Infinite: Dawn Game

Chapter 976 Cake...

Yu Shijiu looked down at his left arm. "My hand is all healed. It's perfectly normal. Look."

After speaking, Yu Shijiu rotated her left wrist, indicating that the pollution on her body had completely disappeared.

"Not just hands."

Lu Chusheng stood up, walked around the desk, and stood in front of Yu Shijiu.

He was much taller than Yu Shijiu, giving off an invisible sense of oppression.

"The Journey Home dungeon had a significant impact on your mental well-being."

“Although the pollution may appear to have been ‘purified,’ as someone who has been in close contact with a collection of deep-seated negative emotions, especially after being a source of pollution formed by extreme obsessions like Lin Hai’s, it is almost impossible for you to be completely free of any trace.”

As Lu Chusheng spoke, he reached out as if to touch Yu Shijiu's forehead, but his fingers stopped in mid-air and instead landed on the boy's shoulder, gently pressing it.

"Feifei can soothe your emotions, but it is also a living creature. If there are still unstable factors in your mental state, letting it return to your side may not be a good thing for either you or it."

Lu Chusheng spoke clearly and calmly, with an undeniable sense of concern.

Yu Shijiu listened, but not completely.

He felt a mixture of frustration from not being able to find the cat and a strange annoyance at being told he was "unstable."

There was also a sense of extreme discomfort from being separated by Lu Chusheng's strange, almost protective, protection.

How strange, it's just a mental pollution-related instance, why would Lu Chusheng make so many connections?

"I feel great right now."

Yu Shijiu raised her head, looked into Lu Chusheng's eyes, and said, word by word.

"It's better than ever before. I can control myself and won't hurt Fei Fei, let alone... hurt others."

Lu Chusheng looked at the boy's clear yet stubborn round almond eyes and remained silent for a moment.

"I believe you can control it."

His Adam's apple bobbed silently a few times, and he said softly:

"But it will take time to prove it, Shi Jiu. Once you finish the next round of the guild competition, if everything goes well, Fei Fei will naturally return to your side."

The implication of this statement is that there is absolutely no room for negotiation.

Yu Shijiu pursed his lips. He could vaguely sense that it was difficult to change Lu Chusheng's mind once he made a decision, especially when the other party used the excuse of "it's for your own good".

He suddenly felt a little tired.

It wasn't a physical feeling, but rather that empty feeling in my heart seemed to have gotten a little stronger.

"……All right."

Yu Shijiu lowered her eyelashes and her voice also softened, "Then... after the next round of the competition, you must give Feifei back to me."

"Ah."

Lu Chusheng responded, his gaze falling on Yu Shijiu's lowered head, his cold and hard expression softening slightly.

"Be careful in the match. 'Alive' is on a roll right now, and your next opponent won't be easy."

"knew.

Yu Shijiu replied sullenly and turned to leave.

What he hates most is when people don't confront him directly but instead try to "persuade" him with sweet words...

"Shi Jiu".

Lu Chusheng suddenly called out to him, took out a palm-sized object wrapped in oil paper from his desk drawer, and handed it to him.

"Take it."

"What is this?"

Yu Shijiu subconsciously took it; the oil paper package in his hand was still warm and emitted a sweet fragrance.

"Honey cake, a newly opened shop on the street, there are a lot of people queuing up, I guess it must taste good."

Lu Chusheng said in a flat tone, "I bought quite a lot, so I'll share some with your teammates too."

"..."

Yu Shijiu squeezed the warm oil paper package in his hand, and the sweet fragrance wafted into his nostrils.

He suddenly remembered the bag of milk candies by his pillow in his room, and inexplicably recalled the gentle male voice in his dream that said "I'll take you away" with moisture in it. He looked up at Lu Chusheng's calm and indifferent face at this moment.

Complex and chaotic emotions intertwined, but in the end, they all boiled down to a single thought:

The cakes smell very sweet; they must taste delicious.

"……Thanks."

Yu Shijiu said softly, carefully putting the cake into her system inventory.

"Go."

Lu Chusheng sat back in his office chair, picked up the documents again, as if the conversation just now was just a trivial interlude.

Unable to find Feifei, Yu Shijiu angrily left the headquarters of the inspection team.

On the way back, he didn't walk as fast as he had on the way there; he walked slowly, each step feeling as heavy as if he were crushing the pavement.

