A New Environment (Arc 4)

Feng Yongrui felt like he was swimming in a sea of fire one moment and diving in the waters of the North Pole in the next. It was, simply put, torturous.

Alternating between hot and cold, Feng Yongrui tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a nice position to sleep.

Sleeping on this side hurt his arms. This side was too cold. This position was hurting his neck... It seemed like he had countless excuses and nothing was going right for him.

In his hazy dreams, Feng Yongrui felt like he heard voices talking near him.

He heard a low pitched voice muttering something under his breath. And then, another person seemed to reply... Those two people kept talking back and forth, ignoring him, and for some reason, he became annoyed...

Feng Yongrui fell in and out of his dreams. He felt like he had mumbled something under his breath, but those two people continued talking, disturbing his sleep. Finally, Feng Yongrui couldn't take it anymore and shouted at them to stop. Couldn't they see that he was having a good nap?!

The two voices stopped talking, and Feng Yongrui heard indistinct mumbling. He felt like he was flying one moment, and before he could say anything, he was flying through the air.

Thud!

Feng Yongrui felt pain explode all over his body and groaned. He had no idea what had happened to him, but the feeling of hot and cold once again attacked him. Feng Yongrui felt his head pounding harder and harder...

***

When Feng Yongrui woke up, he took a deep breath and almost cried out of joy. The suffocating feeling of being trapped in dust was gone! Instead, there was a faint fragrance of roses...

Feng Yongrui tried to sit up and almost jumped up in fright. This... wasn't the shed he was staying in! Feng Yongrui looked down. No wonder it was so soft. Apparently he was laying down on a white bed.

Feng Yongrui sat up and observed his surroundings. There were brownish walls around him, which, other than looking old, seemed pretty clean. There was a wooden table on his bedside with a porcelain teacup on top.

On his left side, there was a window that allowed the sunlight to come pouring into the room, unabashedly soaking the room in a golden, honey-colored hue. There was another table that was a little further away from him, and on the table there was a vase filled with roses.

Feng Yongrui racked his brains, trying to understand how he got here. What exactly happened last night? And where was he?

"System," Feng Yongrui called out.

Feng Yongrui was met with silence, and he crumpled his brows in frustration. He wanted to get down from the bed, but his limbs felt rather numb.

It took him a lot of effort to get out of the bed and stand on the ground. He staggered towards the door in front of him and touched the wooden handle. Just as he wanted to pull the door open, the door was pushed open, causing him to fall backwards in shock.

Feng Yongrui wanted to curse -- was his luck this bad?

He looked up and saw a handsome man standing my the doorway, one hand holding a tray and the other one holding the door in place.

The man: "..."

Feng Yongrui: "..."

"Err..." Feng Yongrui wanted to say something, but the man interrupted him.

"Ah, you're awake. What are you doing lying on the floor like that?"

Feng Yongrui opened his mouth, ready to explain, but the man cut his sentence (again).

"Oh, don't tell me that you like the floor? I mean, we even gave you a bed to sleep on, but it seems like you're not used to it. Really, tsk, tsk, your taste is weird," he added.

Feng Yongrui felt his blood boil at the man's tone. This guy... knocked him down and didn't even bother to apologize... now, he was obviously mocking him...

Feng Yongrui's face filled with annoyance. Alright, he decided. He didn't like this guy.

Feng Yongrui stood up and wobbled back to the bed. He dusted himself and sat on the edge of the bed, watching as the man put the tray on the side of the table. As the man bustled about, Feng Yongrui observed the man in front of him.

This person was good looking. He had tousled brown hair that glinted under the bright sunlight.

He had a pair of pale blue eyes, a pointed nose, and a well-defined jaw. This man was wearing a loose brown white tunic that looked relatively clean, as well as a pair of black trousers and shiny black boots.

The man noticed Feng Yongrui's gaze and chuckled.

"Is my face that handsome? Hahaha, I knew it~ It's too bad though, I don't like little kids," he smirked.

Feng Yongrui: =_=

Ignoring the man's words, Feng Yongrui opened his mouth.

"That... where am I?"

"Ooh~ Getting straight to business are you?" the man pulled up a chair and sat down opposite him.

"Where am I? Who are you? And... why am I here?" Feng Yongrui bombarded the man with questions.

"Woah, you're bombarding me with questions as soon as you open your mouth, but..." the man stretched out the last syllable and gave a wicked smile. "Why do I have to answer your questions?"

Feng Yongrui fell silent. The man actually had a point -- he had no obligation to answer Feng Yongrui's questions, right? But being unable to understand the situation made Feng Yongrui frustrated...

"Hey, kid. It's my turn to ask you questions. Who are you? Why were you inside our warehouse? What do you want from us?" the man shot out a string of questions, his face beaming brightly.

Although the man's lips were curved upwards, Feng Yongrui could see that this person's eyes were cold and merciless, as if, once Feng Yongrui went out of line, this person wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

Feng Yongrui normally had a good temper. After all, no matter what the System usually said or did to him, he didn't fly into a rage or curse the System at all. In fact, Feng Yongrui considered himself as a somewhat passive person. He didn't really want to fight others unless necessary.

But today, for some reason, Feng Yongrui was feeling rebellious. Maybe it was because of the man's tone... Or maybe it was simply because he was in a bad mood...

Feng Yongrui looked at the man, who was still waiting for his reply, and snorted.

"Why do I have to answer your questions?" Feng Yongrui fired back.

The man's eyes widened in shock, apparently not expecting Feng Yongrui to answer him like that.

Getting over from the shock, the man's lips twisted into a cruel grin and he lifted an eyebrow as he talked.

"Ha~ You've got guts, huh? Well, that's too bad. Your bravery, I mean, stupidity, won't take you anywhere~" the man fished out a dagger from nowhere and brought it closer to Feng Yongrui's face.

"Look at this shiny baby~ Do you want to test its sharpness?" the man giggled.

Feng Yongrui glared at the man and spat out the next words coldly.

"Heh, do you think I'm afraid?"

As soon as those words left his mouth, Feng Yongrui felt the neurons inside his brain scolding him. What was he thinking? Why did he suddenly get a burst of confidence and start talking back to this guy?

"Err..." Feng Yongrui looked at the man's displeased expression and wanted to cry.

Feng Yongrui: I take it back, okay? QAQ

The man opened his mouth and wanted to say something when the door was opened. Feng Yongrui's eyes were immediately drawn to the man who had saved him from death.

This person was very tall and imposing. He had broad shoulders, long legs, and a good-looking face that gave Feng Yongrui the impression of a playboy. Unfortunately, this person's face was very, very cold.

Before Feng Yongrui could do anything, he heard a "Ding~" and a green transparent screen appeared in front of him.

[The head of the largest Assassination Guild in the kingdom, Enigma, has taken an interest in you. What are your first words to him?]

Underneath, Feng Yongrui saw 3 choices.

[Hello, my name is Lucky, nice to meet you~]

[Oh, you must be the leader of the Enigma Guild. You look better than the rumors...]

[Your subordinate is bullying me.]

Feng Yongrui looked at the available choices and tried to open his mouth, but he realized that... he couldn't talk! Feng Yongrui looked at the man in front of him and realized that everyone in the room was frozen, as if time had stopped.

Feng Yongrui quickly understood the situation. Whenever he was given "directions" from the higher ups, time would "stop" and he couldn't make his own moves. He had to pick a choice from the screen first before everything returned to normal.

***

Feng Yongrui: *rebellious* Why do I have to answer your questions?

The brown-haired guy: *flashes a shiny dagger*

Feng Yongrui: Hello. I'm very docile, please don't eat me, QAQ