Chapter : 66 .1

The teleportation landed right on the tree branch where he had installed the portable anchor point.

Just as the duration of [Unyielding Will] ended, Yan Yunqing watched his locked health and mana bars begin to drop rapidly, burning through more than half in just a few seconds.

Yan Yunqing took a deep breath and didn't dare to jump directly down from the tree, afraid that this one jump would wipe out his sliver of health.

He simply leaned against the tree and waited for the 30s [Healing Forbidden] effect to end.

He glanced towards the capital city. The flames there had still not been extinguished. From Yan Yunqing's direction, he could clearly see the firelight painting half the sky red.

I wonder if that Prince Felton will have a complete breakdown?

To be honest, Yan Yunqing hadn't intended to sling mud at Felton at first. He had originally just wanted to say some ambiguous things to attract everyone's attention and fulfill the condition he had promised Cornelia.

But Alice was too capable, allowing Yan Yunqing to easily complete a solo kill, so Yan Yunqing returned the favor and gave this good student a gift.

He framed Prince Felton.

After all, he was the most promising next heir. Regardless of whether what Joker said today was true or not, the families of the dead nobles would definitely hold a grudge against Felton. It would be hard to say whether Felton would still have such high support then.

It was, to some extent, buying a little more time for Alice.

As soon as the [Healing Forbidden] effect ended, Yan Yunqing immediately downed several small red potions and small blue potions. Watching his health slowly increase back to over half, he finally let out a true sigh of relief.

The effect of [Unyielding Will] was really useful, but the after-effects were also truly terrifying.

If he wanted to use this skill to put on a big show again in the future, he would have to make thorough preparations in advance.

The portable anchor point had one teleportation chance left. It probably wouldn't be used, so Yan Yunqing directly destroyed this portable anchor point.

After doing all this, Yan Yunqing sent a private message to Lilian, telling her to get ready, as they were about to continue their escape.

Yan Yunqing had already decided on the next destination.

Before today, he was still undecided between Sigret Academy and Free City. After receiving Alice's help, Yan Yunqing made his decision—to go to Sigret Academy.

As the top academy on the entire Ailman Continent, it must offer a lot of courses. You know, besides obtaining skill books from instances and quests, players could also learn skills from NPCs, it just cost corresponding skill points.

In addition, there was one point that Yan Yunqing was very concerned about. Alice said that she had once searched for information about the Skane front line at the school after enrolling.

Logically speaking, information about the war situation on various countries' front lines was confidential, and even Alice, as a princess, didn't know about it. But Sigret Academy was actually able to obtain it. It seemed that the academy's intelligence gathering ability was very strong.

Yan Yunqing had heard before that Sigret Academy had the richest collection of books in the world. Perhaps there were historical materials recording events from a thousand years ago. Yan Yunqing still wanted to figure out what the so-called prophecy of the 'Descenders' was all about.

He couldn't just go to Theodore directly, so he could only analyze it from the bits and pieces of historical records.

All things considered, going to Sigret Academy was more suitable for him now than going to Free City.

Having made his decision, Yan Yunqing returned to Sunset Village without stopping.

The sky was dark at this moment, and the whole village was immersed in sweet dreams. Yan Yunqing successfully picked up Lilian from the blacksmith's shop.

"You... succeeded, didn't you?" Old Jason, who was guarding the lamp, asked softly.

Yuli was lying on the bench beside him, covered with a small blanket, sleeping soundly.

Yan Yunqing nodded, "I have avenged them."

Old Jason let out a long sigh, not knowing what to say next.

Lilian flapped her wings and landed on Yan Yunqing's shoulder, reaching out to touch his earlobe, "You've worked hard."

Yan Yunqing smiled. After a moment of silence, he said, "Lilian and I are leaving. Continuing to stay here will bring trouble to the village. As for what happens next..."

Yan Yunqing hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Actually, I don't think this place is suitable for living anymore.

Even though the culprit is dead, the Augreer family still exists. To them, Sunset Village is a potential risk."

"Of course, they won't make a move again in the short term, and there might be a turn for the better in the future."

Yan Yunqing remembered the Blue Star players who would be logging on in less than a year.

Sunset Village was a novice village for him, and it was highly likely to be a novice village for the players as well.

If he issued quests to protect Sunset Village and exterminate the Augreer family to the players, perhaps it would have a miraculous effect?

