The Long Table Session - Playing Favorites

Liang Erni is a liar.

As the darkness faded from her eyes, Yu Xing couldn't help but think this.

After Liang Erni finished speaking to him, he felt the world around him slowly collapsing, and his consciousness became uncontrollably blurred, just like the last moments in the coffin during the first stage.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting back in a cold chair, his neck aching from being slumped over. Apart from that, the fur collar of his down jacket was loosely covering his neck. As his senses gradually returned, all the pain disappeared as if it had never happened. Only his physical weakness reminded him that the cage had taken effect and that what he had seen and done before was not an illusion.

Before him stood the familiar ice-blue conference table. On one side, the comments on the large screen were scrolling rapidly, while on the other side, two pairs of eyes were fixed on him.

Yu Xing ultimately never saw what the real world actually looked like according to the scenario set in this simulation.

"You're awake and still spacing out? I think you don't respect us at all!" Zhao Ruru, seeing him glance around the conference room and then remain silent, made a move as if to roll up her sleeves and start a fight.

Yu Xing then turned his attention to his two teammates. With a casual glance, he had already confirmed that the injuries he sustained in the simulation would not carry over to the Long Table Time. Zhao Yijiu's eyes, mouth, and other areas had returned to normal.

This is absolutely great news; otherwise, even if Zhao Yijiu could endure the pain, the continuous bleeding would eventually cause him to bleed to death.

Zhao Yijiu stared at him silently, her eyes unreadable, but Yu Xing sensed a hint of looking at a "rare animal" in them.

He glanced at the gesticulating Zhao Ruru and chuckled, "Madam, what do you want?"

Zhao Ruru put on a fierce look. "What do I want to do? I want to dissect you and see what's inside."

That being said, anyone could see that she was simply too shocked to speak properly, and her words were mostly a joke. (Fastest updates on PC::/)

Yu Xing smiled without saying a word. Zhao Ruru paused for a couple of seconds, forcing herself to calm down. "I said... what exactly did you do? Zhou Xue just ran back to tell us that the Lingren went to find you, and I hadn't even had my fortune told yet, and suddenly the system notified me that I'd cleared the level!?"

Four minutes.

Zhou Xue ran very fast, but even at her fastest speed, plus the time it took her to describe her panicked state upon returning, it only took her a little over four minutes at most.

"You completed the mission all by yourself." Zhao Yijiu had finally recovered from his injury, and his right eye had suddenly healed. He seemed a little disoriented for a moment, lightly covering it with his hand, but his tone was as cold as ever. "You stayed for four hours, and when you actually encountered it, it only took four minutes."

How do you explain this?

Zhao Yijiu was powerless against the Lingren and suffered such serious injuries. Zhao Ruru had long been aware of the information the Lingren had publicly disclosed and was well aware of how powerful this desperate-level big shot was.

They were all prepared to hide from the Lingren, find the jade first, and then work together to deal with the Lingren. Who knew that Yu Xing, who said he was going to "go check on the lady's room," would actually take over the entire task.

Although we don't know how Yu Xing did it, the process doesn't matter; the result is frightening enough.

This time, it really happened that the average person had barely written their name and class on the test paper when the class's top student had already finished and handed it in, and with a perfect score no less!

Is this even human?!

Especially Zhao Yijiu, who watched Yu Xing enter the absurd world and become a predictor. Although he sensed at the time that this person was not simple, Yu Xing was able to go head-to-head and win against one-ninth of the Lingren, even though they were at roughly the same age.

I always felt that the other person was hiding more than he was.

"A coincidence," Yu Xing said with a smile, reassuring her two teammates who were still in disbelief. "Just lucky."

Zhao Ruru glanced at him and said, "Fine, whatever you say. I'll admit defeat if I believe you."

This teammate, with whom she was working for the first time, kept redefining her understanding of what was possible.

"We're really lucky. Let's not talk about this anymore. Shall we do a raffle?" Yu Xing decisively changed the subject, then gestured for the two of them to look at the big screen, which was filled with all sorts of greetings and was quite lively.

I'm speechless. I'm impressed. They actually managed to take back first place in progress.

That's right. Because I was delayed by a day when I went to Side Quest, Group One had already overtaken us. Who knew this quest would be completed so quickly?

Because the time flow fluctuates in the second phase, the team that smashes the white jade and enters the dream at the beginning is faster. This is also the advantage of not doing side quests, which makes the difficulty lower and the process smoother.

