Evolution - Chapter 43
Chapter 43
For the first time, completing a mission didn't bring any joy.
Thinking about how Her Majesty had been brutally taken out, they couldn't shake the subtle feeling of having sold out a teammate.
They felt quite guilty.
After all, they had pretty much been carried to victory.
The three of them exited the instance world and checked the time. Not even two days had passed. They noticed Ji Changqing wasn't there and assumed she had logged off. After all, they had spent an extra ten years in the game; there was no point in her waiting around for them.
The three of them immediately relaxed.
Zhong Lan cleared her throat and recited in a dramatic tone:
“In all my life, I have never known defeat, yet today, I have paved the way for your success.”
Lin Huang gave her a thumbs-up. “Your Majesty, impressive! A pity you paved the way for success, and didn't get to wear the wedding gown!”
Silently, The First poked each of them in the waist.
The two women’s laughter died abruptly.
Ji Changqing, who had rushed over after receiving the mission completion notification, was staring at the two of them with a dark expression.
“Looks like you completed your mission successfully.”
Zhong Lan and Lin Huang instantly changed their tune, bowing and scraping. “Easy, easy, it was all thanks to you.”
“Was it thanks to me, or to Yu Zhiyao?!”
“Same difference, same difference. Ah, no, yours, yours!”
Ji Changqing was very unhappy. She roared, “But my damn mission failed!”
Anyone who got flirted with while being brutally killed would probably have a hard time being happy about it. What’s more, she was the only one whose mission had failed.
Yu Zhiyao's actions had given her a profound understanding of the dual meaning behind the phrase, “If you pretend to be invulnerable, you must be prepared to be pierced by a thousand arrows.”
Although she could afford the small point deduction, she was still upset. And these two were actually laughing at her. They must have a death wish.
The First quickly comforted her. “See if there are any rewards. Think of our Grand Virtue Medal!”
Ji Changqing shot a hateful glare at the two who were making fun of her, then grumbled as she opened the interface. “Huh? Beginner's Heart Medal, what's this?”
She clicked on it, and the medal flashed before vanishing instantly.
The First was also a bit dumbfounded. “Did it just install onto the game equipment?”
Ji Changqing opened the game interface and searched high and low, but she couldn't find where it had been installed.
She didn't dwell on it for too long. Even though it had disappeared, a reward was better than nothing.
Some of her anger subsided. Was she upset about the mission failure? No, she was upset that she'd been played by that woman, Yu Zhiyao, again, and these two were gloating over her misfortune!
It was super embarrassing, okay?!
As a middle-aged person, she drew on her years of cultivated self-restraint and suppressed her anger.
She could only blame herself for being stupid and unable to outplay the other.
The thought left her feeling rather dispirited. She gave everyone a casual wave and logged off to lick her wounds in silence.
“See you in seven days!”
She would be away from the game for seven days.
As soon as she left, Zhong Lan and Lin Huang exchanged knowing glances. “I bet Yu Zhiyao will still try to coax Her Majesty this time.”
Lin Huang rolled her eyes. Who would take that bet? It was so obvious in the game. Yu Zhiyao was casually flirting with their Majesty, and Her Majesty was a little moved but also very unwilling to admit it, so she deliberately played the stoic gentleman.
Flirt all you want; if I react, I lose!
The two looked at each other and couldn't help but snicker. They knew what was going on between the two in the game, but Qian Jing and Xue Hong didn't.
Unbeknownst to Ji Changqing, the four other members of their five-person group had created a separate private chat. They placed small bets on how quickly Yu Zhiyao would contact her in reality, and larger bets on how long it would take for the two of them to officially get back together.
As for whether they would get back together, they weren't worried about that. That was Yu Zhiyao's problem to solve.
On the first day she couldn't enter the game, Ji Changqing felt a slight headache, likely an adverse reaction from dying in the holographic game.
Then she received a call from a delivery service, saying her address was illegible due to an accident and asking her to provide the details again.
She casually recited her address. Then she went to check the tracking information for her online purchases, but after looking for a long time, she couldn't figure out which package it was.
The next day, the delivery guy had her pick up a package at the community gate. After taking it upstairs and opening it, her face flushed red with anger. She threw the half-dozen shirts aside and pounded the floor in frustration. “Yu! Zhi! Yao!”
