Chapter 482 The Slacker

Chapter 482: The Slackers

Su Bai was a gardener, so after the protagonists began their quarrel, he chose to withdraw from the hall, no longer paying attention to the farce playing out before him.

His gaze swept over Lian Xiangyu and Shen Dong'er, who were so immersed in their roles it was as if the world was their stage. With brisk steps, he turned, pushed the door open, and left.

Perhaps precisely because he was just an inconspicuous gardener, none of the protagonists noticed his departure. However, Wu Hang lifted his head slightly from the sofa, and Feng Ling, standing behind it, also looked up, her gaze quietly following the direction Su Bai had gone.

After exiting the villa, Su Bai saw a set of gardening tools and a flower basket placed by the entrance.

He casually picked up the shears, his fingers idly brushing over their smooth metal edges. A gentle breeze brushed past, causing the flowers in the garden to sway lightly as if welcoming the night's visitor.

Earlier, he had thought he wouldn't have the chance to properly appreciate the special garden in this nightmare world. Unexpectedly, he now had plenty of time. Seeing a rare chance, he decided to linger a while longer in this peculiar garden.

Under the moonlight, the plants in the garden emitted a faint fluorescence. The flowers came in all shapes and forms, resembling rare and exotic blooms from another world. Su Bai strolled among them, his fingers lightly brushing against the delicate petals as if touching vivid dreams. The night breeze carried a cool dampness, and he could almost forget this was a nightmare world.

"Perhaps," Su Bai mused to himself, a self-deprecating thought crossing his mind, "life really is much simpler as a supporting character or an observer."

Su Bai casually picked up the gardening shears but hesitated to cut the flowers in full bloom. In that moment of hesitation, a slender, eerie hand quietly stole over. The hand had faintly visible doll-like joints.

The figure took another pair of gardening shears from the flower basket and, with elegant and precise movements, snipped a few of the most vibrantly blooming flowers nearby.

"Is it really okay for Master Wu to abandon his son and daughter-in-law and come out here?" Su Bai asked curiously, looking at Wu Hang who had appeared before him.

If Su Bai remembered correctly, Lian Xiangyu and Ning Yi were still kneeling before Master Wu when he left the hall.

That Wu Hang wasn't being controlled didn't surprise Su Bai in the slightest. After all, even he, a human, wasn't controlled by the so-called script, let alone someone like Wu Hang.

Compared to their last meeting, Wu Hang wasn't much different except for no longer hiding his face under the cloak from Su Bai. The head beneath the cloak remained the bald doll's head, completely unaltered.

Wu Hang paused for a moment in the moonlight, lowering his head. His voice, no longer deliberately hoarse, flowed like an ancient melody, slow and elegant: "I keep entering the game just to create a believable identity to appear by your side. This way, even if those things watching from the shadows have their eye on you, they won't detect my presence or grow suspicious."

Su Bai frowned slightly, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. "Have their eye on me? But I still don't understand what about me is worth their attention."

Wu Hang's gaze was like a deep undercurrent, profound and calm. "You are excellent. It wouldn't surprise anyone that you've caught their eye."

"Oh? Excellent enough for Master Wu to be completely honest with me?" Su Bai gave a light laugh, a glint of cunning flashing in his eyes.

Su Bai gently moved closer to Wu Hang, the doll's icy body radiating an innate chill.

He raised his hand, his warm palm pressing against Wu Hang's cold face. It was an intimate posture, as if another inch forward would mingle their breaths.

However, although Su Bai was the one actively approaching Wu Hang, his steps held a trace of hesitation and restraint.

The hand touching Wu Hang's cheek trembled slightly, and his long eyelashes fluttered like feathers falling on water under the crimson moon's faint light. The icy sensation transmitted through his palm made Su Bai hold his breath for a moment.

"Like this?" Despite the unfamiliarity and slight stiffness in his movements, Su Bai continued to draw closer, as if testing or exploring some vague boundary.

The crimson moon hung like blood, casting its faint glow.

A thin mist coiled in the garden, hovering low to the ground like a veil from a dream, enveloping the figures of Su Bai and Wu Hang. The two stood quietly amidst the interplay of light and shadow, surrounded by silently blooming flowers that resembled faint lights in the nightmare, setting the scene as if in a dream.

Yet, the silence was broken by a soft cough.

Su Bai and Wu Hang turned simultaneously to see Feng Ling standing not far away, an innocent smile on her face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." The voice of the Phoenix lady from the Nameless Society was gentle yet carried a hint of playfulness. "I was just worried that if you didn't notice me here, you might do something... well... I'd rather not see."

"Not at all, Miss Feng Ling. We heard your footsteps as soon as you approached." Su Bai smiled as if nothing had happened, then subtly took a few steps back, increasing the distance from Wu Hang. His expression remained composed and polite. "I truly didn't expect to see you again so soon, Miss Feng Ling. But is it really alright for you all to leave the hall one by one?"

Feng Ling's strength lay not only in her control over fire. Along his journey, Su Bai had encountered many abilities with great potential. Feng Ling's true power resided in her calm and precise mastery, as if fire were her second skin. More terrifying was the surge of crimson moon power within her, far exceeding that of ordinary players, building up like a tide ready to burst.

The last fire-attribute ability user who claimed he would defeat Feng Ling had fallen in the underground research facility. Moreover, the power within that player named Qi Yan was far inferior to the Feng Ling now standing before Su Bai.

This Phoenix lady had become stronger since their last meeting, so it was no surprise she could escape the script's control.

"It's too noisy inside," Wu Hang's voice was low and calm, yet carried a hint of displeasure. "I just said I wanted to come out and think properly."

That Wu Hang was willing to fabricate excuses in front of humans like Lian Xiangyu struck Su Bai as quite a rare occurrence.

"My script identity this time is a maid and cook, so I came to ask Master Wu what he'd like for lunch and dinner." Feng Ling smiled slightly, flames dancing between her slender fingers like an agile snake. "Controlling heat is my specialty."

Standing between the two slacking actors, Su Bai shrugged helplessly, a note of self-mockery in his tone. "If there really is an elimination mechanism here, we'd probably be the first actors to be cut."

"Indeed." Feng Ling responded softly, her gaze seeming to pierce through the crimson moon's haze.

"However, I believe Mr. Su, like me, has already sensed something." Feng Ling paused, slightly narrowing her eyes. "The most important thing on the first day might not be acting."