Chapter 282 - Where Is He?

A few seconds before self-destructing, the system finally threw Zhihao and Huang Zhen out of the game. 

The two brothers were safe and woke up just like all the other players. They were both greeted by their mother who looked to be happy and relieved, however, Huang Zhen seemed to be the only one who was happy to see his mother. 

Zhihao frowned as his eyes immediately wandered around in worry and he searched for the person who had made him cry inside that final level. 

Huang Zhi Juan immediately hugged Huang Zhen with a sigh of relief as she muttered, "I'm so glad you're okay, baby." 

Huang Zhen pouted with a nod as he whined in his mother's embrace, "Mom, I almost thought I wasn't ever going to see you again." 

Huang Zhi Juan chuckled a little as she heard this but said nothing as she softly patted the boy's head. 

She was already watching them all through the live stream so she was well aware that the boy was lying when he said that, but of course, she could understand that he was trying to act spoiled at this moment so it was only natural that she didn't call him out. 

Huang Zhi Juan looked over at Zhihao and the woman couldn't help but frown as she asked, "Are you looking for him?" 

Zhihao gulped as he turned to meet his mother's eyes and nodded his head, asking, "Where is he?" 

Huang Zhi Juan had a thin smile on her face as she heard this question but as a response, all she did was shake her head and Zhihao immediately frowned as he saw this small action.

His eyebrows creased together and he questioned, "What do you mean? He should also be here, right?" 

This time the woman nodded her head as she carefully separated from Huang Zhen's hug and walked over towards Zhihao. 

Huang Zhi Juan rubbed Zhihao's head affectionately as she spoke, "I'm glad you're okay." 

Zhihao frowned as he heard the woman trying to change the topic and because of this, he immediately knew that there was something wrong. 

"Is he awake?" Zhihao carefully asked as he looked at his mother. 

Huang Zhi Juan sighed as she heard him and shook her head with much reluctance as she truthfully answered, "Not yet." 

Zhihao didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry as he heard this answer that he dreaded to hear. The man fell speechless and it was only natural that the situation made him unable to speak. 

"Are you okay?" Huang Zhi Juan asked as she sat down next to his bed. 

Zhihao weakly nodded his head as he replied, "I'm... Okay." 

"Do you want to go see him?" Huang Zhi Juan asked with a small smile that seemed to be hiding behind her own sadness at this moment. 

Zhihao once again nodded his head once as he replied, "I want to..." 

The woman pursed her lips with a nod as she heard this and stood up to hug her son in a comforting manner before she decided to take him to the room where Li Ling was kept. 

Huang Zhen also seemed like he wanted to follow the two but he was stopped by Li Ying who came out of nowhere and engulfed him in a hug. 

At first, the boy was shocked and his first reaction was to push her away, however, he stopped when he realized that there was something weird about Li Ying. 

Li Ying was... Crying... 

Huang Zhen had known her for months now but he had never seen her cry before this. She had always been strong and she would usually be the one who would make him cry, however, now that he saw this emotional side of her, he couldn't help but feel shocked. 

"Yah... Why are you crying?" Huang Zhen asked her softly as he hesitantly patted her back. 

Li Ying buried her face on his chest and this made her a bit inaudible but Huang Zhen was still able to hear what she said next. 

"Li Ling Gege... He... He's not waking up," She cried and her voice sounded choked up because of all the tears. Just hearing her voice sounding so weak and scared made Huang Zhen feel weird. 

"W-what do you mean he's not waking up?" Huang Zhen gulped as he asked. 

The boy had a feeling that he knew exactly what she was talking about, however, he still questioned because he didn't want his guess to come true.

Li Ying cried even more as she heard this and Huang Zhen continued to comfort her as he patted her back.

"They say that his brain is in..." She sniffled as she tried to talk, "His brain is in shock... They say that he's not waking up anytime soon!" 

Huang Zhen's eyes widened as he heard this and his entire body seemed to have tensed up. 

"What...?" The boy muttered in disbelief as he repeated her words in his head and even after repeating them a few times, he was still unable to believe it. 

Li Ying didn't bother responding as she continued to cry her heart out and Huang Zhen suddenly felt stupid as he remembered what he had said back when they were still in the final level. 

He had clearly told Zhihao and Li Ling to stop being dramatic since it was just a game, and at that time he felt as if he was the only one smart enough to have such realistic thoughts, however, at this moment, he was brutally made aware that he was wrong and that he was the only one who was an utter idiot to not realize why the other two looked to be so worried. 

If he had known that this would happen, he wouldn't have bothered the two... 

Huang Zhen took a deep breath in as he forced himself to chuckle and continued to pat the girl's back as he spoke, "He's going to wake up soon. Isn't my brother going over there? Why are you crying like this?"

"Who knows?" Huang Zhen added jokingly, "Maybe my brother would give him a kiss and he'll wake up like the princesses from all those fairytales?" 

Li Ying opened her mouth and rudely bit Huang Zhen as she heard this, "Don't call my brother a princess! He's a man!" 

"..." 

Huang Zhen pursed his lips as he stopped feeling bad for the girl after getting bitten by her. 

"Then do you want me to say that the gaming prince kissed the idiot gamemaster prince and the power of true love's kiss woke him up?" 

Li Ying pursed her lips into a thin line as she heard this and unconsciously stopped crying as she pulled apart from the hug, "Are you being serious right now...?!" 

Huang Zhen had a feeling that he was going to get scolded if he said 'yes' so he simply shook his head as he answered, "Definitely not being serious." 

Li Ying smacked the boy's head as she heard this answer, proving to him that it didn't matter what his answer was. He was still going to get the same treatment. 

Huang Zhen rubbed his head as he glared at the girl, but for the first time, after being smacked by her, he didn't feel unhappy, and in fact, it was the exact opposite of that. 

He felt relieved to see that she had finally stopped crying. 

The boy held her hand and tried to comfort her as he spoke, "He's going to be okay. He promised that to brother Zhihao, didn't he?" 

Li Ying pouted as she heard this but said nothing in response.

"You have to believe in him too," Huang Zhen added with a smile, "He might have lied a lot to my brother but I'm sure that he didn't lie about this. He's going to be okay because... He has a promise to keep. He needs to make it up to my brother." 

Li Ying clearly knew that he was simply saying this to make her feel better and the boy's words seemed to have worked. 

Li Ying nodded once with a small smile on her face, "You're right. He will... Wake up. I'm sure of it." 

She thought she would be congratulating Huang Zhen as soon as the boy woke up, but because of her brother's condition, she no longer had any strength left to congratulate the boy. 

Zhihao was not allowed to go inside the room where Li Ling was kept so he was taken to the room right next to it and the only way he could see the man was through a glass window that separated the two rooms. 

However, it was still a bit hard for Zhihao to get a clear view of Li Ling's face because of all the doctors and nurses that were inside the room. 

"What is happening?" Zhihao asked as he looked at the scene. 

His mother sighed as she replied, "They are trying their best." 

Zhihao never thought that such words could sound so terrifying, however, here he was, standing terrified as he heard these words.