Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

"Are you...really?! Not...really?"

"real."

"of course it's true."

The two players who passed the level said it in unison, but both sighed that the secret was finally shared.

It's not easy.

"……Why?"

"Boss Lu, I'm loyal! Those things, those actions... I didn't dare tell the damn eel anything. I kept the secret and kept it to myself. I'm loyal and have no ill intentions!"

Those things? Those actions?

As the realization and the recollection came to him—the fawn became extremely agitated and turned red all over.

All of this was known by someone disguised as a cat, and... it was Yu Man's man. Suddenly, Xiaolu even considered suicide, and the ocean was just outside. She felt extremely wronged, tears streaming down her face, but she quickly covered her face.

There were only sobs and the sound of waves.

"Wow, damn, I should have just pretended to be a cat the whole time."

"...No, what are those things? What actions?"

"You're still asking this in this situation? Shouldn't you do something to show your appreciation?"

"No, what is it? I really don't know."

The whole house became extremely chaotic.

But in fact - the deer is not a good person either.

She chose to come at night because she wanted to make some unconventional moves in preparation for tomorrow's battle.

She had learned a lot from Yu Man, and was planning to apply what she had learned immediately, and there were a lot of not-so-decent things she wanted to use tonight.

But - Yu Man's tricks were far superior to hers, and extremely effective.

How are we going to fight tomorrow?

Forget about tomorrow's playoffs. Xiaolu doesn't know how he will get through tonight or face his future life.

……

ps

(Ah, one last touch, tomorrow should be about to start.

But I haven't written anything like this in a while, so I'll probably have to spend quite a bit of time thinking it over, to avoid making the same mistakes as my previous books and writing something incredibly awkward...)

269 ​​Secret Exchange

An extremely depressed face and two people who passed the level with different thoughts.

They filled the small rooms on the yacht with their emotions.

Yu Man wasn't sure what the others were thinking, but she was filled with curiosity... What on earth had Xiaolu done? While she trusted him wholeheartedly, lying at home and wandering around in the old world... What kind of little secret had he and Senior Cat secretly built together?

But, to be honest - Yu Man might be able to guess a little.

Especially after the deer discovered that the secret was exposed, it seemed like the end of the world.

But this is the scariest part...

"Well... deer..."

Yu Man tried to speak, but she saw Xiaolu holding her head, covering her ears, squeezing herself between the bedside table and the wall. Blushing with shame, playing dead in silence, these instincts took precedence over everything else.

But there is still hope... right?

After all, the deer hasn't yet rushed out the door or committed suicide by jumping into the sea.

Yu Man thought for a moment, then spoke in a higher voice, "Actually, everyone knows that covering your ears with your hands is useless... You can still hear."

The little deer shuddered as if it had been electrocuted.

Senior Cat looked around with a worried and at the same time amused look, he really wasn't a good person.

Yu Man could only slowly sort it all out on her own.

To be honest, she probably knew how to solve this problem, which was to give the deer what she wanted.

But Yu Man felt that it was too embarrassing. The timing, situation and atmosphere were all completely wrong, so she decided to just chat about some stories like a normal person.

"Now you've seen it: a talking cat, and during the finals... the stadium ceiling was blown off by my ice spear. That wasn't a show effect as the organizers claimed... it was simply reality."

Yu Man spoke slowly, using rationality to dispel the awkwardness in the air.

"This world is stuck in these years—unless...Senior Cat, I, and you...complete it together this round."

For the girl's heart - will the world be destroyed or reset? Such questions are no match for her own darkness, and she will be discovered by the person to whom the darkness is directed.

But there is no choice but for Yu Man to shoulder the world's troubles for the girl.

So she took a long time and slowly told her the truth and everything about the world.

The world has reset countless times.

Maybe there have been other players who have completed the game before, maybe there have been other good stories before.

But it all turned into nothingness.

After who knows how many countless years, the only person who had successfully completed the level realized that this path that was bound to fail... was not feasible.

So—she thought so.

"Since I can't do it alone, then I'll just wait." Yu Man held the cat that had been waiting for a long time. "So, after holding the key to restart the new round and waiting for a long time... I was the one who obtained that key and opened up the new world we have today."

Yu Man talked for a long time.

Xiaolu's embarrassment faded a little, and his mind regained some rationality: "...So...the cat...this damn cat...is the super smart, super patient, super perseverant...powerful level breaker?"

"Hmm--I really waited for Xiaoman." Senior Cat hummed nasally, restraining the instinctive "meow".

It was also through this question that Senior Cat and Yu Man realized at the same time that the deer was smarter than they thought.

Not only did he quickly accept these truths, but he also realized from Yu Man's narration what Senior Cat had done.

Senior Cat seized the only chance and kept the key unused—until this moment, when the opportunity finally came.

