Volume 3 - CH 40.1

Lin Qin is always saying how Xü Beijin is special in his world.

For Xü Beijin as well, Lin Qin is of course, also special, not just because Lin Qin wants to fight with him so unusually passionately, but also because, he is disinterested in his Nightmare.

The disinterest is precisely what makes Xü Beijin sigh in relief for real.

He is really troubled by the interest the Missiontakers show in his Nightmare. He wants no one to enter it, ever, but he is also deeply aware of how unusual and attention-grabbing this would be.

After refusing sternly a very long time ago, and revealing how he was a monster that never slept, Xü Beijin did finally have some peaceful days for a while since.

Though after he picked up this streaming system, and after this unexpected attention from Lin Qin, and even Mu Jiashi, who wished to meet with him… All these are convincing the sharp Xü Beijin that, there seems to be some worrying undercurrents flowing through the decrepit Tower.

More immediately, though, his peaceful life would be leaving him behind as well, it would appear.

Xü Beijin is uneasy, and of course, slightly restless. Any humans in the Tower, both Missiontakers or Actors, would any of them have never thought about leaving the Tower?

The streaming system——Once again, Xü Beijin is appreciative at such a tool. It not only lit the way forward for him, but also gave him hope. Hope, that he has not ever sampled in very many years.

… Even though he still has to deal with this troublesome visitor somehow.

After the Nightmare was over, Lin Qin immediately ran over all excited, not even hurrying where Ding Yi told him the drinks were stored first. In absolute distance, his own home is at most a hundred metres away from Xü Beijin’s store.

Lin Qin has brought along drinks he collected already, and has spent all the time running over thinking about how to communicate with Xü Beijin. He does not realise that he is filled with positive expectations, happiness and also unease. In some sense, those are emotions one might feel in another type of situation.

No matter what, though, as soon as Xü Beijin opened the door, Lin Qin has raised the drinks in his hand, but he does not follow up with any words of confession, but a rather mood-dampening——

“Let’s fight.”

Xü Beijin “…”

He sighs morosely.

After staring at each other blankly for a moment, Xü Beijin moves aside to let Lin Qin in.

It is so early in the morning, so nobody should have noticed Lin Qin hurrying here. Also, he went along the direct, unfrequented paths, instead of the much wider and livelier Respawn Avenue outside. That makes Xü Beijin feel safer.

The only one that could notice…

Xü Beijin’s gaze drifts over to the opposite door and windows. Doors are mysterious teleportation devices, but so are the windows, which show exactly what you would expect it to show – people inside could very well see what is happening in the Tower through them.

He doesn’t know whether a new resident has moved in opposite him. These are all random, decided by the Server, NE, who knows precisely which house is occupied by whom, which house is once occupied by whom, and which house is about to be occupied by whom.

Xü Beijin closes the door. He was merely glancing over, so he did not know that, there really were a pair of eyes——Eyes of a woman, looking outside with distress.

She wasn’t keeping an eye on her neighbour specifically. In fact, she is acting like this because the script demanded her to do so, especially because the Missiontaker Lin Qin is present. The Missiontaker did not notice this show the Tower resident was forced to put on, though, instead, she notices Lin Qin and Xü Beijin’s interaction instead.

After they are gone, the woman seems to fall into thought shortly, before pouting and sighing.

Her Nightmare is not like that boy’s Nightmare that can be True Ended with brute force alone. Lin Qin’s strengths are a terrible mismatch with her Nightmare.

So in the end, she basically just watched some unrelated intrigue play out.

She knows her neighbour, the one that has once unexpectedly aroused the Missiontakers’ attentions. When she was on the bottom floor of the Tower, when it was the most lively, hundreds of Missiontakers would bugger her neighbour incessantly.

There were even Missiontakers who tried to get information on him via her.

Though she went to a higher floor afterwards. She doesn’t know how it played out in the end.

The moment she’s back, she sees Missiontakers looking for her neighbour again.

Though… what is it to her, even?

She just went from a higher floor back to the bottom floor, back, with the Nightmare that once tortured her for so long.

She turns around to lean on the wall. She looks about the house she once lived in, then, gradually, a real, genuine fear begins creeping into her expression.

Xü Beijin didn’t expect Lin Qin to arrive so soon and so was unprepared.

And also… another True End; another time Lin Qin did not ascend.

Though the surprise was only a moment for Xü Beijin – Right, Lin Qin said he was disinterested in Nightmares in general. Why would he even go to higher floors, then?

Makes sense he would choose ‘No’ when the Server asks.

While Xü Beijin thinks so, he feels it would be a bit awkward to talk about and ask directly. Perhaps when he’s closer to Lin Qin, but not now.

He receives Lin Qin, and stores the drinks the guest brought along slightly awkwardly. After leaving what was once society behind for so long, he has almost forgotten about the basics of serving a guest.

He does manage to recover fragments in his memories, though, and pours good drinks for the both of them in cups he collected over time, then puts the cups on the small table.

One cup for himself, the other for Lin Qin.

When he sits down, Xü Beijin is thinking how rare such a scene would play out in the Tower.

Really, if Lin Qin wasn’t always itching for a fight, he’s pretty easy to be around with. He is straightforward and speaks what he thinks.

Lin Qin brought a variety of drinks over. From soft drinks in cans to beverage in glasses. Everything.

“I collected these before,” Lin Qin says, “you might not like some of them, but since they came into my hands, I took them over as well. I learned about what drinks you like earlier in the Nightmare, so I will try to stick to those in the future.”

Xü Beijin is holding his cup hesitantly. He is not sure what to reply.

Is it alright for him to expose how he remembers what happened in the Nightmare?

He waits for a moment, but nothing comes from the Server, so he replies “thanks,” then adds, a pause later, “but, you don’t have to… give it all to me.”

Lin Qin asks because of the strange way Xü Beijin phrased it, “but you like them?”

“I do, but…” Xü Beijin thinks about how to put it, and finally explains, “you do not necessarily have to shower me with presents just because I like them.”

Lin Qin looks like he does not understand, knitting his brows to say, “but…”

Xü Beijin explains gently, “it could very well make people take advantage of you. They could rope you into doing things for them in Nightmares. I do not wish to see that, because of our close relationship, that others would start using you.”

Lin Qin looks at him and thinks for a while, then finally seems to get it, replying, “I do not mind. For me, other people…” He thinks a bit more, before continuing, “are like grass on the side of the road. I do not really care if they live or die. Only you are special, and so I am willing to do things for you.”

Xü Beijin is silent. Somehow, it seems to make sense how others would call Lin Qin a mad dog or dumbass. There seems to be something fundamentally wrong with his values.

He sighs before asking, “you said before that you aren’t interested in Nightmares, so I’m curious, what does the Tower mean to you?”

Lin Qin looks at him, seemingly hesitant and doubting. The harmless-looking young man, after a while, slowly replies, “I don’t know.”

“Huh?”

“I do not know,” Lin Qin repeats himself, saying, “I just… live inside. Live here.”

Xü Beijin is looking fixedly at him.

Lin Qin awkwardly explains, “they all have their pasts. I heard the Missiontakers talk about theirs, about how they were on Earth. They say how much they missed about them, but… I’m different. I don’t have a past.”

Astonished, Xü Beijin quickly asks, “what do you mean? You do not remember your life back on Earth?”

Lin Qin nods, saying, “I was in the Tower the moment I opened my eyes.”