The warm sunshine of the town simulation shone down on me, making even the chatter of players on both sides of the street seem somewhat unreal.

Yu Shijiu pursed her lips and touched the honey cake in her system backpack, recalling its plump, furry texture and eerie green eyes.

Ugh……

He let out a long sigh.

In the next round... if we just win one more game, everything should be fine, right?

Thinking this, Yu Shijiu stopped getting angry and "trampling" the road and quickened her pace, walking briskly towards the temporary "living" residence.

Just as he turned into a relatively quiet alley, he suddenly caught a glimpse of two figures talking in hushed tones deep inside the alley.

One of them was wearing a purple uniform, and his back view looked somewhat familiar.

Looks a bit like... a "Echo" player?

Yu Shijiu paused slightly, subconsciously turning to the side and hiding behind a stall, staring intently.

Looking at it this way, it is indeed a player from "Echo," and specifically the male player named Ma Ming.

He was talking to someone across from him, his expression a mix of excitement and anxiety.

The person opposite Yu Shijiu had their back to him, so he couldn't see their face, but they were wearing ordinary gray clothes and didn't look like a player from "Echo".

"...Lanzhi is being very careful about everything right now. I admit that Brother Lin isn't in a good state right now, but we can't just sit here and wait!"

Ma Ming's voice drifted intermittently from the depths of the alley; he said excitedly:

"That thing might come in handy for the next competition. If we don't get it now, what if..."

"Shh! Keep your voice down!"

The gray-clad player lowered his voice and reprimanded, glancing warily to the left and right.

Yu Shijiu, who was at the alley entrance, stepped back, pressed himself against the wall, lowered his eyelids, and continued to eavesdrop.

Eavesdropping on other players doing something less than virtuous doesn't happen that often...

Yu Shijiu was actually quite excited—he suspected he had caught it from Xu Han.

Ma Ming seemed to realize that he was speaking too loudly and quickly shut his mouth, but the urgency on his face remained.

"Listen... like this... roughly..."

The man in gray comforted Ma Ming and then whispered several sentences that sounded somewhat unclear.

Yu Shijiu could only see Ma Ming, who was opposite the man in gray, nodding repeatedly.

Finally, the two seemed to have reached some kind of consensus. The man in gray patted Ma Ming on the shoulder, quickly turned around, and disappeared at the other end of the alley.

Ma Ming stood there for a while, rubbed his face, and then quickly walked away in another direction.

"..."

Yu Shijiu walked out from behind the alley entrance, gazing at the direction where Ma Ming and the gray-clad man had disappeared, and narrowed her eyes slightly.

That thing?

The next match?

Are the players of "Echo" secretly preparing something? Judging from Ma Ming's words, it seems that Mulanzhi disagrees? Does Lin Hai know about that?

Yu Shijiu recalled Mu Lanzhi's murderous gaze on the bus, and Lin Hai's calm yet still bewildered look at the end.

It seems that losing the game has had a significant impact on "Echo"...

Yu Shijiu touched his left hand, which had returned to normal, and unconsciously curled a very faint, expectant smile at the corner of his mouth.

The emptiness she felt after leaving Lu Chusheng's office seemed to be somewhat alleviated by this newly discovered "gossip information" from her former rival.

He didn't linger, quickened his pace, and continued walking towards his residence.

As I walked, the sweet aroma of honey cake seemed to waft from my system inventory, mingling with the bustling air around the town streets to create a unique and vibrant background scent.

Their 72-hour rest period is almost over.

When Yu Shijiu returned to his residence, the "gambling" in the living room about whether or not he should go find Feifei had already ended.

Chen Yi was preparing lunch in the kitchen, the rhythmic clanging of the spatula echoing through the room. He Lingling, meanwhile, leaned against the window, slowly flipping through an old book she had borrowed from the town library, thoughtfully scanning the pages.

As for Xu Han—he was still sprawled on the sofa, idly fiddling with a few "props" he had bought from street vendors.

Hearing the door open, the three of them looked up at the same time.

"I'm home?"

Chen Yi poked his head out of the kitchen and asked with a smile, "What did Captain Lu say? When will Fei Fei be back?"

Yu Shijiu pursed her lips, walked to the dining table and sat down, taking out the oil paper package given to her by Lu Chusheng from her system backpack.

He said he would return it to me after I finished the next round of the competition and my condition stabilized.

"..."

The living room fell silent for a moment.

