Chapter 599: As Thanks

    It wasn’t only Jin Jiuchi who had been frantically searching for Shen Nianzu. Noir, too, had been doing the same for Gu Luoxin, albeit in his own way.

    As the Eldest Young Master of the Land, he possessed sufficient authority to access the list of citizens recorded in the database, and he had used it to search for Gu Luoxin.

    Alas, it was of little use.

    For starters, he couldn’t simply enter ’Xinxin’ into the search column, as players did not use their names in the role-playing Cycles. Instead, they took up the name of the identity they had assumed. Take him and Jin Jiuchi for example— the two of them, as the Eldest and Second Young Master, should now be referred to as Mach and Abel respectively.

    Supposedly Jin Jiuchi blurted out the wrong name in the next three days, then all of them would be doomed.

    Noir wasn’t particularly worried about this, however. Names were the least of his concern at the moment. He believed he could shut Jin Jiuchi’s mouth faster than the man could speak if such an accident were to occur later.

    For now, he only wanted to find out Gu Luoxin’s whereabouts.

    He told himself it was because the young man was the main reason why he had tagged along to this Cycle. He had no business here, nor was he particularly interested in the truth behind Sword of Heaven’s death. He had come here only because he couldn’t be rest assured with Gu Luoxin’s sudden impulsivity. He felt like the young man was not yet ready to tackle high-level Cycles, both skill and mentality wise, and his blind confidence—or maybe desperation—was quite concerning.

    Yet rather than stating the harsh fact right in front of Gu Luoxin’s face, he had chosen to do this instead, which had left him brooding for quite a while.

    This was very unlike him, he knew. Since getting to know Gu Luoxin better, he had done quite a number of things that he usually would have never done otherwise, like checking his phone once in a while in the middle of sculpting just so that he could reply to the young man’s messages.

    Upon realizing how odd his behavior was, he had taken it upon himself to set his phone on silent and pour all his focus on finishing his craft, much like a hermit entering seclusion... yet it all ended up futile. For as soon as he heard the thick nasal tone from the other end of the call as if the young man had cried, he immediately breached the heavy snow and flew across cities to check on him. Not only that, he had even brought Gu Luoxin to his most favorite place just because he noticed the young man was in a low mood.

    This all sounded so utterly... ridiculous, even to his own ears. Since when had he gotten so concerned about another person?

    Yet the more Noir tried to grasp onto that peculiar feeling, the more it eluded him, especially in his current state.

    Frowning, he exhaled another stream of white mist from his mouth.

    "Oho," the oracle let out a faint chuckle, his words teasing. "What a grand honor to receive the Eldest Young Master’s concern! But what makes you think I have the answer?"

    Noir leveled him with an unimpressed stare. Without a word, he once again tore the metal components from his left arm, assembled them into a handgun, and fired a shot. It all happened in less than two seconds.

    With a loud clang, the bullet hit the metal bar right beside the oracle’s ear before bouncing across the floor with a crisp sound.

    "I won’t miss next time," he uttered with a blank expression, which made him look twice as terrifying.

    "Okay, okay, fine!" XXX swiftly changed his tune and raised both hands in surrender. A wise man knew when to bend and stretch; it was apparent that he was in a great disadvantage against Noir right now. The other person could kill him right here and now and would even be commended for it!

    "I’ll tell you, okay?! Geez, each of your temper is worse than the last! Can’t you even take a joke?" he grumbled under his breath, but there was no hint of anger detected in his tone.

    Instead, he had to admit that he was feeling quite exhilarated right now, feeling like he had gotten the front-row seat to a spectacular show.

    "Let’s see..." he cleared his throat and pretended to think for a while before shaking his head regretfully, "No–pe, haven’t seen him. You might want to check with the garudas."

    "Are you telling the truth?" Noir narrowed his gaze in scrutiny.

    "Believe it or not," he shrugged, fully relaxed despite the muzzle of the gun pointed at him. Then out of nowhere, he questioned, "By the way, what do you think about the relationship between a human and a nightmare creature? One is naturally weak, emotional and fragile while the other..." he stifled a chuckle. "It’s in their nature to predate, to hunt, and plunder. Do you think it’s possible for them to get along well with each other?"

    "I don’t care," Noir replied as he disassembled the handgun back to his left arm.

    And he truly meant what he said. What did it have to do with him? His mind was now occupied with the information he had just heard. If Gu Luoxin had assumed a garuda’s identity, then most likely they would be able to meet at the banquet tomorrow.

    After getting what he was after, he was no longer interested in staying with this player who gave him an odd and creepy feeling. "I will find an opportunity to let you escape. In the meantime, just stay here."

    After dropping that remark, he made to leave, but the oracle hurriedly stretched out a hand to stop him,

    "Wait, wait, wait!"

    Pausing, Noir took a deep breath to suppress his rising irritability before turning around. "Do you need something else?" he asked, his tone as flat as ever, causing the oracle to click his tongue inwardly.

    Although the other person’s face was concealed beneath the wet hood, somehow Noir could feel a pair of eyes staring at him, taking in every minute shift of his expression with undisguised curiosity and amusement. And the sensation was truly unpleasant; it resembled the cold slither of a poisonous serpent across his skin.

    Noir’s brows subconsciously furrowed. Before he could take his leave directly, he heard the oracle say with a tone laced with mirth,

    "As thanks for saving my poor little life, do you want to know what happened before you turned seven?"