Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Flames burst into life atop Bai Fuling's head, instantly lighting up the dark underground surroundings.

Luo Qingyue: !

The player's head emitted flames, the bespectacled NPC's head emitted an exclamation mark—what a promising pair.

Luo Qingyue had wanted to step forward and stop Bai Fuling the moment he started pouring alcohol onto his own head. As the lighter ignited it, he opened his mouth in shock, then scrambled closer, trying to help: "Oh my god, Little Friend, oh my god, your head is on fire!!"

"That's right," Bai Fuling said. "I've got flames leaping three feet high."

Luo Qingyue: That's a terrible pun.

"N-no, there's no need to make emotions so literal!" Luo Qingyue had pixel sweat droplets appearing above his head. He wiped his forehead, brushing away the sweat that kept forming. "Just calm down, okay?"

"Oh, I am very calm. 'Flames leaping three feet high' isn't an emotional description; it's just the literal meaning," Bai Fuling explained.

"Actually, the real reason for the flames is—" Bai Fuling held his arms out, palms up, as if presenting something, and intoned profoundly, "I have ascended!"

Luo Qingyue: ???

Luo Qingyue's anxious expression froze for two seconds, as if Bai Fuling's response had left him speechless.

"Haha, just a meme reference." Bai Fuling's eyes curved into crescents as he controlled his character to lower his hands, stopping his edgy, dramatic pose from moments ago.

Looking at the NPC on the screen with just a giant pixel sweat drop on his forehead, he said in surprise, "Hey, how come you're not laughing?"

Under Bai Fuling's bright, dark-eyed gaze, Luo Qingyue finally humored him with a forced smile.

Albeit a strained one.

Luo Qingyue: Don't make things difficult for a materialist wage slave...!

Bai Fuling used the emote wheel to pick a smiley face as a response to Luo Qingyue.

He controlled the pixel character to spin in place two or three times. Seeing the flames on the screen still burning very actively, without any sign of extinguishing or weakening, he was pretty pleased with himself.

See, my earlier line of thinking was correct—as long as you modify the clothing, you can obtain a stable light source.

I'm a genius!

Luo Qingyue saw Bai Fuling spinning in place, the fiery halo on his head resembling a spinning firework from New Year's, leaving bright trails and scattering sparks everywhere in the dark night.

He instinctively backed up two steps, then anxiously stepped forward again.

"Wait, hold on—be careful!" Luo Qingyue shouted.

Bai Fuling saw the flame particles falling from his character's head on the screen. Thinking they looked kind of cool, he spun a few more times, even cranked the speed setting to max.

Thus, Luo Qingyue only saw the person before him spinning faster and faster in place, kicking up dust and debris, the flames whirling with the flair of intangible cultural heritage fire performances!

Luo Qingyue's jaw dropped.

Worried that any second the Black-haired Youth would shoot upwards like a skyrocket or drill through the ground like an electric drill, he hurriedly reached out and grabbed Bai Fuling's arm. Relying on his own strength, he wrenched Bai Fuling to a stop mid-spin.

"Little Friend, stop! Stop spinning! Just stop!" More pixelated sweat beads appeared above Luo Qingyue's pixel character's head. "The fire ring on your head is throwing off sparks; you'll set your hair on fire!"

Finally halted, Bai Fuling nodded in reply: "Oh, don't worry about it. This is just some costume effects."

Luo Qingyue scrunched up his brow, not quite understanding. He slowly released his grip: "...Costume effects?"

"Actually, this is my cosplay outfit," Bai Fuling said with a firm tone. "Please call me—the Final Seraphim, Lord Cabbage!"

He controlled his character to raise a hand, reaching for the angelic fire ring on his head, preparing to demonstrate for the NPC.

As a clothing special effect, what burned on the angelic fire ring was no longer real fire; it was merely a decorative manifestation of the clothing. According to system logic, it deals no damage.

So the player could directly grab it bare-handed—after all, it wouldn't burn him or chip away at his HP.

Luo Qingyue watched in horror as Bai Fuling reached out to grab the fiercely burning fire ring on his head. Horrified, he quickly extended his hand, tightly grasping Bai Fuling.

"Don't—don't do that," Luo Qingyue advised. "I get that you're stressed out right now, Cabbage Friend. But don't take it out on yourself like this!"

He said this quickly first, then his tone softened, gentle and measured, "If you're scared, you can hold my hand tightly. I'm also an adult who's been through a lot and worked for a long time, anyway, I'm older than you.

"No matter what happens, at least you're not alone."

Bai Fuling: "Actually, that's exactly what I'm afraid of."

Luo Qingyue: ???

Luo Qingyue was left speechless once more.

Bai Fuling expressed: If I had to name one thing I'm afraid of—it would be Luo Qingyue mutating again! Because I currently have no organ burgers to appease him.

