritual awareness and these days of infiltrating the holographic world’s database, replicating data had become effortless for him. He had even started experimenting with innovative programming.
His technical skills were progressing by leaps and bounds.
For instance, right now, if he wanted to continue his interactions with the departed River Clam in a magical manner, he no longer needed to showcase his intentions through surface-level actions for the “Creators” to see.
He could even subtly manipulate a small piece of data to make them believe it was just a data bug issue.
Moreover, when he heard the little dragon mention real-life events, Huo Yi’s attention was immediately piqued.
So, he tried to crawl through this tiny player system. As expected, there was no normal log-out connection window, which meant the other person’s system was nothing like his.
In other aspects as well, it was entirely unconventional in how it accessed the game.
If it wasn’t a normal holographic world NPC and it wasn’t a regular player…
Huo Yi’s heart skipped a beat when he saw the “[Jin Nian]” above the little dragon’s head, and another name suddenly popped into his mind.
—Nian Nian.
Back then, the boy afflicted with the soul loss syndrome because of the dragon egg seemed to have this name.
If the boy’s soul was trapped inside this little dragon’s body, then…
Huo Yi discreetly examined their interactions since meeting the little dragon and the deep thoughts he saw in its eyes now.
It was almost certain that he had identified the identity of this unusual player.
However, Huo Yi currently had no intention of revealing his own identity, whether it was considering his original purpose or his suspicion that this little dragon might be the boy named “Nian Nian.”
He would need to interact with this little dragon a lot in the future, so Huo Yi chose an appropriate profession for himself—programming.
It conveniently allowed him to use this excuse to conceal his past when he needed to do certain things in the future.
Unaware that he had already been stripped of one layer of disguise, Jing Nian, after hearing this answer, misunderstood once again.
The little dragon, who had originally been about to leave, cast a calming look toward the anxious giant dragon in the sky, as if to reassure it. Then, it turned around and gazed at Huo Yi, who stood a bit apart, looking as lonely as a wandering swordsman.
Right, the unusual account data, the solitary personality, and the taciturn behavior.
If it were a hacker, it made sense. Considering what the other person had just said to him, Jing Nian suddenly understood.
Because his own data was unsightly, and he had seen Jing Nian’s true form, he probably thought they were both using “black technology” to play the game. That’s why he wanted to team up and play together!
As for how the other person had managed to deceive the game GM and replace an NPC, Jing Nian didn’t have time to think about it because the dragon above his head was getting impatient.
So, Jing Nian waved to Huo Yi and said, “Well… Programmer big brother, let’s meet tomorrow!”
After saying that, Jing Nian rushed behind some cover, where he had hidden his sand vulture hiding spot.
–
The blue Dragon, which was a Wind Elemental Dragon, swiftly descended from the sky. Before landing, it treated someone differently, leaving them behind. Then, it placed its massive head beside a boulder, carefully shielding its young master atop its head.
The little dragon, who had thoroughly enjoyed the long-distance high-altitude flight, jumped down from the Wind Dragon’s head with great satisfaction. Then, it looked at Gordon, who was on the ground, wiping his face frantically, and asked Jing Nian in the Dragon Soul Space.
“What’s wrong with him, Jing Jing?”
Under the inquisitive gaze of the little dragon, Jing Nian felt a slight guilt towards Gordon.
Gordon was frantically wiping away a bright red lipstick mark, and if Jing Nian guessed correctly, it should be from that lady named Aunt Wang.
In the end, Jing Nian had a brief conversation with the little dragon, avoiding the inappropriate topic of “misconduct,” and briefly explained Gordon’s unfortunate situation. The little dragon, with a face full of sympathy, agreed to give Gordon half of the gold coins they had previously divided from “Gordon Carries Players” as a “comfort” gift.
Sure enough, when Gordon heard about the gold coin reward, his eyes lit up. He didn’t even mind the lipstick mark on his face that he hadn’t fully wiped off, and he even picked up the women’s trousers he had taken off earlier, threw them on the ground, and kissed them on the footprint.
Jing Nian: “…” For some reason, he felt even more guilty.
It was clearly a case of the sheep fleecing the sheep, but the sheep was way too happy about it.
At this moment, Hesse finally arrived and quickly approached. The first thing he did upon arrival was to check if there were any issues with the little dragon.
After the check, Hesse’s tone became serious as he instructed the dragon and Jing Nian to exchange control over their bodies.
After the exchange, Jing Nian allowed Hesse to check his body once again, feeling a bit shy. He then heard Hesse explain, “Something has happened.”
Hesse’s tone was overly grave, and Jing Nian’s heart tightened in response. Even the little dragon, who was still as innocent as a toddler, sensed the seriousness of the situation. It settled down obediently in the Dragon Soul Space, leaning gently against Jing Nian’s side, listening attentively to what Hesse had to say.
