Infinite: Dawn Game

After Yu Shijiu finished washing up, he heard a commotion coming from the living room, a mix of roars and laughter. Curious, he asked:

"What's wrong? What are you laughing at?"

In the living room, Xu Han wiped away her tears in grief and despair, "Feifei actually dislikes me! I'm so sad, I'm so sad, Shi Jiu, waaaaaah..."

Yu Shijiu: "..."

He blinked. "Didn't Fatty always look down on you?"

Xu Han: "..."

He Lingling suppressed a laugh and her mouth twisted into a crooked shape.

"Shi Jiu!"

Xu Han couldn't take it anymore. In a fit of anger, she grabbed a bag of snacks she had just brought and pretended to run towards the door.

"I'm leaving! I'm leaving! It seems I'm not suited to stay here..."

Xu Han moved slowly toward the door with a mournful expression, and it took him a long time to hear Yu Shijiu's bewildered voice.

"That Xu Han..."

Xu Han turned around instantly, forcing back a smile, "What do you want? Let me tell you, even if you beg me, I won't stop—"

"Could you leave the snacks here before you go?"

Yu Shijiu looked at him with a sincere expression.

Xu Han: "..."

"Pfft hahaha!"

He Lingling couldn't hold back any longer, and she leaned back on the sofa, hugging the chubby, soft head and bursting into laughter.

Xu Han's smug joy gradually froze. He stared at Yu Shijiu in disbelief, and let out a wail as if he was extremely disappointed.

"What? What do you mean? I'm leaving! I'm leaving, Shi Jiu! And all you care about are snacks? I'm really hurt this time... really, I'm so hurt..."

Yu Shijiu watched as Xu Han, while recounting his heartbreak, turned and walked to the sofa to sit down and pour himself some water, hesitating for a moment.

Was what I just did not go well...?

Thinking of this, Yu Shijiu cleared her throat, "Actually, I'm not that concerned about snacks, after all, Sister An gave me a whole bunch a few days ago that I didn't finish—"

"Alright, alright, alright!"

Xu Han surrendered. He looked at Yu Shijiu, who was still racking her brains for words, with utter despair, and said helplessly:

"Anyone who didn't know better would think you were showing off."

Yu Shijiu's pupils widened slightly: "Show off? What did I show off?"

Xu Han looked at his puzzled face and shut up.

He deserved to be criticized...

"Cough cough."

Having seen enough, He Lingling suppressed her laughter. She reached out and patted her face, which was stiff from laughing, and said seriously:

"We're here today to ask if you've considered entering a dungeon."

He Lingling asked, "Shi Jiu, you know about the guild competition, right?"

Yu Shijiu walked to the sofa and sat down. "I know, wasn't it supposed to be a guild tournament for all players in all towns this time?"

"Correct."

He Lingling nodded. "The reality might be even more 'grand' than you think. This guild competition will likely involve the top-ranked players from each of the major towns entering the same instance to compete for first place."

Yu Shijiu exclaimed, somewhat puzzled, "I know this."

The rules for the guild competition were actually quite clear and easy to understand; Yu Shijiu saw them as soon as he left the game instance.

“…What I mean is,” He Lingling bit her lower lip, “have you ever thought about participating in the guild competition?”

"?"

Yu Shijiu was even more confused, "Aren't we going to participate?"

He Lingling: "..."

Xu Han, who had just quieted down, couldn't help but burst out, "Hahaha... I knew it, I knew it! Isn't this a pointless question?"

He Lingling's temple throbbed. "This is none of your business."

"How come I'm not involved?" Xu Han snorted. "I still have to participate in the guild competition with you guys, how come I'm not involved? I'm very important, I'm the only logistics support personnel, okay!"

He Lingling ignored his boasting: "...So Shi Jiu, you're willing, right?"

Yu Shijiu seemed to understand something and asked, "Yes, you're willing. Did Sister An and the others send you to ask me?"

"..."

He Lingling paused for a second, then nodded.

Are Sister An and Brother Chen afraid I won't agree?

Yu Shijiu was puzzled. "I will agree."

Aren't they a team?

Everyone on a team should participate in the guild tournament together. Besides... isn't it said that no one will actually die in the guild tournament?

He Lingling hesitated for a moment: "It's not that I'm afraid you won't agree, it's just that I'm a little worried that you might feel upset if you see something in the game dungeon..."

As someone who had experienced a guild competition, He Lingling actually knew what kind of storyline would occur in the guild competition dungeon...

"Shi Jiu, you don't know, the game instance of the guild competition will randomly select the memories of several participating players and modify them. It's basically about taking the players' most fearful and terrifying memories in the real world, and twisting some of the people and stories in those memories to create a new game instance."

He Lingling said with some concern, "Sister An is probably worried that your memories might be randomly selected..."

After all, Yu Shijiu looked like he had experienced a lot of pain.

It's no wonder Anjie hesitated about whether to bring Shangyu Shijiu along to participate in the guild competition.

Yu Shijiu was unaware of this news.

He was silent for a moment, then looked down at Fatty, who was eating dried grilled fish next to He Lingling: "It's okay."

Yu Shijiu lowered her eyelashes slightly, concealing the deep meaning in her eyes: "My memories are nothing to be afraid of."

He learned not to be afraid from a very young age.

If you're always afraid... you won't even live to adulthood.

Xu Han also fell silent at this moment.

He stood there stunned for several seconds before belatedly scratching his head.

"Sister An, why didn't you tell me about this, Sister An..."

He Lingling glanced at him, and this time she responded seriously:

"Compared to the rest of us, your memories of fear are probably the best."

Xu Han: "..."

Xu Han opened his mouth.

Xu Han was speechless.

He also felt that He Lingling was right... although, although it seemed a bit strange to compare the pain with the pain.

There's a saying that goes something like this... Shouldn't everyone's pain and suffering be compared?

Oh right, that statement doesn't apply to the game Dawn. If the game's dungeons were actually adapted based on each person's painful memories—then it would be a fair comparison...

"Meow~"

Fatty noticed that the atmosphere in the room had become a bit strange. It raised its head blankly, chewing on the fragrant dried fish in its mouth and tilting its head in confusion.

"...Let's not talk about this for now."

He Lingling withdrew her gaze, sighed softly, and looked at Yu Shijiu, asking:

"These rules are a bit hard to accept... Shi Jiu, you can think about it some more. Anyway, there's still almost a month before the guild tournament starts, which is plenty of time for you to consider. As for now..."

He Lingling: "I'll say it again, Shi Jiu, do you have any plans to enter the dungeon now?"

"..."