And for the villagers of Sunset Village who had lived here for generations, it was estimated that very few would be willing to find another place to settle down.

It's hard to leave one's homeland.

Moreover, six years ago, countless people were buried here, and their families might not be willing to leave either.

Old Jason nodded and said to Yan Yunqing, "Be careful on the road."

"I will." Yan Yunqing did not tell Old Jason their next destination. He finally bent down and patted Yuli's head, then left the blacksmith's shop with Lilian.

"Where are you going next?" Lilian asked.

Yan Yunqing didn't hear the implication in Lilian's words, "To Sigret Academy, to find a way to enroll. We should be able to live a peaceful life in the academy for a while."

Lilian didn't reply and flew to sit on top of Yan Yunqing's head.

Yan Yunqing took Lilian and walked towards the nearest post station. They were going to rent a carriage to go to Sigret Academy, which bordered the Two Great Empires.

Far away from the capital city, the red in the sky gradually faded, leaving behind twinkling stars hanging in the sky, blinking.

The gentle breeze was very pleasant, lifting the bangs on Yan Yunqing's forehead and smacking Lilian, who was sitting on his head, in the face.

When Yan Yunqing reached the post station, the sky was already slightly bright. There were always people guarding the post station.

Yan Yunqing still rented a gnu carriage. Because it was a long-distance return, renting it required a large amount of gold coins, and a deposit worth a whole carriage had to be left at the post station.

Yan Yunqing calculated and simply bought the carriage and the gnu with money. This way, he wouldn't have to return the carriage at a specified time.

Declining the coachman promoted by the post station, Yan Yunqing set off with Lilian.

***

Three days later, Yan Yunqing and Lilian were preparing to enter a city to replenish supplies and find an inn to rest for the night.

They had been on the road for these three days, only taking turns sleeping for a few hours in the carriage in between. This couldn't go on.

Kubanna City was a city that wasn't too big. Because it was built right next to the Kubanna Long River, most of the nearby residents made a living from this river, which was why the city was named Kubanna City.

Yan Yunqing was driving the carriage, preparing to enter the city, when he was stopped by a city guard, "Where are you from? What are you doing in the city?"

Yan Yunqing gave the name of a city, a small town next to Seta City, "Coming into the city to rest for a night. I have an uncle who moved to Bumas City the year before last, and I plan to visit him this time."

Bumas City was the closest city to Sigret Academy.

The city guard took out a portrait and compared it to Yan Yunqing. His gaze paused on his dark red eyes, then looked at his short black hair, before waving his hand, "Alright, you can go in."

Yan Yunqing glanced at the scroll in the city guard's hand without a trace, his eyebrows raised slightly.

He pulled the reins of the carriage again, stuffed two silver coins into the guard's hand, and said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work, Brother City Guard."

The city guard who received the silver coins immediately beamed with joy, and his attitude towards Yan Yunqing became even more cordial. He conveniently pointed him to an affordable and comfortable inn in the city.

Yan Yunqing also took the opportunity to get a closer look at the portrait in the city guard's hand.

Hmm, chestnut high ponytail, black and red masquerade mask, dark red eyes, it was Joker, no doubt.

Yan Yunqing smiled and bid farewell to the city guard. After driving the carriage into the city, he found that the most conspicuous notice board had the portrait he had just seen with the guard posted on it.

On it were written three large words—Wanted Poster.

Below was a long string of numbers, followed by the unit of gold coins.

Several Kubanna residents were gathered around the notice board, pointing and discussing what crime the person in the portrait had committed to be worth so much money from the royal family to be wanted. There had never been such a precedent before.

Well, well, Joker has become a wanted criminal, and it sounds like he's getting the treatment of a number one wanted criminal.

Yan Yunqing looked at the portrait of Joker with a strange expression. To be honest, his mood was quite subtle right now.

Hey, you know, his previous performance had nothing to do with the Joker from the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, but it did have a certain similarity with the Joker from Gotham City.

Lilian also saw this wanted poster and was surprised, "You're actually wanted! It seems you really did a lot that night."

Yan Yunqing turned and drove the carriage away, "Basic stuff, basic stuff. A player's life without being wanted is an incomplete gaming experience."

I found the inn recommended by the city guard. The decor style of this shop was very retro and cozy, and the price was also very fair.

Ten silver coins for one night's stay, and it also provided free breakfast and laundry services, which was very considerate.