The little deer looked at the cat senior - his eyes were mixed with enough respect and half of the resentment.

"And the interesting thing is that Xiaoman also found another helper for me."

Speaking of this, the cat senior started to flatter his owner.

"My judgment is spotless. I think you're the next expert qualified to complete the game. To use a game as an example, you're either a powerful helper given to players because the next game is too daunting... or... a super hidden character that can only be unlocked after the third round."

"I... I seem to be just an ordinary person?" Xiaolu was a little confused.

Senior Cat and Yu Man looked at each other, and then Xiaolu started laughing too.

"Okay, this line sounds a lot like a hidden character."

Yu Man took over the conversation: "Putting aside the fact that we two cheated, brother, you really are the type of person who... feels like you can clear the level. Senior Mao and I agree that you will be the third person to complete the level."

"Even though... I was raised by you..."

After talking about this, Xiaolu finally understood the dilemma of this world.

She felt neither amazement nor fear, for girls are not trapped in the world, but only in their own hearts.

"If... everyone doesn't complete this round, then all memories of our encounters... all traces of us... will be erased, including mine."

"Yes."

"I—I no longer know you, and you don't even know I exist in the world. To me, you are just the unknown child of the great poet, one of the ordinary people."

"Yes."

Xiaolu became negative. "I'll go back to the days before I met you, stepping into the old world in a deserted house, and I won't recognize anyone... Even if I see the ID "Eel", I won't remember anything... Even if our history once played out in the old world."

"Ah."

"And... the island we designated as our territory, and Shimlabakken, where we were born, Xiaobing, Xiangxiang, your fire dragon, your assistant... and the Mage Tower... all of this has become nothingness. No one will remember it... Even if we set foot on those islands again, we will only be accompanied by blank memories."

It would be better to say——

"...How much have we... forgotten?" The deer sighed deeply.

Yes.

When Yu Man first learned about this, she also struggled in this way.

Those things called "waste manuscripts" now only exist in the memories of "time".

"So—I'm a lone wolf player," Yu Man said, "because the end of every story actually leads to loneliness and nothingness, so it's better to act like this from the beginning."

The little deer stared at Yu Man.

The encounter when the game was first launched, the first meeting in real life.

The loneliness hidden deep in one's heart actually arises from this.

And...it still is.

But Yu Man is a person who really, really likes to be lively and enjoys playing with others. She will take care of and support every teammate and do her best...but she hates separation more than anyone else.

Therefore - before this... she had always walked alone, turning a blind eye to the enthusiasm, kindness... and even love of others, only maintaining the minimum level of communication, treating it as friendship that could be torn apart.

Utilitarian, petty, and pretends to be a scheming bad guy.

Just a loner who is afraid of loneliness and therefore chooses solitude.

"Don't look at me like that." Yu Man pushed the window wider, letting in the refreshing summer breeze. "This week, I'm destined to get into trouble with Senior Cat, so... I'm not so... prickly anymore."

Senior Cat laughed and thought that this was not bad.

They seized their only chance for a miracle.

Moreover, they already had a consensus that if they still failed to gain anything this round—

"Making trouble?"

"Hmm." Yu Man stroked Senior Cat, who had the same look in his eyes, and said, "Before the world resets and returns to zero, we will leave some trace of the old world. Even if the Three Secrets work overtime for a thousand years, they won't be able to erase it. Believe me, we know what to do."

This is what Xiaolu wants to know, it’s all about those who have passed the level.

Essentially, it’s just the voice of those who want to move forward and don’t want things to end.

By this point, even the hottest tea had already cooled. No matter how profound the secrets they spoke of, they were merely echoes of the past, forming the very fabric of the air as time marched on.

story.

"Fawn, we told you everything."

Yu Man finished telling them everything and then joked.

"After that, I'll send the cat home, and then someone who might be a relative... or a friend or something will come to see me. Don't be surprised if that happens. That's what it's supposed to be."

"Meow." Senior Cat also sighed a little, as if he was cherishing his last days as a cat.

But the fawn did not laugh with them.

Instead, he showed an urgent and panicked expression.

"I……"

Everyone was waiting quietly.

The little deer thought, struggled, and hesitated for a long time.

She didn't know where to start, and even if she started, she didn't know how to get started.

But in the end—

In the end, she talked about another secret in a disordered, unrhythmic voice as a one-on-one exchange.

"Since this is the end," Xiaolu said for no apparent reason. "I know this is the end of Snake Restaurant. Eel has received enough money to ensure his life, and you will begin your grand plan as a level-clearer... but... but I... I'm very sad."

"……what?"

"……Meow?"

The deer lowered his head. "The eel and the cat are leaving. I hinted at this jokingly before, I know. Our tenant contract has ended. We no longer have to worry about not having enough to eat or wear warm clothes... You're leaving."