According to statistics gathered from viewers browsing various live streams, besides Yu Xing's group which has already completed the second stage, Luo Jue the fastest, followed by Xu Yaoyao, and then a team from the Zhao family. The person surnamed Zhao isn't very famous, but Xue Su from that team has a large audience base.

Luo Liang and Si's groups, on the other hand, fell to the middle in terms of progress because they took on side quests. Of course, if they had completed the quests ahead of schedule, they could have caught up quickly.

Next, the team leaders were Xu family Jiaye Xiao and Zhao Yanran.

There are eight groups in total.

As for the Group One...

Many people feel a bit sad when they talk about it.

The Luo family's Group One was completely wiped out in the second phase of the dream escape.

Not only them, but Group Four lost members. This death rate is the highest in November in recent years. Due to the intervention of the Lingren, the difficulty increased dramatically, and the strategists who were caught off guard were on the verge of a mental breakdown.

The leaders of the Three Great Families who remained outside and did not participate in the live broadcast were not in a bad mood. They had already held an emergency meeting to discuss the losses.

The name of the Lingren has also risen several places on their blacklist.

The statistics are in. The nearest one is... and there are approximately... people still to reach the meeting room.

It's been blocked.

Don't you know the rules? Posting like that, even being blocked is a light punishment.

Reminded by others, the person who wanted to share the results immediately and cautiously shut up.

After watching for a while, Yu Xing and the other two lost interest.

Just as Zhao Mou said, the long table time cannot be expected to yield any useful information from the audience.

Yu Xing still remembered the process, and he asked, "A lottery?"

The True Sight Powder drawn during the previous long table session has not yet been used, mainly because Yu Xing has not found any opportunity to use it in the second stage.

It seems this is meant to be saved for the third stage.

Zhao Ruru shrugged. "You two go ahead. I've been a bystander for another phase, I'm too ashamed to face my fellow villagers, let alone participate in the lottery."

"Then let's go, Brother Jiu." Yu Xing suddenly noticed the silent Zhao Yijiu and explained when the other looked at her with confusion, "I think Brother Jiu's luck is definitely on fire right now, I believe in you."

"I don't quite believe in myself," Zhao Yijiu muttered to herself, but ultimately didn't refute Yu Xing, and simply walked towards the end of the long table.

He stood in front of the raffle box, and soon the results were announced.

A 1-point bonus to progress ranking in the lottery.

Pale gold lettering appeared on the screen, followed by images of three items, just like before.

Lottery Results: Choose one from three items: Red Amulet, Unknown Key, or Poisonous Wedding Wine.

Zhao Yijiu: "..."

It's really hard to tell whether it's good or bad. The Red Amulet is the same as the one from the previous round, while the other two seem to be related to the quest.

Yu Xing swayed as he approached, his gaze sweeping over the first one, weighing the choice between the nuptial wine and the key.

Zhao Yijiu: "What should we choose?"

Zhao Ruru pondered, "What's the key used to unlock? The nuptial cup gesture is more specific. Hmm, since it concerns survival, let's hear what a certain 'lucky' expert has to say."

She looked at Yu Xing with a serious expression, which made Yu Xing feel that she was carrying a heavy burden.

After thinking for a moment, he answered seriously, "A toast."

"Why?" Zhao Yijiu asked.

"Because," Yu Xing also said seriously, "It sounds more interesting."

Zhao Ruru: "... I knew it."

Zhao Yijiu waved his hand and directly chose the nuptial wine. Only when the system notified them that the nuptial wine had been placed in the ghost pouches at their waists did Zhao Ruru realize, "Oh, Xing and I were just joking, you really chose it?"

Zhao Yijiu: "It sounds interesting."

Zhao Ruru pouted, thinking to herself, "Even the most interesting things become as boring as calculus when you say them!"

However, she didn't really care; the purpose of the key and the nuptial wine was uncertain at the moment, so it didn't matter which one she chose.

The audience had no idea that they had decided on the props for such an absurd reason as "fun." As they watched them return, they began chatting with them, interspersed with questions.

However, Yu Xing had no interest in chatting with these viewers with their conflicting views. He was speculating about what the third phase of the mission would be, because Liang Erni had said that the future had ended, but the secrets of the past still needed to be unearthed.

The third stage will likely involve re-entering the Fang Mansion to allow them to fully uncover the truth of what happened back then. However, this time, the Master's role should be that of Lingren character (NP) rather than a performer.

In addition, he was basically certain that the Master's experiences were not real, Lingren were just playing roles as required, not the Master himself. At most, the Master only set up the characters according to the Lingren's personalities.

