Chapter 128 - Li Ling Is Having Fun

This game was fun. Letting Zhihao propose to him all the time and responding with the same answer over and over again. Always keeping Zhihao guessing and never clarifying things somehow seemed really fun for Li Ling. He almost wanted to keep doing this forever but he knew he wouldn't be able to. There would surely come a time when he'd give himself out by letting his mouth run loose. 

But he still wanted to make it last for a bit, at least, till he got bored of it. 

"Already in what?" Zhihao asked as he tilted his head but he got no response from Li Ling who was now touching his overgrown canine teeth. 

"Why the hell do I have to be the vampire?" Li Ling asked in frustration. 

"You didn't tell me why we were running." 

"Oh! That's simple.. We don't know what character we have to play so isn't it better to avoid OOC by not killing people?" 

Zhihao seemed to think about it for a minute before he nodded his head and responded, "It's better."

Li Ling looked at Zhihao as he asked, "You didn't tell me what you found in that letter." 

Zhihao was unable to understand the sudden question but a minute passed as he tried to recall something related to the word 'letter'

"That...?" Zhihao dug into his pockets and took out the letter he had found inside the wooden shed.

Li Ling snatched the letter immediately and looked inside at its contents. 

[Dear Carmen, 

It's better if you run away from here.

You don't need to keep following me around.

I don't need your protection.

To tell you the truth, 

I'm bored.

I've lived for far too long.

I learned a lot and I experienced a lot. 

I saw the happiness and kindness this world had to offer. 

I saw the darkness and greed that hovered over these lands as well.

There came a point in time when nothing really mattered anymore. 

The sadness no longer ached and the happiness no longer brought a smile to my face. 

To keep on living in this wretched world became boring and I don't see any point in it anymore. 

I'd like to thank you though. 

You are a great man with a bright future 

If I'm not there, you'll have an even brighter future. 

I'm guilty of ruining your life.

I'm sorry for dragging you down with me. 

And I'd like to apologize for not saying anything until now. 

I know this might sound selfish of me but

Don't forget about me when I'm gone. 

I no longer hope to prolong my lonely life. 

I want to end it all and I want to set you free. 

You should go back to the council.

I'm sure they'll take you back.]

"Is this a suicide note or something?" Li Ling asked as he read half of it. 

Zhihao nodded as he spoke, "Read further." 

Li Ling looked at the last few lines and frowned as he read them. 

[I reported myself under your name.

They'll be here soon. 

You'll be the hero and I'll die as the monster they burned.

So if you are reading this letter, 

Just know that it's too late to save me.

I don't want to live so why do you think you can force me to stay alive? 

Goodbye, dear bellboy. 

I would have said I'll meet you in the afterlife, but I'm going to hell and you're probably gonna enter heaven, so this might just be the last time we'll talk to each other.]

"Wait... He... I, the vampire, reported myself?" 

Zhihao nodded his head as he sighed.

"Then why the hell is this level named 'Save the vampire'? The vampire clearly wants to die!" 

"Maybe that's why." 

"It feels like we are missing something here." 

"Now that you said it, I think we are forgetting something." 

"What?" 

Zhihao shook his head and shrugged, "I don't know." 

"If you don't remember it, It's probably not important." 

"You're right. Let's focus on completing this puzzle." Zhihao responded enthusiastically as he took the letter back. 

The thing which they were forgetting was locked inside the house that was located under the wooden hut. 

[Anyone there?]

Zhihao and Li Ling looked around and when the coast was clear, they decided to walk down the man-made road which seemed to be leading them to the small town below this mountain. 

"Do you have any idea about what our mission is going to be?" Zhihao asked as he looked at Li Ling. 

Li Ling kicked a small stone on the road as he spoke, "Probably to keep me alive." 

"That simple?" 

"Probably," Li Ling shrugged. 

Zhihao shook his head, "This was a G-ranked level. There's no way it would be that easy." 

"What about you? What do you think the mission is going to be?" 

"... I don't know." 

"By the way, what were you searching for in the shed?" 

"Clues." 

"Hmm?" 

"Since it was a suicide note, the person who lived there wrote it, which was either me or you. I needed to know who it was among us. The owner must have left behind some kind of clue, right? Everyone has at least a photograph or their name lying around their house, don't you think?" 

"Oh..." Li Ling couldn't help but be a little impressed with Mastermo. 

He wasn't trying to find what their mission was this time, he was trying to dig deeper into the identity they were given. Most players would normally not do this since they didn't care what character they were given to play. All that mattered was what their mission was and how they'll solve it.

Mastermo had certainly improved and his method of playing also seemed to have a difference for the better. 

"Did you find anything?" Li Ling asked. 

Zhihao nodded as he answered, "I did. The shed is just a cover-up to hide the real house."

"What did you find there?" 

"The real house? Well, a lot of things actually. A really interesting painting." 

"Painting?" 

Zhihao nodded as he continued, "It was a bit shocking but I think I already knew what it was going to be."

"Huh?" 

"Do you want to see it?" 

"Are we gonna go back there?" 

"We can if you want." 

"Or you can just tell me." 

"I think it'll be better if you see it for yourself." Zhihao smiled but it looked a bit mischievous. 

"Now you're making me curious." 

"It's a good painting." 

"Let's go!" Li Ling wasn't originally planning to go check it out but now that Zhihao was adding so much suspense to it, Li Ling immediately felt the urge to go back and see what it was. 

This was one of the levels that he had never played before so although he had a rough idea about what it was, he wasn't completely sure about the details. 

Zhihao chuckled as he saw Li Ling enthusiastically turning on his heel and walking back to the shed they came from. 

When Li Ling opened the piece of wood that was covering the stairs, he was almost shocked to death when he saw Alvi glaring right at him. 

"What are you doing here?" 

Alvi turned her gaze towards Zhihao and with much hostility, glared at him as she pointed her finger and shouted, "How could you trap me here?!" 

"Me? When did I?" Zhihao really hadn't done it purposefully but he suddenly felt as if he would want to do it purposefully since trapping the bot here was fun. He never even knew he could do such a thing. 

Zhihao hadn't realized it. When he was leaving the underground house, Alvi was busy staring at the painting, and Zhihao didn't want to leave the secret entrance open, so he closed it shut and moved the table over it in order to hide it. He hadn't realized it, but he had trapped Alvi inside, and since there was a ruckus outside with a mob trying to hit Li Ling, Zhihao was naturally too agitated to mind the absence of the girl. 

"Why didn't you just come out?" Zhihao asked as he looked at the ten-year-old girl who seemed to be on the verge of crying out in fear of being trapped inside. 

Alvi didn't respond and Zhihao felt as if it really was strange that she wasn't able to get out on her own. Wasn't she a system? She was supposed to have such authority, wasn't she? The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. 

"Whatever! Why are you back here?!" Alvi asked as if she was venting out her frustration in the form of anger. 

Li Ling squinted his eyes, looking unimpressed, "Move. I wanted to go look at something." 

Alvi was a bit grumpy today but no matter what she was feeling, she still stepped back and let Li Ling enter the underground house. 

Li Ling was basically dying from curiosity to know what the painting was about. 

What would there be that Zhihao would find interesting but not say in detail? 

Zhihao chuckled as he led Li Ling to the room which had a huge painting plastered on one of its walls. 

Li Ling couldn't help but feel a little shocked as he saw the painting that he had been so curious to see.