Soon after, Xue Hong, who had been secretly observing the situation nearby, was laughing hysterically as she shared the latest gossip in the four-person private chat.
Red Scarf: Hahaha, Her Majesty is furious! Yu Zhiyao is still rocking that ‘domineering CEO keeping a lover’ style, just loves to buy, buy, buy for her.
RMB: So Yu Zhiyao really wants to win back her old flame, huh?
Old Cadre: Obviously!
He Shi Bi: I think they should have gotten back together ages ago. But those two have dragged it out until now. I don't know what they're being so dramatic about!
Red Scarf: Hahaha, does that mean we're going to see the magical scene of Her Majesty being kept again? They're all shirts from Brand X. Damn, one of them costs more than my monthly salary.
He Shi Bi: Xiao Hong, seriously, if you hadn't constantly provoked Xiao Qing back then by saying she was being kept, I don't think they would have had so many problems...
Old Cadre: I kind of think so too...
Red Scarf: Me... You guys are all Monday morning quarterbacks! I was obviously just joking, expressing my envy, jealousy, and hate.
RMB: We all know you were joking, and she knew it too, but Her Majesty had incredibly strong self-esteem back then. You shouldn't have joked around like that.
Red Scarf: Fine, fine, I'll stop running my mouth.
He Shi Bi: It just occurred to me, did President Yu ever have any interaction with Xiao Hong at all?
RMB: Not sure. I just remember that after Her Majesty brought her to meet us all, my studio got a few good contracts.
He Shi Bi: Yeah, after we met her that time, our company won the bid for that project we didn't have much hope for.
Old Cadre: I don't know if it was related to President Yu, but during the two years Her Majesty was dating her, things went pretty smoothly for me at work.
The more you think about it, the scarier it gets!
Everyone was silent for a long time. Even when the loser of their little bet sent out a red envelope, everyone just quietly claimed it without any excitement.
He Shi Bi: Looking back now, Xiao Hong, you're a true tragedy...
Old Cadre: And you were clearly the closest and best friend to Her Majesty...
RMB: Xiao Hong, you're a true tragedy...
Red Scarf: WTF?! No way. President Yu used to give us concert tickets, movie cards, and book fancy dinners all the time...
As she spoke, Xue Hong trailed off.
Yes, back then, Yu Zhiyao would occasionally, as if by chance, arrange this or that for them. But it was all arranged for Her Majesty. She... she was just a plus-one! Damn it!
He Shi Bi: A true tragedy.
Old Cadre: A true tragedy.
RMB: A true tragedy.
Red Scarf: A true tragedy! A sharp tongue is the greatest obstacle to human progress!
A string of “hahaha”s filled the chat.
He Shi Bi: Is Her Majesty mature enough to face all this now?
Old Cadre: The whole world has gone ABO, marriage is legal. Her Majesty is an A. Could she marry into the family?
Red Scarf: What if Yu Zhiyao is also an A...
RMB: I think Her Majesty will be fine, as long as she stays far away from Xiao Hong.
Red Scarf: Get lost!
Old Cadre: Hahaha, President Yu has probably learned her lesson from last time!
Red Scarf: You get lost too!
He Shi Bi: I don't think Yu Zhiyao could be an A.
Old Cadre: She doesn't seem like an O either, does she?
RMB: As long as it's Yu Zhiyao, I think Her Majesty would be okay with it, right?
Thinking about it, that seemed to be the case.
Ji Changqing had met Yu Zhiyao at a friend's gathering.
The person who organized the gathering probably didn't know Yu Zhiyao's identity either; they just said a junior sister would be arriving late.
When Yu Zhiyao rushed over, she happened to sit next to Ji Changqing. The two hit it off immediately and even exchanged contact numbers.
Later, as they grew closer, Ji Changqing realized she had feelings for Yu Zhiyao. She agonized over it for a while before finally confessing, practically coaxed into it by Yu Zhiyao.
Two months after they officially started dating, Yu Zhiyao went home to take over the family business.
Only then did Ji Changqing realize the immense gap between herself and the girlfriend she thought was just a tech worker absorbed in her research—the one who squeezed into a small rental with her, cooked with her in their spare time, occasionally brought home flowers to decorate the place, and calculated with her when she'd be able to afford a house.
She could accept that some people were born at the finish line of others' lives. But when she discovered that her own girlfriend's starting point was a finish line that ordinary people couldn't reach in several lifetimes, it was a little too much to bear.