Yan Yunqing, who had stayed in rooms that cost five gold coins and ten gold coins a night, expressed: What? Ten silver coins a night? Isn't that practically free?

He generously chose a large bed room, and also asked the inn to make some signature dishes and send them up. After entering the room, Yan Yunqing threw himself into the soft bed.

Of course, before throwing himself in, he didn't forget to use a Cleaning Spell on himself for a one-click dust removal.

After three days on the road, Yan Yunqing was really both sleepy and tired. He didn't dare to just park the carriage on the side of the road and sleep inside.

He was also afraid that a demonic beast would suddenly pop out from the roadside and attack him, so he could only take turns resting and keeping watch with Lilian.

Yan Yunqing closed his eyes, feeling like he was about to fall asleep in the next second.

No... I haven't eaten yet, and I still need to take a bath before sleeping!

Yan Yunqing barely managed to pull himself together. As he propped himself up, he found that Lilian had already fallen asleep beside him.

Elves in their growth period were very weak, and Lilian's performance these past few days was enough to prove this point. Not only did she eat a lot (a large intake of energy), but she was also always sleepy (digesting energy).

Therefore, although it was said that he and Lilian took turns keeping watch at night these past few days, in fact, it was mostly Yan Yunqing keeping watch by himself. Lilian was really unreliable.

Even if Lilian said she wanted to keep watch, he was worried that she would fall asleep while on duty, and then the two of them would be treated as delicious food by a suddenly appearing demonic beast and swallowed in one bite.

Pressing his temples, Yan Yunqing opened the game panel to pass the time. At the very least, he had to hold on until the attendant brought the food before sleeping.

He clicked around randomly, and accidentally opened the [Game Forum] again.

Yan Yunqing wanted to close it. After all, there was still some time before the players went online. Just being able to look but not do anything would only make him more impatient.

And if he looked too much, he would start to have conspiracy theories, considering whether someone was always watching him from behind or something.

But his eyes had already caught a glimpse of the post at the very top of the forum's homepage.

[Guitu Studio has released an internal recording video—major factions are entrenched and confronting each other. Come and see the style of the Ailman Continent!]

Yan Yunqing paused, staring at the title of this post. After hesitating for a long time, he still clicked on it.

0L: How is it? Does my title sound like I learned it well?

Yan Yunqing almost fainted. Looking at this title, he really thought it was a promotional post from the game studio itself. The wording was too damn official!

1L: 666, before I clicked in, I really thought the game company was starting to make a move. Turns out it's just the water friends guest-starring as official staff again.

2L: Big brother, are you not used to it yet? Guitu Studio has no external publicity staff. They've been relying on a single game webpage for three years! For three years, no proper staff member has come out to leak a single word! If it weren't for the webpage still being there, I would have suspected the project had flopped!

3L: Hahaha, didn't they just start the closed beta countdown a while ago? Their company was actually able to keep such an important matter under wraps. If it weren't for a water friend who was bored and went to check that webpage, we wouldn't even know the closed beta was about to start.

4L: How do you know that the water friend who posted about the closed beta starting isn't an internal staff member of the game company? Maybe it's a staff member pretending to be a water friend to post for publicity? After all, who would be bored enough to browse a game webpage every day that has no PV, no internal recording, and not even a game background?

5L: Brother 4's analysis is very on point.

6L: No way? You guys even suspect Brother Lonely's post is from an insider? I can guarantee it's not! Lonely Night is an old user of this forum. It's said that he's a rich second generation with a mine at home. From web games to client games to 3D masterpieces, what hasn't Brother Lonely played? He's just rich and has nothing better to do. The moment there's news of a new game, he's definitely the first to rush over.

7L: To be honest, Guitu is going to start a closed beta, but they just put a countdown there, and there's not even a way to register an account. Does anyone know how to sign up? It won't all be internally decided, right?

8L: I've asked several well-known game streamers, and none of them have received an invitation for Guitu Studio's closed beta. I guess either they haven't started the closed beta invitations yet, or it's purely a lottery for closed beta spots through registration.

Of course, there's another possibility that this Guitu Studio is just a scammer fooling people for fun.

9L: Actually, I've always suspected that this game company is a shell company. When I heard that a domestic game company had developed a full-dive online game, I checked it on Tianyancha. This company has no information, and they haven't paid social security either. What else could it be but a shell company?

