Chapter 138: Moving Out

Before parting, the siblings hugged each other.

This time, no one knew when they would see each other again. Their family was now divided into three parts, and they could only hope this separation would be temporary—not permanent.

After watching Li Feng get into the car and leave, Li Zhi dragged her own suitcase over. "Let’s go."

Chi Yi happily took the other suitcase from her. "Sleep with me tonight? I changed the bedsheets!"

Li Zhi smiled and nodded. "Alright."

The landscaping and night view of this upscale neighborhood were beautiful. As Chi Yi led her inside, they passed several once-household-name celebrities. But times had changed—those stars now looked at Li Zhi with shock and excitement.

After emerging from the amusement park instance, Li Zhi’s ranking skyrocketed, landing her directly in the top fifteen in the current world, stirring massive discussion and attention.

Due to the sheer population size, seven of the top fifteen were domestic players. But ever since the system opened, the top three spots had always been dominated by foreign players. The global popularity leaderboard only displayed the top 100, and anyone who could make it onto that board was already impressive.

But people are drawn to strength—the higher the rank, the greater the adoration. Li Zhi’s sudden leap of twenty ranks to fifteenth gave viewers confidence that she might break into the top three next time.

So for the past couple of days, Li Zhi had been trending wildly on the internet and forums. The audience loved watching a dark horse break through. The top fifteen rankings hadn’t budged in ages—the higher the rank, the more stable it was. Li Zhi’s rise broke that pattern.

Walking beside her, Chi Yi caught those gazes and felt a proud sense of shared glory. "Zhi Zhi, you’re basically a global superstar to them now."

Li Zhi smiled. "You’re not bad yourself."

Chi Yi puffed up her chest. "Of course!" She pointed to a nearby building. "Lian Qinglin lives there. I already asked him—he’s coming to help us move tomorrow."

This celebrity complex used to be ridiculously expensive, but soon, with the establishment of the Safe Zones, this place would become deserted. By the time people moved back out of the Safe Zones, who knew what this place would look like.

Chi Yi realized this too, sighing. "I packed up everything I could take. Now I feel like—no matter how expensive a house is, it’s just an empty shell. It’s useless."

Li Zhi said, "That’s not what you said when you bought the villa."

Chi Yi chuckled sheepishly and suddenly remembered, "Oh, right—Lian Qinglin also asked today if he could move in with us."

Li Zhi said, "It’s your house. Your call."

Though she’d joked about giving Chi Yi a villa, when they actually transferred the ownership, Li Zhi wrote Chi Yi’s name on the deed and never intended to take advantage of her. Chi Yi wanted to give it to her, but since Li Zhi wouldn’t accept, she could only promise solemnly, "Even though it’s under my name, you’re the real owner now! Whoever you want to live here is fine by me!"

Li Zhi thought about it. "If he wants to come, let him. The areas outside the Safe Zones are going to stay chaotic for a long time. It’s better if we all stick together."

Survival in groups was bound to become the norm for players. Going solo was too risky, both inside and outside of instances.

Li Zhi actually liked the lively feeling of people living together. She had gone to check out that villa in the morning—six floors, plenty of rooms, easily enough for a dozen people to live comfortably.

Chi Yi had been thinking the same thing. The world was a mess, and just recently there had been several break-ins in this neighborhood at night—thieves using instance items to get in, terrifying her enough to sleep clutching a knife.

The chaos outside the Safe Zones would only get worse, and there was nothing they could do about it. Living together at least meant that if someone broke in at night, she’d have backup.

Chi Yi’s current place was a large flat, but the originally well-decorated home was now cluttered with packed luggage. Only the bed in the master bedroom was left untouched, just enough for them to sleep for the night.

After washing up, Li Zhi found her phone on the sofa buzzing nonstop.

Picking it up, she saw that Chi Yi had created a group chat. Owen Dong, You Jingmeng, the Three Pink-Haired Brothers, and Lian Qinglin were all in it. The group was lively with chatter. Owen Dong even shared screenshots of his flight bookings, saying he’d be coming in a few days to join up with the "boss."

Owen Dong and You Jingmeng weren’t in the same city, and traveling long distances was still tricky. You Jingmeng whined in the group, insisting someone save her a good room—preferably one with windows.

Li Zhi tilted her head, drying her hair with one hand and scrolling through the chat with a gentle smile on her face.

Chi Yi sat cross-legged on the carpet and, glancing back, suddenly felt that Li Zhi radiated a breathtaking kind of beauty. It wasn’t just physical—it was a profound strength and tenderness that resonated from her soul.

It was wonderful, being friends with someone like this.

Before the alarm could even go off the next morning, Lian Qinglin was outside furiously ringing the doorbell, his loud voice echoing through the building: "It’s dawn! Wake up! Time to move!"

Chi Yi groaned, burying her head under the pillow in frustration, while Li Zhi sat up with a sigh. "Young people really are full of energy."