This was also why I was in such a hurry to team up with Luo Qingyue earlier. Generally, unless in special plot circumstances, teammates stick together. Luo Qingyue wouldn't just suddenly mutate and take a bite out of me.

At this moment, hearing Bai Fuling's response, Luo Qingyue visibly stiffened.

The bespectacled pixel character on the screen jolted, with question marks, exclamation marks, periods, and finally a string of ellipses appearing above his head in succession.

Luo Qingyue released his grip on Bai Fuling's arm, no longer holding on tightly. His soft, slightly long bangs swayed in the wind as his voice grew quiet and soft: "I don't know... I don't understand. I... I didn't mean to hurt anyone."

When this little text box popped up on the screen, Bai Fuling blinked.

So this statement—was Luo Qingyue following up on my earlier half-true, half-bluffing line?

Did he actually know about his own mutation? Or, in other words, was he aware that something was wrong with him?

Bai Fuling filed that thought away for later.

Now wasn't the time for questioning and investigation. Currently, they had used a bug to stay conscious and glitched their way into this new area. They needed to explore this place before those hostile NPCs caught on.

Now, Luo Qingyue had long since released his hand and stood a bit farther away. The player regained freedom and immediately jumped two or three times in place—for no reason at all. When you're bored, you just gotta hit the jump button.

Sparks drifted down from the halo on his head but seemed to vanish mid-air. The cheerful flames kept right on burning on the halo.

"Now the environment is bright," Bai Fuling panned the camera; he could see a good distance around his character. "Let's go."

He took the lead, walking forward—since they were in a party, Luo Qingyue would automatically follow.

Bai Fuling swung the camera around, observing the surrounding environment.

Now, they had arrived at a deeper level underground. The structure here looked like a sewer, but fancier.

The pathways were wide, with multiple forks. The environment was damp and close. However, the materials used for the walls and the floor beneath their feet seemed to be of very good quality.

In other words, these are pixel blocks that appear somewhat bright and high-end, flat enough to drag lab tables and beds over.

Each branching path is marked with a different number, meaning the routes here have their own codes.

So, is this a pathfinding mini-game now? But there didn't seem to be any number-related clues earlier to point the player in the right direction—perhaps players need to explore this place bit by bit on their own.

“Are we looking for a way out?” Luo Qingyue tilted his head and asked hesitantly, “Should we split up or stick together?”

Good question. Bai Fuling was pondering the same thing.

Splitting up would basically give the NPC a job too, improving efficiency. However, the risks of acting alone would also increase accordingly.

But after weighing the pros and cons, Bai Fuling ultimately decided to split up.

—Players aren’t afraid of tense fights or chases, but they dislike tedious maze navigation and pathfinding.

If splitting up can cut down on the boring pathfinding, then a bit more risk is acceptable.

The thought crossed his mind, and Bai Fuling typed: “Let’s split up. Remember the numbers on your path, and we’ll meet back here later. Or we can just contact each other by phone?”

Bai Fuling now had a phone. Thanks to the “gift” from the unknown NPC in the stairwell of Warm Garden earlier.

He clicked on the phone in his backpack and saw that it still had signal to receive and send messages.

“By the way, we haven’t exchanged contact information yet.” Luo Qingyue pulled out his phone from his pocket and exchanged numbers with Bai Fuling. “Let’s communicate via text messages later.”

After all, this is someone else’s territory—making phone calls would be too conspicuous. While exploring around, texts, with notifications off and just typing, are safer.

“Alright.” Bai Fuling nodded, then remembered another matter. “As for the lighting, you…”

The illumination along the way so far has been the angel halo above the player’s head, but if they split up, Bai Fuling couldn’t divide the angel halo above his head in two—he already tried earlier; it’s a non-detachable initial equipment element!

So Bai Fuling turned his gaze to Luo Qingyue, trying to find a spot where he could be upgraded into a flaming light source.

For example, his thin checkered shirt?

Setting it on fire from the hem would make a dazzling flame cloak!

Bai Fuling took out his lighter from his backpack and fixed an intense stare on Luo Qingyue.

Luo Qingyue met Bai Fuling’s gaze, and a strange chill suddenly ran up his spine. He hesitated, “...Uh, what’s wrong?”

“Do you need help?” Bai Fuling tilted his head like a kitten. “If we split up, you’re missing a light source.”

Intuition made Luo Qingyue not directly accept the offer.

He paused for half a second and asked another question, “So, Little Friend, what other lighting tools do you have?”

“As the classic saying goes,” Bai Fuling pressed the lighter in his hand, “If there is no torch, then be the only light yourself; if you have a spark of heat, emit a spark of light—so illuminate yourself.”

Luo Qingyue: ?

Luo Qingyue: No, no, no—wait, that saying absolutely cannot be understood and implemented literally, right?

Why are you still holding the lighter closer... Wait, don’t actually try to set someone on fire!!!

Author’s Note:

Bai Fuling: It’s lit.

Luo Qingyue: It’s lit!!!