Chapter 14: Torturous Quest

StormGoddessNiNi's typing speed doubles when it comes to rumors, and another message appears instantly: "They're both in City B." What a strange coincidence this is! Are you there, too, Wei Wei?

Wei Wei: "Mum, I'm in City B for school."

It's not exactly a coincidence. They're on a server named "Imperial Storm," and it's common for everyone from City B to be on it. Speaking of which, it's possible that City B is also the home of the Great Master, YuGong, and the others.

Wei-Wei goes into a state of shock.

StormGoddessNiNi: "I would meet up with you guys, but I'm in City T, 555 (boohoohoo)." Yes, I do have a picture of Little Rain Yao Yao and Real Water together. In all honesty, RealWater is really gorgeous. I have a picture of them. Do you want to see it, Wei Wei?

">o<, not interested," said Wei Wei.< p>

Wei Wei is not at all interested in knowing what RealWaterIsScentless looks like; if she were, she would have requested a picture of them a month or two prior to their "divorce." At that time, another couple from the guild swapped pictures, but as soon as they saw each other's true appearance, they broke up. At that same moment, RealWater proposed exchanging photographs. Unexpectedly, Wei Wei blurted out, "I don't have a digital camera, so I don't have any digital photos." It sounded, rather obviously, like a made-up justification to reject him, even if it was genuine.

Whatever the reason, Wei Wei believes it makes no difference as long as he realizes she is not interested in exchanging pictures. They should be wary about sharing pictures because they are only virtual acquaintances and don't know each other in person. Moreover, when sharing photographs, Wei Wei is not at all fond of the notion that their status as a "married couple" in the game implies a potential romantic relationship in real life.

RealWaterIsScentless, however, clearly had different ideas. Looking back, that's when RealWater's perspective shifted.

StormGoddessNiNi is still trying to talk her into it, asking, "You really do not want to see it?"

Wei Wei: "No >o<"< p>

Dejected, StormGoddessNiNi says, "There's rumors, but you seem uninterested. You're just too cute, Wei Wei. Yes, you have indeed met ASmileNaiHe. Is he attractive, Is he attractive?

Stunned, Wei Wei stands in front of her PC. She hastily responds, "No, I haven't," but she can't help but wonder if she would be open to trading pictures if Great Master NaiHe asked.

It appears that...

She would.

Should NaiHe request to meet with her?

It appears that she would, as well.

Ahh

Wei Wei is surprised by her "willingness" for both situations, but she believes that NaiHe would ask given his demeanor; therefore, these two possibilities are unlikely to occur. She feels a little depressed after discovering this.

She has the ability to forget everyone she has met in lakes and rivers, but what about NaiHe?

Wei Wei is unwilling to consider other options.

******* ***

Wei Wei did not inform NaiHe about the bribes since the Great Master shouldn't be concerned because it is such a small issue.

Wei Wei and NaiHe are declared the champions of the video competition one day later. They instantly receive the benefits, and Wei Wei advances in level as a result of the two-time experience increase award.

Wei Wei is happy. Since her most recent level up was two weeks ago, it is difficult for someone at her level to get to the next. Of course, part of the prize is the rainbow-colored costume. She puts it on immediately; it is certainly lovely, brilliant, gorgeous, and gleaming with brilliance. It may even change color, exhibiting all seven rainbow colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, and indigo. Wei Wei tests out the hues.

"Put it on for us to see," YuGong commands NaiHe.

Wei Wei gives a nod and sends out two heart-shaped smileys that are drooling.

NaiHe clicks to change his avatar's clothes even though he dislikes this intricate and expensive apparel since he can tell how much people look forward to it. The musician in the spotless white robes transforms into a dapper aristocrat wearing purple clothing. He complies with their wishes and alters each hue one at a time, pausing after six.

MonkeyWine asks, "Six? One color is absent.

"Green, it's green!" exclaims MoZhaHim.

Oh no, he keeps his thoughts to himself, ignoring them. He promptly dons his white-robed musician's outfit again.

At the same time, YuGong and MoZhaHim both "hehehehe" with malicious laughter.

Wei Wei understands what they're laughing at all of a sudden. Green...

The rainbow attire includes a cap in place of the Great Master's white jade hairpin, so when it's green, well.

A green hat (made of a cuckold) is this.

>o~

On purpose, MoZhaHim asks, "Third brother, what's wrong? Why don't you dress like a pair with your third sister-in-law? Does that mean that...

Oh no, We're an elderly married couple," he remarks. These things don't really need to worry us.

Wei Wei is in complete shock.

Please, Great Master, simply don't wear it if you don't want to. Why make up an explanation, even claiming to be an elderly married couple?

Wei Wei wears the rainbow-colored costume every day for the next several days. She doesn't really enjoy it, but she doesn't want to throw it away after putting so much work into the video and earning it. Wearing it is actually a pain because the garment has no special powers and doesn't increase your attack or defense. She will be beaten to death if she wears it while facing enemies. She must thus always change into new clothes before conflicts.

However, Wei Wei once forgot to change her clothes and was instantly killed by a low-level boss. After Wei Wei becomes agitated, she throws the ensemble into the trunk and never wears it again. 

Curiously, Wei Wei encountered LittleRainYaoYao several times while wearing the ensemble, despite the fact that she didn't wear it for two or three days. Usually, she doesn't run into her for 10 days to a month, but on the third occasion, it was a bit uncomfortable, Wei Wei thought. Hopefully, Wei Wei won't assume that she was showcasing her skills intentionally.

Whichever way she wants to think, that's her choice. Anyhow!

>o^

**** ****

Along with the announcement of the video contest winner, there is also a couple PK competition. It's finally here: the PK competition schedule and regulations, after a month of anticipation. They seem logical to Wei Wei after reading them.