Xu Han suddenly sat up straight on the sofa, his eyes wide.

"What? Why is he still holding onto Fatty and refusing to return him? What right does he have?! Fatty is your cat!"

Xu Han muttered.

He Lingling opened her eyes, her huge black pupils glancing at Xu Han beside her. "Then why don't you go and judge this? I think your mouth is perfectly fine."

Xu Han choked, and whispered, "I...I was just worried about Shi Jiu! Look at how distraught she is!"

Yu Shijiu was indeed a little sullen, and he walked all the way to the sofa before sitting down.

He Lingling closed the book, her large black pupils staring at Yu Shijiu on the opposite sofa for a few seconds before she said after considering her words:

"Lu Chusheng is actually a very good person, although many times... these reasons can make people uncomfortable."

She paused, then added:

"But since he said so, let's wait until after the competition. Anyway, Fatty won't suffer any losses with him."

After He Lingling finished speaking, she silently added in her mind, "Feifei originally belonged to Lu Chusheng himself."

However, she didn't say it aloud, afraid that Yu Shijiu would get angry.

Chen Yi wiped his hands and came out of the kitchen, gently joining in their conversation:

"Shi Jiu, don't worry. Although Captain Lu is strict, he has always been very good to Fei Fei. We all know that."

Yu Shijiu nodded without saying anything, and simply lowered his head to unpack the oil paper package.

The rich, sweet aroma of honey instantly filled the living room.

Xu Han, who had been hanging his head, instantly perked up and his gaze swept over.

"It smells so good! Shi Jiu, what did you buy?"

Several golden cakes were wrapped in unwrapped parchment paper on the coffee table. The cakes were brushed with a layer of shiny honey, making them look soft and tempting.

"Given by Lu Chusheng."

Yu Shijiu pushed the cake to the center of the coffee table, swallowed hard, and said with feigned modesty:

He said it was a newly opened shop and asked me to bring it back so you could all try it.

Xu Han's eyes lit up, and he immediately leaned closer, took a deep breath, and exclaimed in delight:

"This cake smells so good! Captain Lu actually buys this kind of dessert?"

Yu Shijiu was puzzled. "Why wouldn't he buy it? He bought me a cake the first time we met."

At that time, he had just entered the game and only knew Sister Lingling.

Xu Han didn't hear what he said. He reached out to grab the cake, but He Lingling quickly slapped his hand with a book.

Did you wash your hands?

"……No."

He Lingling: "You didn't wash your hands before picking up the cake?"

"..."

Xu Han awkwardly withdrew his hand and quickly ran to the kitchen to wash his hands.

Chen Yi smiled, went to the kitchen and took out a few plates, then divided the honey cake on the coffee table into pieces.

Yu Shijiu picked up the piece in front of him and took a big bite.

The cake was indeed very sweet.

The sweetness of the honey almost seeps into the back of your tongue, and slowly melts in your mouth as you chew, carrying the unique aroma of ripe baking.

Very sweet.

But for some reason, Yu Shijiu felt that the cake Lu Chusheng had given her at the beginning was not as delicious.

Could it be because I hadn't eaten much sweet food back then?

“Oh, right,” Yu Shijiu swallowed a piece of cake and suddenly spoke up, “When I came back, I saw people from ‘Echo’.”

The three of them paused simultaneously while eating the cake.

Anjie also came out of the room at this moment. She seemed to have been resting in the room, and her face looked paler than usual.

"Who did you see?"

Anjie walked to the table, picked up a piece of honey cake, smelled its aroma, but just held it in her hand without eating it immediately.

"Ma Ming".

Yu Shijiu took a bite of cake and mumbled:

"Talking to a man in gray clothes in an alley."

He quickly recounted what he had heard, including keywords such as "that thing," "next competition," and "Mulanzhi disagreed" mentioned by Ma Ming.

The atmosphere in the living room slowly grew heavy.

He Lingling put down the cake in her hand, her dark pupils slightly contracting.

"It sounds like Mulanzhi disagreed... but Ma Ming still acted on his own."

She quickly concluded, "It seems there's a disagreement among the 'Echo' players."

Chen Yi frowned, "Does Lin Hai know? Given his personality, if he finds out that the team members are doing something underhanded..."

"Lin Hai's current condition may not allow him to fully control the team."

Anjie interrupted Chen Yi, her fingers gripping the cake slightly tighter, causing the edges of the cake to deform slightly.