10L: Damn, Brother 9's move is impressive. This is the first time I've seen someone check a game company's social security payment status while playing a game. You know, that's actually a line of thought. So Guitu isn't really a scam game, right? Under the guise of a full-dive game, but when you register, you find out it's a trashy web game or a gambling game?

Don't end up getting invited for tea by Uncle Hat just for playing a game.

11L: That's not right. Since it looks so much like a scam company, why hasn't it been shut down yet? That game webpage has been around for three years. Uncle Hat is not being very effective!

12L: How about we report one? Is calling 110 useful?

13L: No, this falls under the jurisdiction of the cyber police, right? Just report it directly to 12377, no need to call the police.

14L: Why did we start talking about reporting all of a sudden? Already reported, no need to thank me.

15L: This thread has gone off-topic, hhhh.

16L: Speaking of which, how did the talk about a domestic game company developing a full-dive game suddenly start three years ago?

17L: I don't know, it's like everyone knew it overnight. I guess some game enthusiast accidentally discovered the game webpage and mentioned it in a group chat, and then it spread.

18L: Could it really be that the game company's own people came out disguised as water friends to promote it?

19L: They don't even have social security payments, and you're still calling it a game company? The scammers from the scam company came out to promote it, preparing to fatten the pigs for slaughter!

20L: There's no need to be so harsh. We haven't seen any water friends actually get scammed after all this time. Maybe the studio just isn't established in the country? Foreign game companies don't need to pay social security.

21L: Then why are they still using the title of the first domestic game company to create a full-dive game?

...

The next few posts started to argue. Yan Yunqing frowned as he read, feeling more and more that there was something wrong with this Guitu Game Studio.

Which good company doesn't pay social security for its employees... that's not it!

If Yan Yunqing was also one of these netizens, perhaps he would think, like them, that this game company might be a scam company.

But he had indeed transmigrated into this other world, and he knew that the time for that closed beta was most likely real.

As for whether it was a full-dive game, or if they were using the guise of a full-dive game to open a passage to another world, that was hard to say.

In short, after seeing these comments from the netizens, the already suspicious Guitu Game Studio became even more problematic.

Yan Yunqing refreshed the page again and found that the original poster, who had been absent for a long time, had spoken again.

The content he posted made Yan Yunqing, who was about to close the post and look at other content, pause slightly, and then his eyes widened in surprise.

124L: Damn, I just went to the bathroom for a moment, how did this post get argued to over a hundred floors?

First, I'll admit that I made a little joke in the title, pretending to be a staff member.

But! Guitu Studio did indeed release a new in-game recording, right on that game webpage. Go see for yourselves...

125L: I originally wanted to post a thread for everyone to discuss this in-game recording video, but who knew you guys would argue for over a hundred floors about whether Guitu Game Studio is a shell company orz.

126L replies to 125L: Using or2 makes the butt look perkier!

127L: Wait! What did the original poster say? The game company released an in-game recording???

128 I am the OP: Uh... yes, the game company did release an in-game recording? Why don't you go take a look?

The thread immediately fell silent. Yan Yunqing refreshed several times but didn't see any new replies. Most likely, everyone was drawn to watch the in-game recording by this news.

But he couldn't see it!

Yan Yunqing felt like that monkey who could see a banana but couldn't eat it, scratching his ears and cheeks, able only to be anxious.

After refreshing the post for a few minutes, a new reply finally arrived late.

129L: ...

130L: Holy cow.

131L: I can only say it's very shocking...

132L: I watched it on my knees. Can anyone analyze that video? Is it really something that can be achieved with an in-game recording?

133L: I really don't think so...

134L: A game developer here to say a few words. This video really doesn't look like a simple in-game recording. It probably has a lot of special effects added to it—but! This is the most crucial point.Not to mention domestically, how many special effects studios in the world can achieve this effect? Those are calculated by the frame. This would cost several or even dozens of small goals. Just for an in-game recording, they spent a huge amount of money on special effects. I think we can really look forward to this game.

135L: 134th floor makes a lot of sense. As a fellow game developer, I've never seen a company that can make an in-game recording so awesome. I might bet on it. Maybe it's really a full-dive game? That would be a pioneer in the gaming world.

134L: I'm admiring the two gaming giants upstairs. I'm not in this industry, so I don't know much about it. I'll just analyze the plot of the in-game recording. Maybe I can get a lot of spoilers about the game content from it.

135L: Waiting.

136L: Waiting +1.

137L: Waiting +10086.