The PK tournament will start on Friday of next week and run for a month. Local server contests will take place in the first part of the month. The tournament will begin with point accumulation fights, where the top sixteen players from each server will fight for the top position. The top two players from each server will then face off in the finals.

Wei Wei notices that the championship match is scheduled on June 14 at 8:00 p.m. She will still have a week to focus on her English studies even if they advance to the finals because her level 6 test (the College English Test) is scheduled for June 21 in the afternoon.

Excellent. That is flawless.

Wei Wei gives a satisfied nod and begins scheduling her play and study time for the upcoming month. NaiHe seems unconcerned about it; he tells Wei Wei, "If there's a competition, just let me know the day before," when they visit the NPC to sign up.

His disciple, Wei Wei, nods instantly, saying, "Mm, no problem."

MonkeyWine and YuGong, on the other hand, are far more enthusiastic about it than NaiHe is; they continually encourage them to play pretend before the tournament, claiming that this would help them practice.

Come on, act like we're your rivals, MonkeyWine urges. Assume for the moment that this is a PK tournament.

Oh no"Our opponents are couples," he adds. Which of you is the wife, and which of you is the husband?

"Of course I'm the husband," Monkeywine responds.

YuGong leaps to his feet at once and says, "No, I'm the husband."

"I am taller than you," said MonkeyWing.

"I am heavier than you," said YuGong.

.....

....

After a brief argument filled with juvenile arguments, the two of them PK each other since they are unable to resolve their differences.

With adoration, Wei Wei glances at NaiHe. Oh, Great Master, you defeat others without even requiring a drop of blood.

In any case, YuGong and MonkeyWine didn't receive any practice since they couldn't decide who was the husband and who was the wife. They go to battle bosses as their major pre-competition activity.

Wei Wei and Nai He still periodically split off from the group to pursue solo missions. The final, legendary, and most agonizing of all the tasks, "The Return of the Condor Heroes," is the only one left unfinished from the advanced level pair.

To what extent is the search agonizing? Nobody has ever been able to finish the game since it is so unbearably difficult. When Wei Wei and Nai He get to work on it, they discover that it is, in fact, torturous—every step of the journey is challenging and tiresome.

Consider engaging in combat with creatures. A creature who blatantly negates all nonattack-type spells can be found in the mission; if its blood level falls below a specific point, it will always perform a Miracle Cure to restore all of its health. Additionally, it blocks profile lookup, which means that players are unable to see the health of the object.After determining its health and how often it performs Miracle Cure, NaiHe eventually kills it.

Wei Wei becomes even more devoted to the Great Master as a consequence. She also attempted to calculate the monster's health, but she was unable to do it with any speed. He is so fast that he isn't even human.

In addition to the standard monster-fighting and ingredient-gathering tasks in "The Return of the Condor Heroes" quest, it cruelly places a time restriction on players to solve puzzles, mazes, and other obstacles. There's even a chess match.While it just takes a few moves to play Go or Xianqi (Chinese Chess), there are undoubtedly players who are ignorant of the rules of either game.

Comparable to Wei Wei ==

God be praised for the all-knowing Great Master, NaiHe.

They successfully complete every level, but Wei Wei eventually realizes what is more excruciating than torturous when they reach the very last one.

The system bot unexpectedly transfers Wei Wei to an enigmatic location that is not on the map when she converses with the previous stage's NPC; NaiHe has 16 hours to locate her. The mission is considered unfinished if he doesn't locate her.

Now that Wei Wei knows why the mission is titled "The Return of the Condor Heroes," she can see that it is a total parody of the narrative about Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu's sixteen-year separation.

That being said, is the desolate location she finds herself in today the same as the one described in the novel? Is this the base of the cliff? This implies that NaiHe would have to leap from the cliff in order to locate her, isn't it?

>o~

Luckily, the system doesn't go bonkers and close their chat windows. They can still communicate with one another.

NaiHe: "How is the surrounding environment?"

"It's really, really, really dark," said Wei Wei.

Wei Wei is ashamed of her depiction, but NaiHe takes it calmly, asking, "You can't see anything?"

"Nope," says Wei Wei.

"Any noises?" asked NaiHe.

Wei Wei watches intently for a moment before saying, "I think there's water."

"Mmm, I know where it is," said NaiHe.

After that, they stayed silent. Wei Wei realizes that she couldn't just wait for NaiHe to locate her, so she begins looking about in the shadows to see if she can uncover any information that NaiHe may use. She searches online as well, but as was previously noted, there are no directions accessible because no one has ever completed the mission. The last step is described on the official website in just one sentence: "couples must rely on their telepathy to pass the stage."

This is really out of control.

After ten minutes, Wei Wei receives a fresh message. Upon opening it, she discovers that it is from Guild Master BattleTheWorld, although she initially believed it to be from NaiHe.

BattleTheWorld: "Reed, what made your group pilfer someone in our guild's boss fight?"

Wei Wei is a member of Sound of Blue Ocean Tides Pavilion, one of the top four guilds on the local server. The creator, UnawakenedButterflyDreams, is a female gamer. Wei Wei joined the guild from its inception since she knew ButterflyDream when she first started playing; despite never truly assuming any leadership roles, Wei Wei is regarded as one of the elder leaders of the guild.

Lacking consciousnessAfter changing employment two months ago due to work commitments, ButterflyDreams gave her spouse, BattleTheWorld, the role of Guild Master. While Wei Wei isn't really familiar with BattleTheWorld, he is rather close to RealWaterIsScentless.

After hearing the message, Wei Wei feels a little perplexed.

What conflict among bosses? I've spent the entire time on a couple's search.

"YuGong Climbs A Mountain and Monkey Wine, aren't they from your party?" BattleTheWorld asks.