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At this moment, the ambusher was shaking his slightly stiff fingers in clear frustration. What Xiu Jin had actually intended wasn’t an ambush, but to hurl that person straight at Lu Yu.
However, no matter how he tried moving the character on screen before, nothing budged. He could only watch helplessly as Lu Yu and the zombie transformed from Zhu Yuan were struck down, flying through the air before crashing to the ground.
Fortunately, thanks to his relentless swiping, he finally managed to make the ability user attacking the two zombies stumble at a critical moment, greatly aiding Lu Yu.
Listening to the two discuss the ambush, Xiu Jin burst into hearty laughter, so much so that the smart butler was summoned, fearing an abnormal reaction from this Seventh Prince.
Fortunately, apart from the exaggerated laughter, everything else seemed normal.
It was just that—
“Your Highness, the evening banquet is about to begin; you should depart now, or you will be late,” the diligent smart butler said, calling his master back from immersion in the game.
“Wait a bit longer.” Xiu Jin didn’t even turn his head, his gaze locked tightly on the screen, which displayed a panoramic view of the street.
Not long ago, Xiu Jin had been wondering how he could help once the two sides started fighting. His precious daughter definitely had to stay upstairs and not expose herself. Yet without Bianbian’s perspective, the screen wouldn’t show the scene on the street.
Bianbian needed to see the street; only then would he receive the feed and be able to seize an opportunity to assist.
But how could he place his precious daughter in danger? If Bianbian stuck her head out the window and was spotted by the enemy, how perilous that would be.
Just as this thought flashed through his mind, a message suddenly popped up on the screen: [Switch to street view?]
Wait—
“The scene can be switched; why wasn’t it available before?” He had pinpointed the crux of the matter.
The system, unwilling to explain at first, finally offered a response: [It was just unlocked.]
It had taken tremendous effort to code this feature.
Thus, Xiu Jin temporarily set aside his precious daughter, switched the living room scene to a streetscape, and began devising various ways to assist the two zombies.
The only regret was that if the weapon slot weren’t grayed out, he could have purchased weapons for the two zombies.
Wait a minute—wasn’t this supposed to be about raising his precious daughter? Why did it feel like he was inadvertently raising two zombies as well?
Xiu Jin was completely immersed in the game. Seeing that Luo Yesheng had nearly lost all combat capability, with only Feng Leijie remaining, his bright star-like eyes narrowed slightly—this scum was the one who had tried to abduct his baby.
For such trash, Xiu Jin naturally hoped Lu Yu would rush forward and tear Feng Leijie apart like a dog. However, as an off-field support, he had already swiped at Feng Leijie earlier, causing him to fall heavily and interrupt his ultimate move; now, another swipe left him completely unmoved.
It didn’t matter that he couldn’t swipe this time; pressing his finger against Feng Leijie, he was certain the man’s movements would slow down.
Sure enough, Feng Leijie on the screen faltered for just an instant, yet that brief moment was all Lu Yu needed. Following Luo Yesheng, amidst the freezing snow and ice, Feng Leijie too became a blood-soaked figure, collapsing motionless to the ground.
On the other side, Zhu Yuan required no assistance; united with the zombie horde, Tie Zhi and the others could barely defend themselves, let alone mount any counterattack.
His precious daughter was finally safe.
Xiu Jin’s delight was written all over his face; he was nearly humming a little tune until the smart butler interrupted forcefully once again: “Your Highness, if you don’t depart immediately, you will be one hundred percent late!”
“So annoying!” Anyone would be furious when disturbed while playing a game. Xiu Jin glared indignantly at the smart butler and said in a chilling tone, “Can you just get out?”
The smart butler shook its head with unprecedented firmness: “Impossible.”
No matter how displeased Xiu Jin looked, he still had to attend the banquet. With no other choice, he switched the scene to the living room, only to find his precious daughter sitting obediently on a small stool by the window, clutching a dingy little teddy bear in her arms.
“I’ll log back in to play with you once Dad finishes work.” In Xiu Jin’s mind, as he exited the game, everything within it froze at that exact moment.
When he next logged in, the scene would remain exactly as it was when he last logged out. If anything had changed, it would only mean the damn system had been altered; he wouldn’t bother thinking deeper about it.
That was precisely why he felt perfectly safe logging off without hesitation.
　　……
“Grandpa and Uncle Zhu Yuan will be fine,” Bianbian whispered to Huihui. She knew she ought to hide in her bedroom, yet she didn’t want to.
She wanted to sit here and listen to the sounds from outside, even if those noises made her shiver involuntarily as they reached her ears. She still listened intently, able to distinguish Grandpa’s and Uncle Zhu Yuan’s shouts amidst the cacophony.
