The King of Hell Came and Went (24): Time to Show Off

Li Qing looked at Gong Yao in front of him.

He was no longer the playboy superstar from the Dungeon Instance.

His unmistakable presence and serious expression told Li Qing that Gong Yao had fully recovered his memories.

He knelt on one knee before Li Qing and looked up at him, his eyes pleading. "Qing, help me out, okay?"

Then he mouthed, "The livestream's off."

Li Qing had, of course, already checked.

"With your abilities, you could leave safely just like An Ya."

"There are still so many people here. Could you bear to watch them... okay, I know you could."

Gong Yao shook his head and tried another approach.

"If you help me, the Nine Luminaries will owe you a favor. How about it?"

Li Qing said nothing.

"Don't tell me you've never heard of the Nine Luminaries," Gong Yao said. "A favor from us is worth a lot."

"The Nine Luminaries. A player mutual-aid organization vaguely rumored to exist in the Death Instance system. So it really does exist."

He lowered his eyes to Gong Yao and said mildly, "But in this Dungeon Instance, my permissions don't let me do much more than you can."

Was that a yes?

"But you can still do plenty, right?" The corners of Gong Yao's mouth lifted slightly. "Like hacking into everyone's network..."

Li Qing said nothing. How did he figure that out?

Just then, Tao Lele and Yu Xiaohe hurried over to join the others of their "kind."

Li Qing pulled over the office computer used for the presentation and tapped a few keys. The building's surveillance feeds immediately appeared on the screen.

"There is indeed a problem with the fire suppression system. Its recognition program was modified through special means. I can fix that, but some of the control valves have been shut off."

He pointed at the few surveillance feeds still lit up.

"The ninth, thirteenth, and seventeenth floors. I need someone to go there and open the valves."

Gong Yao glanced at Tao Lele. "You heard him?"

Tao Lele immediately stood at attention. "Yes!"

Yu Xiaohe instinctively straightened up too.

All three of them looked over at her.

"I... I may only be a C-Rank player, but I can still be useful..." Yu Xiaohe stammered.

Gong Yao snapped his fingers and tore the cast off one arm. "All right, move out!"

Tao Lele immediately took a safety rope from the System Inventory, secured it around his body and a pillar in the banquet hall, then leaped through the opening An Ya had left.

Yu Xiaohe took out something resembling a pair of Butterfly Wings and strapped them onto her back under everyone's bewildered stares.

She glanced down, immediately pulled her head back, and took a deep breath.

"Need a hand?" Gong Yao asked beside her.

Yu Xiaohe shook her head and closed her eyes. The Butterfly Wings flapped twice, carrying her down toward the lower floors.

Gong Yao stood in front of the hole, the wind at that height stirring his hair, with terrified staff on either side.

He turned halfway around to look at Li Qing and suddenly smiled.

Then Li Qing detected him turning on his livestream.

Amid a flood of "?" comments, Gong Yao looked straight into Li Qing's eyes and said casually, "Time to show off. It'd be a bit of a shame if you missed it."

Before Li Qing could give him a speechless look, Gong Yao jumped without any protective equipment.

At the same time, Gong Yao's livestream, along with the others', appeared on Li Qing's own light screen.

Tao Lele had already reached his destination.

Yu Xiaohe flew cautiously with her butterfly wings, taking out a throwable bomb and aiming it at a window on her target floor.

Just then, she screamed-

Gong Yao plunged past her!

The invisible camera swiftly followed the man's agile figure as he leaped down.

Li Qing saw a sudden flash of gold in his hands.

A moment later, he drew two Black Longswords out of thin air!

In the blink of an eye, Gong Yao had reached the fifteenth floor!

The broad blade, forged from some unknown material, plunged straight into the building's exterior. Sparks flew from the friction, gradually slowing his fall.

The fourteenth floor!

Gripping the broad sword with one hand, Gong Yao swung his body backward-

The thirteenth floor!

The slender blade slashed down with the momentum of his body swinging back. A flash of white followed, and the glass shattered with a crash!

Gong Yao rolled into the thirteenth floor amid the shards, then stood and brushed the broken glass off himself. Both swords had already vanished.

Li Qing's gaze lingered on Gong Yao's livestream for another two seconds.

Then he turned back to the computer, which showed the surveillance feeds for the valves.

A moment later, a pair of long legs stepped into one of the feeds.

Gong Yao's face appeared in Li Qing's field of vision again.

