Maintaining a majestic posture with crossed arms, Merck remained silent for a moment.
Chu Qianze raised his arm, waving towards the crowd and breaking the silence, “Hey, Master Merck, what brings you here?”
“I heard that you were being chased by some old guy, so I came to help you out,” Merck said as he descended a step, glancing around with a smirk. “So, what’s the situation now?”
“The battle is over, and we’re engaging in emotional communication.”
Chu Qianze patted his backside, stood up, and guided Zongxin to a chair, urging him to sit and take a break.
“Emotional communication? That old guy was chasing you, and you’re engaging in emotional communication with him? What kind of strategy is this?” Merck took a moment to catch up.
However, as a master with exceptional knowledge and formidable martial prowess, he couldn’t afford to show confusion!
Stroking his beard, squinting his small eyes, Merck nodded approvingly, pride evident in his expression. “Good lad, well done, well done! No wonder I saw potential in you. Excellent emotional communication, excellent!”
“Of course, all emotions are cultivated through communication,” Chu Qianze replied without exposing Merck’s acting skills. He raised his head and glanced at the hole in the roof, saying, “You’re a bit late to the party.”
“I rushed over here just to congratulate you and see you in your victorious glory. There’s no rush in these matters; why fly so fast?” Merck coughed lightly.
Halfway through, he probably got the coordinates wrong and ended up flying to Lincheng.
Chu Qianze questioned, “Would you really think something like that?”
Merck replied, “Of course, if I’m not confident in you, who would be?”
A nearby onlooker, with a grim expression, couldn’t stand it any longer. “Nonsense! You old man, just blabbering here! I bet you got lost and don’t know where you flew off to!”
“How am I blabbering?”
Merck sneered, dissatisfied, and spat in the direction of the complainer. “You hypocritical brat, always blabbering here, never talking about anything important. Only a few deluded followers with low intelligence would believe your words!”
This remark offended everyone in the grand hall, and they stared at Merck with a chilling intensity.
“What are you looking at? Haven’t seen an unparalleled handsome guy before?” Merck raised his eyebrows, lifted his chin, exuding an unparalleled arrogance.
“Don’t agree? If you don’t, then come up and have a fight. After all, you guys can’t beat me anyway.”
After a while with no one making a move, Merck scoffed, “A bunch of cowards.”
“Disciple, not bad, huh? You can actually spar with the priest. You’ve made quite a progress; you have half the style I had back in the day,” Merck continued.
Thinking of picking on the easy targets without considering that I, the mechanic master, am not that easy to bully?
“Heh, praising yourself quite a bit,” the priest sneered.
Initially, Merck was prepared to pretend not to have heard, but eventually, he felt uneasy. His eyes scanned the surroundings and landed on the nearby priest, his face full of mockery. “Are you feeling played? Hahaha, you’re always free, trying to stick your nose into everything. Now, you’re getting what you deserve, right?”
The priest’s face went from pale to dark, feeling thoroughly embarrassed.
“Don’t push it!” the priest warned.
“What did I do? Tell me, what did I do?” Merck felt quite pleased with himself, making the priest uncomfortable.
Seeing someone dragging a mechanical arm toward them, Chu Qianze quickly intervened. “Wait a moment!”
Merck halted his steps. “What’s the matter?”
Chu Qianze said, “First, retract the mechanical arm. You nearly knocked over that vase just now.”
“It’s just a vase, no big deal. Things here, if they break, they break,” Merck replied nonchalantly.
“Indeed,” Chu Qianze agreed, then added, “But it’s mine now, and it won’t be here for long. Master, you should be more careful.”
“Hmph, when did I miss… hmm? What did you just say?” Merck reacted, his eyes widening.
“Literal meaning.”
Seeing Merck standing still, Chu Qianze walked over and nudged the vase aside. He had just noticed that the vase was quite valuable; selling it could fetch a good sum.
“They initiated the conflict first. If they fail, they should pay some price. Can’t let them freeload.”
Merck suddenly understood – this peaceful communication was nothing but extortion!
How did I miss this opportunity before?
His eyes lit up, feeling like he had discovered a new way to make money. Over the years, there were plenty of brats who had tried to hunt him down, and now he could leverage them. Those guys who used to find trouble annoying had turned into walking gold mines.
Thinking about all the missed opportunities in the past, Merck felt a pang of regret. He lamented, “Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier!?”
?