As Hesse flew with Jing Nian and the little dragon in a direction Jing Nian had never been to before, he slowly explained the reason for urgently summoning Jing Nian back.
“There has been an anomaly in the space of the Grans Continent. Centered around the activities of outsiders, all the places where outsiders have set foot are showing signs of temporal chaos…”
Upon hearing this, Jing Nian suddenly understood the reason behind Hesse’s earlier body check of both him and the little dragon.
…It was because they had discovered “temporal chaos” and were concerned about its potential effects on them.
Thinking about how considerate Hesse had been in having them exchange control of their bodies, Jing Nian was deeply moved. He wanted to contact the people in the real world as soon as possible to ensure the safety of these adorable dragons before the players leveled up.
He hadn’t verified what had happened on the dungeon side yet, what changes the BOSS had undergone since the dungeon was opened.
However, Hesse’s words indirectly confirmed his speculations. Moreover, the fact that it had put the Dragon Clan on alert made Jing Nian think that it probably wasn’t a benign change.
Seeing Jing Nian lost in thought, Hesse deliberately paused, waiting for him to react before briefly informing him of the crystal recordings they had watched during the last gathering of the dragon clan, where he had been accompanied by the Five Generals.
After listening, Jing Nian was so shocked that his mouth hung open in an ‘O’ shape, and he couldn’t close it for a long time.
It wasn’t until much later, after unintentionally taking a sip of cold air, that he finally snapped back to reality.
Players were discovered to have anomalies on the Grans Continent shortly after the server opened! And they were being closely monitored!
A terrifying sense of horror akin to a scalp tingling cascaded through Jing Nian’s mind for a brief moment. But what followed was an inexplicable excitement and surprise. After all, in any sense, he was now a part of this gaming world.
The more he thought about it, the more shocked he became. Jing Nian couldn’t help but marvel at how formidable the “prophets” and “wise ones” on the Grans Continent were. He had previously wondered if the prophecies circulating on the continent might be part of the game’s original design. However, the fact that these NPCs had begun to perceive the presence of players and were even taking precautions against them completely dispelled that speculation.
Countless words turned into…
Grans Continent was truly amazing!
Noticing the change in Jing Nian’s expression and demeanor after hearing his words, Hesse could somewhat sense a part of Jing Nian’s emotions. Feeling Jing Nian’s concern and joy for the Dragon Clan, it couldn’t help but smile along.
In reality, hiding Jing Nian’s identity amounted to a betrayal of the Dragon Clan in a sense. After all, the Dragon Clan had always been unified, and even if the decision to accept Jing Nian had been made, it should have been a collective one.
Although Hesse believed that even if the other dragons knew Jing Nian’s true identity, they would still choose to accept him, it still chose to take the risk of being seen as a “traitor.”
As for the reason for the concealment, it was because dragons had a peculiar characteristic—they had loud voices and couldn’t keep secrets.
Hesse worried that if all the dragons found out, within two days, some dragon would get drunk and start bragging to others, “The second dragon lord in my family has half the blood of outsiders!”
Indeed, dragons often had a filter-filled affection; once they loved something, they could praise it wholeheartedly, no matter what it was.
But for the other races on the Grans Continent, “outsiders” were taboo.
So, now Hesse felt even more grateful for its decision. It had no regrets about being a “traitor.”
As they continued to talk, Hesse brought Jing Nian to what seemed like a new, hastily constructed massive building.
The elder dragon landed in the middle of the building’s courtyard, and Jing Nian, sitting on the dragon’s head, casually turned his head. Suddenly, he saw “one gold and one black”, two small “people” crouched on the windowsill of the building’s entrance.
Curious, Jing Nian looked over.
The two small figures also had short statures, not much taller than Jing Nian and Little Dragon. It seemed like they were peeking at something, but because they seemed to have gotten into an argument, they were pushing each other and playfully slapping each other.
Noticing Jing Nian’s gaze, the elder dragon also spotted those two tiny shadows and squinted its eyes.
The two little ones were fully engaged in their intense quarrel, completely unaware that a massive dragon head was quietly approaching behind them, with a little dragon standing on top of it.
Author’s Note:
It seems like the players are facing both internal and external challenges. Hhh.
PS1: Don’t worry, there are no “male moms”; they’re all dads, hehe~
PS2: Regarding updates, I’ll be challenging the 10,000-word event on weekends this month, so feel free to urge me like crazy during the weekends (covers face).
PS3: Random thoughts – It feels like I can’t write enough even if I write ten thousand words in a day, but there’s not much I can do about it. QAQ
