Chapter 80: South Street Apartment

Li Jianxi fell silent for a moment, pretending not to notice his displeased gaze, and politely greeted Li Feng. “Hello.”

Li Feng’s face was stiff with tension. “We grew up together. We’ve always said what we needed to say straight to each other. I’ll be direct this time too. Friends? Fine. Anything else? Out of the question.”

Fu Huan frowned. “Hey, you can’t just—”

Li Feng turned and looked at her.

It was a look sharp enough to kill.

Fu Huan immediately shrank back like a frightened quail, lips pressed tightly shut.

Li Zhi knew her brother’s personality well. Hearing him out, she couldn’t help but feel both amused and exasperated. “Brother, it’s not like that.”

Li Feng replied, “I know you aren’t like that—but he…” He shot Li Jianxi a cold glare. “Is questionable.”

They were both men. Could he not see the boy’s intentions?

True, Li Jianxi had helped his sister many times. By looks and character, he was exceptional. If this were the real world, and a man like him pursued his sister, Li Feng would have been happy.

But the fact that he was an NPC from a副本changed everything. No matter how excellent the rest of his traits were, that one line sealed the deal. From a universal moral standpoint, an NPC from a副本wasn’t even considered human. Worse yet, these were two completely separate worlds. Even if this NPC was self-aware and functionally no different from a person, so what?

Everyone else had long-distance relationships or cross-border romances. Now his sister wanted to start an interdimensional love story?

As an official player, he knew better than anyone that the country was doing everything possible to eliminate the [Ghost] system. Once successful, all副本s would close—and Li Jianxi would disappear along with them. What then? His sister wouldn’t even have a keepsake to remember him by.

Absolutely unacceptable!

Right now, she hadn’t fallen for him yet—but what if she did, under the boy’s persistent advances? No way. He had to cut off every possibility.

Thinking this, Li Feng’s tone hardened further. “Li Jianxi, whatever your goal is, after this副本ends, don’t come near my sister again.”

There were so many副本s out there. Why did he have to keep showing up in front of his sister?

Li Zhi coughed slightly. “Brother, actually, it was me—”

“No.”

Li Jianxi suddenly interrupted her unfinished sentence.

His voice was calm, expression serene—not the kind of rejection born of anger or defiance. His eyes were quiet and clear, reflecting the sunlight above, like a child simply refusing something he didn’t want. He gazed at Li Feng. “I won’t.”

Li Feng’s face darkened further.

Fu Huan buried her head in her food, barely containing the grin on her face.

Li Zhi also looked surprised, glancing at Li Jianxi.

Li Feng laughed bitterly, fury bubbling beneath. “So you admit you have designs on my sister?”

Li Jianxi denied softly, “No. I just want to see her. Be with her.”

That wasn’t having designs?

Li Feng nearly lost it.

Li Zhi asked curiously, “Is it because of that sense of familiarity you mentioned before? Are you trying to recover lost memories through me?”

Li Jianxi bit his lip, then murmured, “No.” He lowered his lashes, pausing for a long while before quietly saying, “Only when I’m with you do I feel like… I am myself.”

Li Feng didn’t know how this conversation had spiraled into philosophical territory—what nonsense was this “who am I” talk? He could tell the kid was being evasive on purpose, dodging the truth about his feelings for his sister!

But his sister seemed convinced—

And even started reasoning with him. “Brother, I know what I should and shouldn’t do.”

Li Feng gritted his teeth. “…Alright.” He took a deep breath, looking into his sister’s steady eyes. “You’ve always had your own mind. Since you say so, I won’t interfere anymore.”

After saying that, his eye twitched involuntarily.

Since when did he become the villain tearing apart young lovers?

Li Zhi smiled brightly. “Thank you, brother.”

Li Jianxi added sincerely, “Thank you.”

Li Feng clenched his jaw,忍无可忍地瞪了他一眼 (barely holding back a murderous glare), then walked away with his lunchbox. He couldn’t eat properly if he stayed any longer.

Fu Huan almost wanted to clap and cheer.

Ah! Why was it blocked again?! This moment deserved a nationwide audience watching two lovers defy the odds!

Li Zhi turned to Fu Huan gently. “Please don’t spread what happened just now.”

Fu Huan nodded eagerly. “Won’t say a word! You can trust me—I’m the tightest-lipped person ever!”

Li Jianxi lowered his head, silently smiling as he turned off the block. The screen and sound returned, finally relieving the anxious viewers outside:

[Blocked again?! Blocked again?! What restricted content is so sensitive that even this VIP viewer can't hear?!]

[Li Jianxi, you think you can do whatever you want in this副本just because you’ve got too many props?!]

[Li Feng doesn’t look happy—did they argue? But the scene doesn’t seem like a fight.]

[Fu Huan looks like she’s shipping them! Doesn’t matter, there must be some OTP action going on! Hehe!]

...

After lunch, Li Zhi gathered the other players and whispered, “Avoid rooms with couplets on the door—they’re probably not occupied by living people. Don’t knock, don’t go in.”

Everyone nodded solemnly.

Before it got dark, they continued investigating clues in the apartment building. Li Zhi originally planned to go back to the sixth floor to try to meet Chen Meixi again. As she and Meng Yuhan prepared to leave, Qiao Junyuan suddenly called her back.

“Li Zhi-gege,” he said hesitantly, his youthful voice tinged with uncertainty. “I want to confirm something on the second floor. Can you come with me?”

He had glanced down the hallway earlier and thought he saw something suspicious.

Li Zhi smiled and agreed. “Sure.”