Because... he didn't think the Lingren would be foolish enough to be fooled by Liang Erni for so long; rather, she should have realized something as soon as the dream appeared.

There's nothing Lingren can't get.

Just as Yu Xing was pondering this matter, many people in the live chat tried to gossip about his relationship with the Lingren. Knowing that he would not answer, they still used a lot of points to ask questions, but they were all ignored. No matter how much they made a fuss, it was ineffective. They even received a pitying look from Yu Xing, as if he were "caring for the mentally challenged".

Damn, fine, don't say it then.

I advise you to stop now and tell everyone about your relationship with the Lingren, otherwise, I'll kneel down and beg you!

Forget it, even a fool would know that this kind of question is impossible to answer. If you're really curious, just follow Xing and watch every live stream from now on, okay? Upstairs, you're truly a mediocre publicity genius.

Ask someone else; what about Cold Wine? The Lingren did mention it.

Oh right, there's another batch here.

Holy crap, that's devastating! Do you guys have a grudge against Cold Wine?

The Cold Wine clearly didn't want that person to know, and you're still bringing it up here??

Thump! Someone asked the Cold Wine a question.

Look at me, Cold Wine. Is there anything you're not allowed to know?

A reward of 200 points is offered. Would you accept?

Zhao Yijiu's gaze turned icy, a flash of bloodlust crossing her eyes.

The person who asked the question offered 200 points, the minimum reward, clearly not wanting him to answer the question, but simply wanting to bring the topic to Yu Xing's attention in the most eye-catching way.

Clearly, the appearance of the Lingren brought a large influx of viewers from the Fallen Path to the live stream. Some Fallen Path members regarded the Lingren as a role model, and as the first team to take down the "Master," they were the first to be targeted by the Fallen Path members.

It's not that the Fallen Path necessarily doesn't have idols; they just have twisted personalities, but the direction of that twisting is different.

Just like in real life, in the Throat Cutting Case on a rainy night, Liu Ping, who tried to kill Han Xinyi, also felt that the throat-slitting killer was very powerful, which is why he had the urge to imitate the crime.

Now, this group has discovered that their idol has been killed, albeit with only one-ninth of his strength, and they are forbidden from using sacrifices. However, some of them are still hatching wicked plans to "avenge" the Lingren.

They didn't care whether the Lingren could see it or not, because it was also a way for them to vent their anger. Sometimes they just wanted to cause trouble, and any excuse would do.

The Lingren said they were pleased to meet someone who disliked Cold Wine, and they all remembered that!

Yu Xing and the others saw Zhao Yijiu and the Lingren's conversation and raised an eyebrow.

These two not only fought, but also exchanged some unusual words?

Neither the Lingren nor Zhao Yijiu mentioned it when they met him. The Lingren was one thing, but he was full of wicked schemes. And Zhao Yijiu also had something to hide...

His gaze darkened.

Just then, Zhao Yijiu's voice was even colder than usual as she rejected the troublesome question, "I refuse."

Then, he involuntarily glanced at Yu Xing, who hadn't said a word.

Yu Xing felt his gaze and looked back.

He noticed an obvious displeasure in Zhao Yijiu, whose face even turned somewhat pale.

"Hmm... Brother Jiu, are you still feeling unwell?"

Zhao Yijiu: "It's alright."

It's definitely a bit uncomfortable. Although the wounds have healed, the pain is still deeply etched in my mind, and I won't forget it anytime soon.:(/

The thought of the Lingren's oppression and threats against him filled him with resentment, and under these circumstances, his stomach began to cramp.

Zhao Yijiu withdrew her gaze from Yu Xing, her eyes still fixed on the big screen. Those malicious troublemakers were still jumping around, but now the other viewers had realized what was happening. Some viewers who had become fans because of the live stream spontaneously helped him to push up the comments about the Fallen Path, one after another, making it difficult to spot them among the crowd.

Yu Xing chuckled, got up and sat down next to Zhao Yijiu, even moving the chair closer.

"Brother Jiu." Taking advantage of the fact that the live stream in the conference room was all on a large screen, so that viewers couldn't see her lip movements if she turned around, and couldn't hear her voice if they were far away, Yu Xing curled the corners of her lips and said softly, "You're a little different from others, I've noticed it for a long time. You can tell me these things whenever you want, or it's okay if you don't plan to tell me at all. There's just one thing."

"The Lingren isn't as omniscient and omnipotent as you imagine. His grasp of people's hearts has its limits, and it can be defied, like with me... You can never trust his evaluation of me, because he can't possibly guess what's in my heart."

Don't believe it either.