“You didn’t ask,” Chu Qianze replied, seeing Merck deep in thought. He didn’t dwell on it and shifted his attention to the people lining up for registration.
“Don’t stop, hurry up if you haven’t registered.”
Observing the situation, Merck patted Chu Qianze on the shoulder, full of approval. “Good lad, you have a bright future ahead. Keep up the good work, the future looks promising for you!”
“Too kind, too kind. You too,” Chu Qianze responded modestly.
“Well, since everything’s settled, I’ll take my leave. Old man, I’ve got some business to attend to,” Merck waved his hand, preparing to leave.
Seeing that there wasn’t much left in the hall to take advantage of, and no more easy gains to be had, he decided to go catch up with some old friends.
“Take care, Master,” Chu Qianze said.
Chu Qianze estimated that according to the game progress, even if he hadn’t successfully escaped and got caught, enduring until Merck arrived would still complete the mission. However, the mission rewards might be downgraded a tier.
With the list neatly arranged, Chu Qianze looked at the additional items on the panel and felt quite satisfied.
Walking up to the priest, he said, “Priest, we’re going to take off now. We’ll come play with you next time.”
Next time, maybe in the next life. Hopefully not.
The priest forced a smile and replied, “I’ll definitely welcome you next time.”
At this point, Zong Xinjue had already stowed away all the items using his storage equipment. He walked up to Chu Qianze, nodded, indicating that everything was packed up, and they could leave.
Glancing around, Chu Qianze’s eyes fell on a nearby statue. “I think this one is not bad. How about giving it to me as a gift?”
The priest’s mouth twitched. After taking so much, you’re leaving, and now you want us to gift you a statue? Is that reasonable?!
He took two deep breaths, trying to calm himself. “I apologize, but I can’t make that decision.”
The panel popped up.
[The statue is bound to the central hall and cannot be moved.]
“What about the chandelier on the ceiling?”
[Fixed item, cannot be taken.]
Chu Qianze glanced up at the ceiling and then pointed to the throne on the platform. “How about that?”
[Fixed item, cannot be taken!!]
Seemingly unable to bear it any longer, the panel displaying this information appeared with double exclamation marks for the first time.
Fine.
“That throne looks pretty good; it must be quite old. Things like that are easy to break, so you should cherish it,” Chu Qianze said, pointing at the throne. He then casually dropped his hand, conveniently stashing the throne in his coat pocket, and headed towards the exit with Zong Xinjue.
“What do you think of this necklace?” Chu Qianze walked and showed the information on the panel to anyone who looked.
“Wearing it allows automatic levitation; no need to walk.”
What a trashy attribute, providing no increase in combat power at all.
In response to Chu Qianze’s expectant gaze, Zong Xinjue remained silent for two seconds, cleared his throat, and said, “…It’s quite nice.”
“How about this one? Isn’t it awesome too?”
Chu Qianze switched to another page.
“Wearing it gives you an iron-like fringe, guaranteeing a tidy hairstyle.”
Zong Xinjue nodded, his expression unchanged. “Indeed.”
Scrolling through the equipment on the panel, Chu Qianze sighed sincerely, “Suddenly, I understand the joy of being a legend. If it weren’t for the game restrictions, I’d wear all these necklaces around my neck.”
Zong Xinjue imagined the scene—several large necklaces around the neck, multiple bracelets on each wrist, and rings on every finger…
Thankful for game settings.
After turning a corner, Zong Xinjue realized they were going in the wrong direction. “Where are we going?”
Chu Qianze glanced at him. “You didn’t forget, did you? There’s still something we haven’t done.”
“What is it?” Zong Xinjue asked, puzzled.
All the mission rewards had been checked, so was there something they missed?
At this point, the two of them had arrived at a hotel. The door sensed the arrival of visitors and automatically opened. Chu Qianze led Zong Xinjue inside.
Suddenly, Zong Xinjue remembered what he had said earlier.
[Are you sure you want to open a room?]
“Remembered?” Chu Qianze pressed the confirmation key.
After scanning their identities, the room door opened, and he directly took Zong Xinjue’s wrist and entered.
Bang—
The door closed.
The curtain defaulted to a closed state, and a bedside lamp illuminated the room with bright white light. No one else was around; it was just the two of them.
Elbow resting on the wooden door panel, Chu Qianze confined Zong Xinjue between the door and himself. Leaning closer, he whispered by his ear, “Now, let’s settle the score.”
