Chapter 163 Reincarnation Hell 7

After Xia Qi left the small sphere, as expected, the sky quickly turned dark.

The speed at which night fell in Reincarnation Hell was getting faster and faster. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could stay with Yuanzhou, just like he had three years ago.

It had been a day since Xiao Ou’s death, and Xia Qi was still worried about his teammates' safety. He got in the car and headed to Reincarnation City.

He first went to Sister Hong’s residence based on the family information she had mentioned before.

After searching the area, he couldn’t find Sister Hong.

Still not giving up, Xia Qi widened his search but found no trace of Sister Hong.

Considering what happened to Xiao Ou, Xia Qi figured it might be better that he hadn’t found her.

With daybreak not far off, Xia Qi had no choice but to leave via the ring road. Just as he passed the desolate women's prison by the roadside, he suddenly heard a familiar shout of abuse.

The female voice cursed, “You three spineless trash! Are you happy being stuck here?!”

Xia Qi: “……”

That shrill voice and familiar curses—definitely Sister Hong.

But how did she end up inside the prison?

Xia Qi parked his car at the prison gate and followed the sound to the main entrance. The prison door was in tatters, almost beyond repair. Xia Qi continued forward and even heard the sound of a whip cutting through the air.

After reaching a courtyard, he opened an iron gate and entered the cell block. Not far from him, outside a cell door, he saw Sister Hong wearing a bohemian long dress with a watermelon-head hairstyle. If not for her familiar whip movements, Xia Qi might not have recognized her.

Inside the iron bars were three monsters. They were gripping the bars so tightly that they bent them into a U-shape, showing incredible strength.

“Aoooaoo!” At that moment, the three monsters bared their teeth and roared at Sister Hong.

Xia Qi immediately recognized the three monsters. These three "individuals" were the corrupt teacher who assaulted female students in Reincarnation City, the human trafficker, and the swindler who ruined families. They had already died in the dungeon and now, in Reincarnation Hell, they had become monsters—only to be tormented by Sister Hong.

Before Xia Qi could say anything, Sister Hong had already heard the noise and turned to look at him.

Seeing that it was Xia Qi, Sister Hong was visibly shocked and took a few steps back, saying warily, “Xiao Xia, are you... a living person?”

“It’s me, a living person.” Xia Qi waved the trident.

Sister Hong had seen the trident many times and knew it couldn’t be fake.

“You’re finally here!” Sister Hong rushed over, grabbing Xia Qi’s arm like a long-lost sister, looking him over. “Xiao Xia, long time no see, why have you gotten thinner? And why are your eyes blue?”

Perhaps because she hadn’t spoken to a living person in a long time, seeing such a familiar greeting made Xia Qi smile involuntarily. “Sister Hong, you haven’t changed at all.”

“Oh, you’re really good at talking. I’ve always been this beautiful.” Sister Hong said happily, still looking as she did three years ago before entering the prison.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xia Qi realized there wasn’t much time left.

“There’s not much time, let me brief you on the dungeon’s key points first…” Xia Qi interrupted Sister Hong’s small talk and told her what had happened over the past few days, emphasizing the need to be cautious of Lin Mo and the overpowered players.

“Alright, I’ll be careful.” Sister Hong nodded seriously, then sensed something was off about Xia Qi’s tone, especially his concern about her being in danger from a car accident, and asked, “Did something happen to someone?”

Xia Qi frowned, unsure whether he should tell her about Xiao Ou.

“Oh, it’s that time! I need to go pick up my daughter from kindergarten!” Sister Hong glanced at her phone, stowed her whip in her backpack, and pulled Xia Qi toward the door.

Seeing Sister Hong so animated, Xia Qi's heart sank.

Was she completely immersed in the events of three years ago?

No wonder her demeanor was completely different from before.

Xia Qi clenched his fists, deciding to keep Xiao Ou's situation to himself for now.

Xia Qi followed Sister Hong outside. He noticed she had a small pickup truck, just like his.