“Brother Jie, we can’t hold on any longer! Let’s escape!”
Someone cried out in despair.
Feng Leijie’s ice-and-snow ability caused the temperature to plummet suddenly. Although it had a range limit, Bianbian, who had been sitting by the window for a long time, gradually began to feel cold. After a moment’s hesitation, she cautiously walked into the bedroom, rummaged out a jacket, and put it on.
Only half of the bedroom window was open. Bianbian wondered how Grandpa and Uncle Zhu Yuan were doing. Since the living room window made her too easy to spot, perhaps if she quietly used the bedroom window and moved carefully, she wouldn’t be discovered?
Bianbian lowered her head, exchanging a glance with the little bear. A moment later, she climbed onto the bed, inching her small body toward the window, cautiously peeking out with just half an eye.
What met her gaze was a massive horde of monsters; she couldn’t clearly distinguish which one was Grandpa and which was Uncle Zhu Yuan.
Just then, she heard a voice struggling to speak: “Damn it, bring out everything you’ve got as ability users! We’ve lost so many brothers coming out here; no one leaves without getting those crystal cores! Anyone who dares to run, I’ll be the first to feed you to the zombies!”
These words carried immense deterrent power; any ability-user contemplating escape was instantly pinned to the ground, unable to move, forced to continue desperately surviving amidst the ever-present danger of zombie attacks.
The voice panted briefly before speaking again: “Brother Luo, no need to hold back anymore. Those who ambushed us are still watching from the shadows. If you possess any special abilities, use them now. Let’s join forces to take down this Level Four first, then settle accounts with the ambushers!”
Bianbian understood every single word he spoke, yet when combined together, grasping their full meaning still proved somewhat difficult for her.
However, her sharp instincts urgently warned her—the “Level Four” this villain referred to was Grandpa; he and the other villain intended to join forces to kill Grandpa.
I clearly peeked through the living room window earlier and saw those two thugs who beat Grandpa lying on the ground. Why are they still trying to kill him now?
If you can’t win, just run away.
Even if we can’t win, we must kill Grandpa.
These bad guys are truly terrible!
Bianbian was both angry and anxious, tears the size of beans welling up in her eyes, distressed that she couldn’t help.
“Bianbian, be good, don’t be afraid. Grandpa and Uncle Zhu Yuan will be fine.” The sudden voice startled Bianbian; then she realized it belonged to System Daddy.
The little girl seemed to instantly find her backbone; much of the tension faded from her fair, delicate face as she twisted the hem of her dress and whispered, “But those bad guys are so powerful…”
She was worried her grandpa couldn’t defeat them.
“Bianbian, don’t worry, have you forgotten…” Before he could finish, someone logged into the game, interrupting the system’s conversation with Bianbian.
The person who logged in was unexpected to the system: it was Number Three—the Magician—who had previously been pushed out by Number One.
His login made the system somewhat uneasy; in truth, it would have preferred Player Two, Nong Jiusi, to log in instead. Although Nong Jiusi enjoyed using force against it, causing system glitches, aside from that, he strictly adhered to the game rules.
However, Player Three, the Magician, chosen by the rules, instinctively triggered a sense of danger within the system—who knew why a mere system could possess such strange perceptions?
As the Magician re-entered the game, he was greeted by several large characters: Welcome Back.
After briefly summarizing the preceding events in just a few words, the system omitted Xiu Jin’s existence entirely.
The Magician still lay amidst the yellow sand. Since being informed by the system that he had disconnected, he hadn’t attempted to log back into the game; instead, he had been studying the modified NR equipment.
Once his research was nearly complete, he spotted the game icon again. After a moment’s thought, his actions outpaced his reflections—he clicked to log in.
Before disconnecting, he had tied a zombie down with a belt; he never expected that upon logging in again, the storyline would undergo such a dramatic twist.
The abrupt leap in the storyline within such a short time made the Magician frown, an invisible chill settling between his brows. Simultaneously, Bianbian, lying in her bedroom, sensed a cold aura drifting heavily through the room, causing the temperature, already lowered by Feng Leijie’s special ability, to drop several degrees further.
The little girl sat silently on the bed. Finally unable to hold back, she wrapped herself tightly in her blanket, poking her small head out to tentatively call out, “Uncle?”
She had always wanted to ask the invisible uncle for help so that Grandpa and Uncle Zhu Yuan could defeat the villains, but she hadn’t dared to speak up. For some reason, she inexplicably felt that even if she requested the invisible uncle’s assistance, he would be unable to do it.
Yet now, she suddenly felt that the invisible uncle could indeed do it.
The little girl felt somewhat bewildered, having confused herself entirely.
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Third update is here, chirp!