Preparing for the Rescue

Xiahou was frustrated when he saw the prompt. Was this another quest? After he made his selection, a prompt popped up:

"Player has acquired a residence. Would you like to change your respawn point?"

Xiahou didn't hesitate at all and immediately selected yes. Now, if he got himself killed while fooling around, he could respawn right here. That felt pretty good!

He'd been so moved by what was said earlier, only to be pulled right back to reality. This really was a game world after all. Thank goodness.

Abigail watched Xiahou hold her hand without letting go for quite a while, even spacing out. She couldn't help remembering how he had comforted her earlier, though what came afterward had been infuriating.

Hannibal immediately teased him. "Hey! Xia, you just joined, and you're already making a move on our boss? You'd better be careful, though. She's pretty violent!"

Hannibal's words snapped Xiahou out of his daze. He immediately let go and retorted, "Of course not! I just got a system prompt. I can bind this place as my respawn point now!"

Everyone present was drawn in by his words again. Hannibal immediately asked, "You really can respawn? What does dying feel like?"

Xiahou's face darkened. Well, so they hadn't believed him at all earlier.

"I told you, I'm a player. Is it that strange that I can respawn? What does dying feel like? I don't know. Everything just goes black, and when I open my eyes again, I'm alive! But if I don't die right away, it still hurts a lot."

Hannibal grew even more excited. "Oh~ cool! Can you demonstrate?"

"I don't want to demonstrate that! Are you an idiot? I told you it hurts! And aren't you going to think about how to save Blade? I remember there are a lot of vampire familiars in the FBI, and the vampires seem to be planning to kill him too! If you don't save him, he's definitely done for!"

As Xiahou argued back, he also described Blade's current situation with an unconcerned look.

Abigail immediately lost her composure. "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

Xiahou said, "You didn't ask sooner!"

Everyone: ...

Little Black said, "I'll drive. Let's hurry!"

Abigail pulled Hannibal up and asked Xiahou, "Are you coming with us?"

A quest prompt popped up on Xiahou's panel again:

Side quest triggered: Rescue Blade

Quest objective: Ensure that neither Blade nor any member of the Nightcrawler Squad dies.

Quest reward: 1,000 energy points, 1 targeted draw

Was there even a choice? Of course he had to rush in! Xiahou accepted the quest and had already caught up with Little Black, leaving only a single sentence behind: "What are you dawdling for? Let's go!"

Everyone stared in bewilderment. Hannibal even quipped, "What's with him? Is he going to save his wife? Why's he so worked up?"

Abigail answered blankly, "Maybe he got another quest? Otherwise, I don't think he'd be like this."

Sommerfield felt around and handed them a device, saying, "This is a suppression serum. It should help Blade suppress his urge to drink blood. I just developed it."

Hannibal took it and said to Abigail, "We'd better catch up too. You all stay alert. Don't let anyone raid our base!"

By the time the two of them came out, Xiahou and Little Black were already sitting in the car, waiting for them.

Xiahou said, "Why are you dawdling? Any later and we'll only be able to collect his corpse! Get in! Go, go, go!"

Hannibal and Abigail: ...

On the way, Hannibal still couldn't resist asking Xiahou, "You keep saying I'm Deadpool's counterpart. Who exactly is he?"

"Oh! Him! He's an asshole with a filthy mouth, and he loves stirring up trouble! He even hooked up with the goddess Death! He likes wandering around the multiverse when he has nothing else to do, and he occasionally flirts with the audience. Anyway, he's badass!" Xiahou said casually.

The three people in the car were once again bewildered. At the same time, they screamed inwardly, Do you hear what you're saying? Hooked up with a goddess and likes wandering around the multiverse!

They weren't scientists, but they had heard of the multiverse. In this world, no one had even confirmed that a multiverse existed; it was still just a hypothesis, yet this guy was already wandering around it as he pleased?

Abigail also hesitantly asked, "Does the multiverse really exist?"