The man looked up and flashed the security camera a brilliant smile.

"..."

Li Qing looked away, then glanced at that feed again two seconds later.

Gong Yao had already left.

Li Qing suddenly felt as though he had just generated a little redundant data.

After a moment of silence, he chose "the banquet hall's heat was affecting his condition" over "there was something wrong with Gong Yao" as the interfering factor behind his unusual mental activity.

Tao Lele and Yu Xiaohe completed their tasks one after the other.

A scream rang out as the doors finally caught fire.

Without even lifting his eyelids, Li Qing pressed Enter.

At the same time, jets of water sprayed from the overhead fire suppression fixtures, soaking everyone from head to toe.

Every sprinkler throughout the building came on as well.

The flames finally stopped at the banquet hall entrance and began to shrink.

Having narrowly escaped death, the people in the banquet hall sat quietly where they were, no longer possessing the strength to scream or run around.

Just then, a head poked up through the large hole by the window.

It was Tao Lele, who had climbed back up the safety rope.

Yu Xiaohe came up alongside him, wearing her Butterfly Wings. Both were soaked through and still dripping.

At the pair's extraordinary entrance, everyone could hardly believe they weren't dreaming.

Tao Lele ran toward Li Qing, wagging his tail. "Mr. Li, how did it go? Oh, where's my boss?"

"..." Li Qing looked them over and said, "The normal route to the top floor was blocked by fire, so he left first."

"Oh," Tao Lele said, bewildered.

Yu Xiaohe caught on first and slapped her forehead. "Right! Why did we climb back up? The fire's pretty much under control. We could've just gone straight down!"

The three looked at one another and fell silent.

Then Tao Lele ran back toward the hole by the window with his tail tucked. "I'll go find the boss, then. See you next time, Mr. Li!"

Li Qing was speechless.

Let's pass on that.

Yu Xiaohe wrung her fingers indecisively. Only when Li Qing gave her a questioning look did she stammer, "Li Qing, thank you for helping me in this Dungeon Instance..."

"No need to thank me," Li Qing said mildly. "I was just completing the Dungeon Instance's tasks."

Yu Xiaohe smiled. "Either way... ever since I entered this Dungeon Instance system, you're the first person to tell me I have the right to choose whether to be kind. Thank you."

Li Qing tilted his head slightly. Though he didn't understand what there was to thank him for, he still asked, "Then have you made up your mind now?"

"I... think so?"

Yu Xiaohe wasn't entirely sure, but she continued anyway.

"This is a world where the strong prey on the weak, and good people never get rewarded. I used that excuse to convince myself to do a lot of things I didn't like."

As she sank into her memories, her eyes dimmed.

"But in this Dungeon Instance, I was just an ordinary human living in peaceful times, and I still did those things... you knew all along, didn't you? Meng Tian's death, I also..."

Li Qing gave a quiet "Mm," revealing neither pleasure nor anger, as though this were something entirely ordinary.

"Maybe we'll all become the kind of people we hate. Or maybe that's simply my true nature, and I don't want to admit it. But I've made my decision!"

"Hmm?" Li Qing raised his brows slightly, waiting for her answer.

"Before that day comes, I want to hold on a little longer, just like Gong Yao!" Yu Xiaohe clenched her fists.

Li Qing went quiet for a moment.

Then he nodded and replied, "All right."

With his affirmation, Yu Xiaohe smiled in relief.

"Thank you, Li Qing. This is the first time I've talked to anyone about this since entering the Dungeon Instances! I really hope we can be in the same one next time..."

Let's pass on that too. It's hardly a good thing... Li Qing thought, but politely kept it to himself.

"Oh, are you close with Gong Yao? Are you part of the Nine Luminaries too? I really admire that organization! How can I join you?"

"I'm not part of the Nine Luminaries, and I've only met Gong Yao twice before. This is the third time."

"Oh," Yu Xiaohe said, a little disappointed.

The sound of fire engine sirens was already coming from outside.

"Oh!" Yu Xiaohe exclaimed. "The firefighters are here. The system says my results will be calculated in one minute!"

She ran to the large hole too, then turned and called, "See you next time! I'm going to find Lord Gong Yao and prove myself to him first!"

She flapped her Butterfly Wings and jumped out.

Li Qing said nothing.

At last, it was quiet.

One person remained.

Li Qing raised his eyes and met Bai Cha's gaze, which had grown numb and despondent once more.