There was no ecstasy of suddenly striking it rich, only a wildly growing sense of dread.
The script she had written for herself was about two ordinary people falling in love and growing old together, but reality had cruelly and relentlessly rewritten it into The Rich Girl and Her Kept Woman: The Untold Story.
Probably no one besides her four friends knew what an agonizing time that was for Ji Changqing.
But no matter how insecure she felt, she couldn't bear to let go. Instead, she worked hard to polish herself, bit by bit, into someone more outstanding.
At that moment, Yu Zhiyao, the subject of their heated discussion, was in a conference room at the Alliance base on Blue Star, meeting with Claire and Xie'er.
Xie'er tapped the table. “Yu Zhiyao. We've asked you here today mainly to understand the matter of you cheating in the game's instance world to help another player obtain a reward.”
Yu Zhiyao sat with perfect, elegant posture and said lightly, “Allow me to correct you. It wasn't cheating. It was a normal operation permitted within the rules.”
Xie'er was choked speechless by her retort. That was a fatal blow; there was no way to continue that line of questioning.
Claire suppressed a laugh. “Alright, alright. Since she knows how to obtain the Beginner's Heart Medal, she must have one herself. I told you not to try that intimidation tactic, but you just wouldn't listen.”
Xie'er tossed her hair and dropped the pretense. She asked with great curiosity, “How long has it been, and you've already figured out the rules? Is your mental power potential 3S?”
Even she hadn't figured out the game's rules.
If Yu Zhiyao hadn't triggered the holographic game's hidden assessment rules, they still wouldn't know that someone had already figured out the rules and was quietly using them to their advantage.
Yu Zhiyao smiled politely. “My mental power potential is useless, isn't it? I've already had a differentiation failure.”
Claire, however, was unconcerned. Since they had asked her for a meeting, they had naturally looked up her detailed file. “You don't need to worry too much about that. You had a differentiation failure, not an evolutionary failure.”
She turned on her optical computer and projected a screen displaying Yu Zhiyao's test data and results. “After you entered the base, we gave you a comprehensive examination. Your differentiation failure is mainly because you have two strong evolutionary directions.”
Hearing this, Yu Zhiyao showed a flicker of interest. “Meaning the two are at a stalemate, preventing me from evolving further in either direction?”
“Until this problem is resolved, you indeed cannot continue. The Alliance's ABO society has seen many such cases.” Claire's expression turned serious. “However, your situation is more unique. It requires assistance from the cultivation side.”
“But it costs a lot of merit points to get that chance.” Xie'er interjected nonchalantly, “You triggered the hidden assessment rules set by that bunch of weirdos at the Academy of Sciences. Anyone who figures out the game's core rules can enter the Academy directly.”
Yu Zhiyao's eyes flickered slightly.
Seeing her reaction, Claire continued her sales pitch enthusiastically. “The Academy of Sciences is a place where it's even easier to earn merit points than the military. Given your talent for triggering this hidden rule, I think you could probably gather enough points in twenty or thirty years at most.”
“I don't find my differentiation failure particularly unacceptable.” Yu Zhiyao filtered out Claire's effusive praise for the Academy. “However, I would like to understand the specific rights and obligations that come with joining.”
Claire and Xie'er frowned simultaneously.
“Perhaps we haven't clearly explained the severity of the situation to you. If this issue isn't resolved, the genes for the two strong evolutionary directions will continue to fight for dominance, depleting your own natural aptitude.”
Seeing that Yu Zhiyao remained completely unmoved, Claire sighed. “Your lifespan will be shorter than others. Moreover, because the two strong evolutionary genes are already fighting for dominance inside you, you will be unable to conceive, regardless of whether your partner's genes are dominant or recessive.”
Xie'er silently pulled up another file and displayed it on the screen. It was a photo of Ji Changqing. “You helped her get the Beginner's Heart Medal in the game, so we did a little digging. She's an Alpha now, a very outstanding one. We're preparing to recommend her for the Alliance military academy. You two used to be lovers…”
“She won't mind.” Yu Zhiyao gazed at Ji Changqing's smiling face. Ji Changqing might fret about being too outstanding herself, but she probably wouldn't mind if Yu Zhiyao were exceedingly mediocre, right?
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
Comments
Post a Comment