"Sister Hong, if something happens, come find me in the neighboring city," Xia Qi gave her his address, "And my sister, she's likely in this city. If you find her, make sure to tell her my address."

"Sure thing!"

As Sister Hong was about to close the door of the truck, Xia Qi called out to her.

"Sister Hong, if the night ends, what will you do?"

Hearing this, Sister Hong froze for a moment.

She and Xia Qi both understood the pattern of the night all too well. Once Reincarnation Hell entered its night phase completely, her daughter from three years ago would disappear along with it.

The last time her daughter was in Nightless City, she had to send her daughter to the afterlife. This time, having returned to three years ago, she had been able to live with her daughter again...

Sister Hong bowed her head, and after a moment, a few soft taps sounded as tears dripped onto the steering wheel.

Seeing that Sister Hong was completely immersed in the dungeon, Xia Qi took a deep breath and gently said, "All of this... is just a memory."

"Ha, I know," Sister Hong sniffed, casually wiping the corner of her eye with her finger, then turned to ask, "If you were in my shoes, would you be able to let go?"

Xia Qi gave a bitter smile and then shook his head, "I don't know."

The two of them silently looked at each other for a moment, and Xia Qi already knew her answer, "Sister Hong, thank you, good luck."

It was very likely that Sister Hong would try to stay in the daytime of Reincarnation Hell, but Xia Qi couldn't guarantee whether her method would work or if she would even survive.

"Good luck to you too," Sister Hong said reluctantly, casting a final glance at Xia Qi before speeding away in her truck.

After saying goodbye to Sister Hong, Xia Qi quickly drove back to a small town in Inner Mongolia.

It was almost noon by the time he arrived. Xia Qi sprinted to the small round ball, and fortunately, someone was about to enter and helped him open the door.

He thought he had missed the events from three years ago, but Yuanzhou was waiting for him.

"Qi, you're here."

After immobilizing the irrelevant lab technician, Yuanzhou passed through the glass of the small round ball and strode up to Xia Qi.

Yuanzhou stared at him with eyes that showed faint red veins, "I missed you so much while you were gone."

After meeting Yuanzhou, they immediately resumed the events from three years ago.

Xia Qi realized that the entire dungeon's timeline... seemed to be created specifically for him, as if everything was leading up to this moment.

Before Xia Qi could figure out the reason, Yuanzhou unexpectedly opened his arms and pulled him into an embrace, whispering into his ear, "Did you miss me?"

Xia Qi stood frozen, realizing that Yuanzhou wasn't letting go. This shocked him. Back then, Yuanzhou had already become bold enough to touch him, and even more surprisingly, Xia Qi didn't push him away...

This is moving way too fast.

Xia Qi felt conflicted and spent a moment thinking it over.

He remembered he had just come back from burying his grandmother in Southern Province, still feeling down and out of it. It was possible he had let his guard down, giving Yuanzhou the chance to get the upper hand.

Sure enough, a little later, it seemed like Yuanzhou had been pushed away, and Xia Qi may have even scolded him.

Xia Qi figured this was just how Yuanzhou operated.

"I've never hugged anyone… I just wanted to see what it feels like." Yuanzhou blinked, his eyes revealing innocence, his voice unusually aggrieved. "I really didn't know, please don't be angry."

In reality, Yuanzhou had already seen enough rom-coms and dramas to know exactly what he was doing.

At the time, Xia Qi was inexperienced and fell for Yuanzhou’s act of being clueless.

Now, Xia Qi wasn’t just skeptical—he suspected Yuanzhou was deliberately playing the innocent to win his sympathy.

If Yuanzhou didn’t know how to hug, how did he manage to pin Xia Qi down and even transform into a demon dragon in the Royal City dungeon to pull those… weird stunts?

"By the way, our cloud gaming community has been set up. Would you like to come and take a look?" Yuanzhou turned his head and cautiously asked.

If you listened carefully, you could hear a hint of cautiousness in his voice.