She told Meng Yuhan, “You stay here. If you run into any NPCs, try to get some info out of them.”

Meng Yuhan obediently nodded. “Okay!”

Li Zhi turned to Qiao Junyuan. “Let’s go.”

Qiao Junyuan sighed in relief, smiling. “Thank you, Li Zhi-gege.”

Li Zhi gave him a warm look. “Thanks for sharing the clue with me.”

The two headed toward the entrance of the apartment building. Li Feng followed behind, saying casually, “I’m coming with you.”

Inside the building, the hallway was dim. As they climbed the stairs, Qiao Junyuan tripped slightly and nearly fell to his knees. Li Zhi, walking beside him, quickly caught his arm. “Careful.”

Still holding her wrist, Qiao muttered, “This place is way too dark.”

Li Zhi smirked. “Watch your step.”

Behind them, Li Feng frowned slightly and moved closer to his sister.

They reached the second floor. The rooms with red couplets and lanterns loomed in the darkness, emanating a chilling aura. Qiao walked ahead, whispering, “It’s right over there…”

A few steps later, he realized no one was following.

Turning around, he saw Li Zhi frozen at the stairwell.

He tilted his head slightly, puzzled. “Li Zhi-gege, what’s wrong? Come over.”

Li Zhi took a cautious step forward, and her warning device emitted a sharper alarm. She stopped again, still smiling faintly. “Can you just tell me now what the clue is?”

Qiao insisted, “Come over and I’ll show you.”

Her eyes cooled, though her voice remained gentle. “You really have a clue?”

Qiao furrowed his brows. “Li Zhi-gege, what’s going on with you?”

Just then, Li Feng shouted sharply, “Zhi Zhi, watch out!”

Already standing close to her, he grabbed her and pulled her aside. At that exact moment, a brick crashed down from the ceiling and smashed exactly where Li Zhi had stood. It shattered with a loud bang—if it had hit her head, it might have split her skull open.

The warning device screamed louder. Li Zhi acted instantly, turning sharply. “Go downstairs!”

Li Feng gripped her wrist and rushed down the stairs. As Li Zhi followed, her foot suddenly felt nothing—like the stairs had vanished. She stumbled forward, falling.

Li Feng felt the sudden weight but didn’t let go. Instead, he tightened his grip, and the two tumbled down the stairs together. Protecting her head the whole way, they rolled from the second floor to the first. He sprang up quickly. “Zhi Zhi?! Did you get hurt?”

Li Zhi shifted slightly, letting her brother help her sit up. She lifted her sleeve and checked her scraped elbow. “I’m fine.”

Li Feng’s face was furious. He turned sharply toward Qiao Junyuan, who had followed them down. The boy looked worried. “Li Zhi-gege, Li Feng-gege, are you okay?”

Li Zhi held her brother’s wrist and gently shook her head.

Not the time to confront him. Li Feng ignored him. The warning device finally stopped screaming. He helped her walk out of the building.

Outside the security booth, Li Jianxi hurried over. “What happened?”

Li Zhi smiled. “Just a fall. Some scrapes. Nothing serious.”

Li Jianxi frowned at her bleeding elbow. “Wait here.”

He ran back inside, then came out quickly with a small bottle. As he reached for her wrist, Li Feng intercepted him. “I’ll do it.”

Li Jianxi silently handed him the bottle.

Li Feng gently sprayed the medicine on her wound. The bleeding stopped instantly, forming a crust like a medical miracle. Li Zhi flexed her elbow—it no longer hurt. Even knowing medical items in副本s were strange, experiencing it firsthand was still shocking.

She smiled at Li Jianxi. “Thank you.”

Li Feng grunted. “Thanks.”

He handed the bottle back, but Li Jianxi shook his head. “Keep it. I don’t need it.”

Great. Another special NPC dropping gear.

Viewers watching the scene slowly caught on:

[So this item only drops for Li Zhi?]

[So only Li Zhi can gain this NPC’s favor?]

[It’s love!!!]

[But that was weird earlier—why did Li Zhi face two dangers in a row?]

[Qiao Junyuan seems suspicious. He doesn’t seem trustworthy.]

[Come on! Xiao Yuan is just a fifteen-year-old kid. How bad can he be?]

[This building itself is cursed. Maybe the hidden ghosts targeted her because she’s too strong.]

...

As chat exploded, Li Zhi lowered her sleeve and glanced at Qiao Junyuan. Quietly, she said to her brother, “I think he used an item on me.”

When they went upstairs, she had touched his wrist when helping him avoid a fall. That must’ve been when he activated it.

Li Feng frowned. “A killing item?”

Li Zhi shook her head. “Probably not that severe. Falling from the stairs wouldn’t kill me. The alarm cleared, so the danger from the item is gone.” She thought carefully. “If the alarm hadn’t gone off, we might have followed him over. What would’ve happened then?”

Li Feng slowly realized what Qiao Junyuan had intended. “Maybe we’d have fallen and撞上了那些门 (bumped into those doors).”

Just moments ago, she had warned everyone not to touch rooms with couplets on the door.

Then Qiao led her upstairs, using an item to make her crash into them. Simply touching the door would trigger a knocking achievement.

But she had stopped in place and refused to move forward. Then the ceiling dropped bricks. Though she avoided it, she then fell down the stairs. Clearly, the item required her to experience that fall.

“It might be a misfortune-type item,” Li Zhi speculated. “Or something that causes unavoidable bloodshed. Once it draws blood, its effect ends.”

But if she had walked forward and bumped into the doors because of the fall, it wouldn’t have ended with just a little blood.

Qiao Junyuan wanted her dead.