Xiahou turned to glance at her and immediately grew delighted. These NPCs really had been completely fooled by him. He immediately got that feeling of playing a game-or rather, showing off to other people.

"Of course it does. I don't know about my world, but that's how the Marvel Universe is set up. There's the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Marvel Comics Universe, fan-fiction universes, and thousands of others in all. They keep adding to the setting, too. I wonder what your universe is based on?"

Abigail and the other two were even more bewildered, and the car instantly fell silent again.

Xiahou looked at the three of them, shocked into silence, and smiled. Then he opened his game panel. He still had 1,300 energy points and one random draw he hadn't used. They were about to get into a fight, so he would use them first to improve himself.

He went to the draw screen, selected a random draw, and started it. After a dizzying round of spinning, the image abruptly froze again.

A packet of spicy strips slowly appeared on the slot-machine screen. The words "pickled pepper stinky dried tofu" were written on it.

Xiahou's face was as black as charcoal. In an instant, it was as if he had returned to the time when Onmyoji had just come out. He'd watched other people casually pull SSRs in single draws while he himself went further and further down the path of the unlucky.

Especially when he finally earned the African Grand Onmyoji achievement, the accompanying avatar frame had mocked him over and over. "Moonlit Black" meant that even the moon would be dyed black at the sight of him!

The three people in the car were also roused by the sudden gloomy atmosphere, and they looked at the emo Xiahou in confusion. They wondered, What is it this time? We haven't even recovered yet, so why is Xiahou upset again?

Hannibal patted him on the shoulder. "What's wrong? Why did you suddenly get unhappy?"

Xiahou looked up at him and said slowly, "I can feel the fear of being ruled by bad luck again! Do you want some spicy strips?"

Hannibal looked puzzled. "What are spicy strips? Are they good?"

The packet of stinky dried tofu appeared in Xiahou's hand. He waved it and said, "This stuff. It's worth 300 energy points! A delicacy from China!"

As he spoke, he tore open the packet, and a spicy aroma wafted through the car.

He took a piece for himself, then passed the packet to Hannibal.

Hannibal took it and pulled out a piece. Watching Xiahou pop his straight into his mouth and start chewing, he didn't hesitate to do the same, passing the packet to Abigail beside him.

After just a couple of bites, a spicy flavor exploded in his mouth, accompanied by a hint of sweetness and the taste of various spices. There was only one way to describe it: irresistible! He couldn't stop eating!

Abigail saw how much the two of them were enjoying it. She took a piece and tried it, and instantly became addicted to the taste too.

Little Black, who was driving, grew anxious when he saw how much the three of them were enjoying it. "No! This is racial discrimination! Why aren't you sharing with me?"

Hearing him say that, Abigail had no choice but to take out a piece and hand it to him. Little Black took it, tossed it straight into his mouth, and chewed in big bites.

At the same time, he said, "Oh, God! This stuff is so good! Give me another piece!"

But Hannibal and Abigail had already finished the remaining pieces in the back seat! Hannibal handed the empty packet to Little Black and teased him, "Dude, you spoke too slowly. There's none left!"

Little Black immediately lost it. "You can't treat me like this! I'm still driving. I should get more stinky dried tofu!"

As he spoke, he didn't forget to glance at Xiahou, and the two in the back seat looked at him at the same time.

Xiahou said speechlessly, "Don't look at me like that. I don't have any more either. I spent 300 energy points drawing that packet! (Explaining it this way made it easier for the others to understand.)"

Hannibal immediately asked, "What are energy points? Do you have a lot? Draw some more. If that doesn't work, I'll pay you!"

As he spoke, he pulled a stack of US dollars from his pants pocket.

Without turning his head, Xiahou answered, "Energy points are my game currency. I don't have many, and I still need them to improve my strength!"

After hearing that, the three of them couldn't very well say anything else, and the car fell silent again.

Xiahou opened the game store and checked what he could currently buy and use.