After getting dressed, she opened the door to find Lian Qinglin standing there with breakfast, greeting her cheerfully. "Good morning, Zhi-jie!"

Chi Yi appeared behind her with bedhead, resentfully muttering, "Lian Qinglin, one day I’m going to take you out." She drifted over. "Let me see what you brought for breakfast."

Lian Qinglin: "……"

After breakfast, the moving company they had booked finally arrived downstairs. It wasn’t easy getting movers these days; Chi Yi had to offer a hefty tip before a company was willing to take the job. Lian Qinglin had his own luggage packed too, ready to move in with them.

After a few hours of chaos, by noon, the three of them were finally settled into their new home.

The villa was spacious, with gardens front and back, but no one had lived there for a while, and it was dusty inside and out. After a quick lunch, they started cleaning. Each person took responsibility for one floor, while the remaining three floors would be cleaned once the others arrived.

No freeloaders allowed!

Cleaning took two whole days, leaving them exhausted. Every night before bed, Li Zhi dragged them into the garden to practice martial arts. Chi Yi and Lian Qinglin whined endlessly.

Not long after, Owen Dong and You Jingmeng arrived with their luggage. The first thing they did was fight over rooms, both wanting to be next to Li Zhi, but Chi Yi and Lian Qinglin had already claimed the rooms on either side of hers.

There were only four rooms on the second floor, with just one left. Owen Dong and You Jingmeng settled it the usual way: rock-paper-scissors.

You Jingmeng: "I’m throwing scissors!"

Owen Dong panicked. "Not again!"

She wouldn’t really throw scissors again, would she? She had to be bluffing!

Grinding his teeth, Owen Dong chose paper. Opposite him, You Jingmeng smugly threw up two fingers. "Told you I was going scissors—you never believe me."

Owen Dong: "Ahhhhh!"

Defeated once more, Owen Dong slunk off to the third floor.

The next day, the Three Pink-Haired Brothers moved in too. Suddenly, the villa became lively. Since they didn’t know Owen Dong and You Jingmeng yet, everyone decided to have hotpot that night to bond properly.

And to top it off, they insisted that Owen Dong perform a belly dance.

Owen Dong: "?"

Was this belly dance mandatory?

Chi Yi boldly dropped duck intestine into the pot. "You danced for your livestream audience—why not for your friends?!"

Owen Dong protested, "The livestream viewers gave me gifts! Rockets! Carnivals! What are you going to give me?!"

Chi Yi dropped more duck intestine into his bowl. "I can give you duck intestines and familial love. Now dance! No nonsense! I must see this dance tonight!"

Owen Dong, fuming, turned to Li Zhi. "Boss! Aren’t you going to say anything?!"

Li Zhi, holding a wine glass and resting her chin in her other hand, smiled lazily at them. "Dance. I want to see too."

Owen Dong: "……" With a dramatic sigh, he yanked off his jacket, revealing a snug undershirt. "Fine! If the boss wants to see it—I’ll go all out! Hit the music!"

The pink-haired brothers, already prepared, gleefully blasted the speakers.

The music thundered, and the flesh on Owen Dong’s belly jiggled energetically.

Everyone laughed until they cried.

Thankfully, no one else lived in this villa complex anymore—otherwise, with such racket, they’d definitely get reported for disturbing the peace.

Life settled into a strange kind of peace.

One morning, lying in bed, Li Zhi listened to the noisy commotion outside and suddenly realized—she seemed to have formed a team.

Not necessarily a team of top players, but a group that fate had brought together. In the future, this group might grow, or some might leave. But at this moment, they were one.

After a while, Lian Qinglin came to knock. "Zhi-jie, I’m entering an instance in three hours. I’ve got a team card from last time—want to come with me?"

Li Zhi got dressed and came out. "I’ll pass. Ask the others."

Downstairs, aside from the late-sleeping Chi Yi, everyone was having breakfast. Upon hearing about the upcoming instance, they exchanged glances. Owen Dong and You Jingmeng had just come out of an instance, and by the algorithm’s estimate, their next random instance entry would take a while.

If it wasn’t absolutely necessary, no one wanted to go in. Life outside was good—why suffer inside again?

The Pink-Haired Brothers, though, hadn’t gone in for a while. Their time was probably near. After discussing it, they decided Pink-Hair would stay behind, while White-Hair and Gold-Hair teamed up with Lian Qinglin to enter the instance.

The cheerful co-living atmosphere turned somber with the impending instance entry. Every instance could mean they might not return.

Owen Dong wiped his mouth and stood up. "Three hours, right? I’m gonna go buy a fish. Didn’t White-Hair say he wanted to eat my pickled fish? We’ll eat before you go—there’s still time!"

White-Hair grumbled, "You’re making it sound like a farewell feast! I won’t eat it! Make it when I get back! I will eat that fish!"