He was afraid that Xia Qi would refuse.

"Cloud gaming community?"

Reminded by Yuanzhou, Xia Qi slowly recalled the cloud gaming community. This was his second mission, on par with the first. The cloud gaming community… he’d completely forgotten about it!

"Alright, let's go take a look." Xia Qi immediately replied.

"So… can I hold your hand?" Yuanzhou took another step closer, looking at him expectantly, his eyes sparkling with little stars.

"Go ahead." Xia Qi nodded.

Before he could finish speaking, Yuanzhou had already rushed over, eagerly cupping his hand.

Xia Qi's entire right hand was in Yuanzhou's grasp, and he examined it over and over as if he were appraising a precious treasure.

Xia Qi felt a little uncomfortable and instinctively pulled his hand back. "What are you doing..."

"I've never held anyone's hand before." Yuanzhou looked up and blinked. "Please don't move, let me take a good look, okay?"

He spoke politely, but his hands firmly held onto Xia Qi’s hand, showing no intention of letting go.

Yeah, right.

Xia Qi deeply suspected that he had been out of his mind to actually let Yuanzhou play with his right hand for a while.

Yuanzhou started by tickling his palm, then laced their fingers together, all while asking, "Is this how you hold hands?"

"Enough." Xia Qi could no longer bear it and interrupted his actions. If this continued, Yuanzhou could play with his hand for a whole year.

"Okay, I've learned how to hold hands now, let's go inside." Yuanzhou decisively changed the subject, as if he hadn’t just spent a long time playing with someone's hand. His shameless technique had already been evident three years ago.

The two of them walked side by side towards the small orb. When they reached the glass, Yuanzhou whispered "careful" and then wrapped his arm around Xia Qi's waist, and crashed through the glass.

"Swoosh—"

Xia Qi felt a lightness in his feet, and when he opened his eyes again, he was in a rose garden filled with birdsong and blooming roses.

Now, he had been transported into the cloud gaming community—also known as the virtual space newly developed by the Lin Group.

At the same time, this was the predecessor of Sinful Game in the future.

Although he couldn't remember why Sinful Game had turned out the way it did, from what he could see now, the cloud gaming community was bathed in warm sunlight. The ancient walls of the Rose Castle were draped in lush rose vines, and the entire building was enveloped in vitality, with no sign of darkness.

"This rose garden was created just for you," Yuanzhou's voice became low and magnetic, sounding older than in the real world.

"You..."

Xia Qi's heart pounded as he suddenly looked up and, not unexpectedly, met the young Count's face.

The Count's golden hair shone under the sunlight, and at this time, he wasn't wearing the Venetian mask yet. His emerald-green eyes were as gentle as a calm lake.

"By the way, I secretly activated an admin account for you," said Yuanzhou, in the guise of the Count, as he brushed a rose petal from Xia Qi's hair, his eyes flashing with mischief. "They've established different levels in various communities, but your admin account comes with hidden attributes. When you return, you'll be at the highest level in the game, and no one will be able to hold you back."

Three years ago, Xia Qi didn't understand the significance of the admin account, but now, three years later, he did.

This was the reason he was able to "cheat" in Sinful Game.

In fact, during the Fengdu dungeon event, he wasn't actually a 'queen.' The reason Concubine Lin couldn't grant him a title, but he could grant titles to everyone else, was because Yuanzhou had set him up with an admin account.

At this moment, Yuanzhou stood by the most vibrant cluster of roses, plucked a rose, and said excitedly, "Can you take a photo of me?"

As he gazed at the familiar scene and person, Xia Qi felt a wave of déjà vu wash over him.

"I want to keep this as a memento, so when you return, you can always see me," said Yuanzhou, looking up gently with a soft smile.

Xia Qi pressed his lips together and silently pulled out his phone to capture the moment.

Time seemed to freeze. The portrait of the "Count" hanging in the corridor on the second floor of Rose Castle...

Was the one he had taken.