A sense of pressure overwhelmed him, and a moment of discomfort made Zong Xinjue’s mind pause briefly, but he quickly caught on. His face remained unchanged, displaying remarkable composure.
“Here?” he asked.
Calmer than Chu Qianze had anticipated.
Chu Qianze raised an eyebrow and said, “Exactly.”
Zong Xinjue understood.
Since everything had been agreed upon, there was nothing to hesitate about. He pulled up his black tight-fitting suit, revealing a muscular chest. “Where should we start?”
Chu Qianze lowered his eyelids and carefully examined those two areas. Then, his gaze settled on Zong Xinjue’s face. Despite the determined attempt to appear calm, visible tension betrayed the effort, tempting Chu Qianze to tease.
He flicked his finger and chuckled lightly, a sound reminiscent of the original soundtrack of a vinyl record. “Looks very good.”
The sudden surge of excitement caused Zong Xinjue’s body to tremble. Hearing Chu Qianze’s words, he directly grabbed the back of his neck, growling, “Hurry up, don’t dawdle.”
Chu Qianze remained silent, his fingers pointing and then gently pulling.
Zong Xinjue couldn’t help but shiver, and his words became fragmented. It was just too real.
For some reason, he now particularly wanted to log out, restart the game, and lower the realism settings a bit.
“I won’t be polite.”
Chu Qianze finished speaking and slowly lowered his head.
Perhaps due to regular workouts, Zong Xinjue’s skin was smooth and delicate. The muscular lines on his body were robust and smooth, not overly rigid; on the contrary, they were quite elastic.
All in all, Chu Qianze was having a lot of fun.
…
“Swollen.”
Chu Qianze propped himself up, looking at the flushed complexion, satisfaction flashing in his eyes.
“Still not better?” Zong Xinjue released the grip on the hem of his shirt, turned his face to the side, but the strange feeling in his chest grew stronger. It felt as if tiny claws were gently scratching.
He was losing control of his reactions.
“In a hurry?”
Chu Qianze’s lips curled slightly, his pinkie drawing circles around the area. “I think we’re almost there.”
Listening to the gradually rapid breathing, he paused for a moment before saying leisurely, “But for now, let’s leave it at this.”
As soon as he heard this, Zong Xinjue quickly pulled his shirt down. The friction of the fabric made the already swollen area even more sensitive. It took him a while to suppress his voice.
Chu Qianze: “No need for recovery potions, let it naturally heal. How about that?”
Naturally heal… How long would that take?
According to the game settings, without using potions, it simulated the recovery speed of one’s own physique. In other words, he would have to maintain this state for at least a day.
With a slight pursing of his lips, Zong Xinjue said, “Can I use a band-aid?”
Thought he might get rejected.
Leaning against the wall, Chu Qianze raised his tone slightly, “Why?”
“I’ll do what I promised, but doing it this way is too obvious. It could be easily noticed.”
With the back of his head against the door panel, Zong Xinjue looked at Chu Qianze. “I just want you to be the only one to see.”
This unexpected move caught Chu Qianze off guard.
Zong Xinjue was right; Chu Qianze could see his current state quite clearly even through the clothes. After a few seconds of contemplation, he took out two band-aids from his backpack. “Sure.”
Seeing Zong Xinjue about to take them, he raised his hand to stop him. “Lift up your shirt, I’ll put them on for you.”
Tearing open the band-aid packaging, Chu Qianze bent down to apply them. After finishing, he examined them for a moment.
“Looks a bit crooked. Let me adjust it.”
As he spoke, he was about to tear them off and reapply.
“It’s fine like this.” Zong Xinjue pulled down his shirt. He was already enduring quite a lot, and another round would likely drive him crazy.
Seeing him endure it, Chu Qianze couldn’t help but laugh. Leaning forward, he rested his chin on Zong Xinjue’s shoulder, a hint of intimacy in his tone. “Are you really okay with this?”
Dazed by the sudden intimacy, Zong Xinjue’s hand caressed Chu Qianze’s back, silently embracing him.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m quite impulsive. If you indulge me like this, I might do something not so great, like, you know, a permanent ban.” Chu Qianze lazily said, sounding nonchalant, as if joking.
According to the rules, engaging in explicit content in an online game could result in a direct ban.
Zong Xinjue understood.
The account was valuable and couldn’t be banned, but…
He lifted Chu Qianze’s face.
“Do you want to meet in person offline?”
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