Jia Yahua: "So that's what 'unlocked' means."
Ling Xiao: "This is all I can think of for now. We'll continue tomorrow."
It was clearly a signal to leave, so Qin Wu and Jia Yahua quickly took their leave.
Qin Wu understood Ling Xiao well—he had little patience, and Qin Wu certainly wouldn't be so tactless as to overstay his welcome like those players.
If Ling Xiao decided not to include him anymore, he would genuinely cry.
After the two left, Ning Su pulled the blanket down a bit and saw two children playing with skull building blocks and a puzzle underneath it. Small skull pieces were scattered all over the bed.
Ling Xiao glanced at the two children, then asked him, "Who is that person you know who's better at analyzing dungeons?"
Ning Su: "..."
Ning Su opened his mouth to speak, but Ling Xiao cut him off first. "Don't say it's me. It's obviously not."
Ning Su: "..."
Ling Xiao watched him with a leisurely expression, his eyes as deep as a black pool. "What you said makes it sound very much like you've been through a dungeon with that impressive person and analyzed it together. But you're a newcomer who just entered the game base, and your first dungeon is this one."
Ning Su hadn't expected Ling Xiao to be so sharp.
He considered whether he could say he heard the Cannibal Corps members analyze dungeons back when he was with them.
But Ling Xiao probably wouldn't buy that excuse.
And Ning Su didn't want to lie to him either.
So, Ning Su picked up his washbasin, flung the towel back over his shoulder, and said, "None of your business."
Ling Xiao: "..."
He was briefly taken aback. By the time he came to his senses, Ning Su had already entered the bathroom.
Ning Su slipped quickly into the bathroom, locked the door, and pressed against it to listen to the sounds outside.
Silence.
Relieved, Ning Su prepared to wash up.
Just as the water started running, Ning Su heard a faint, ambiguous laugh come from outside the door. "I can't tell you what to do?"
Leaning against the outside of the bathroom door, a tall, slender figure nearly as tall as the doorframe was faintly imprinted on the frosted glass. "Say that while placing your hand over the heart beneath your chest?"
Ning Su: "..."
After washing up, Ning Su lay down on the bed and played dead.
He knew Ling Xiao had already realized something was off with him, and had sensed his heartbeat as well.
Ning Su didn't know how to explain it to him.
Fortunately, Ling Xiao only said that one line and never brought it up again.
It was already eleven o'clock when they returned from the courtyard. Ning Su had no idea whether those players had made any moves that night.
He wasn't concerned about them. Once he noticed Ling Xiao had dropped the subject, he fell soundly asleep.
The next morning, he went to breakfast with great enthusiasm.
Ning Su said to the two children, "Not being enthusiastic about eating means there's something wrong with your thinking."
Gui Sheng: "Mm!"
Manman: "Mom, are we supposed to be this enthusiastic about washing dishes too?"
Ning Su: "...Not being enthusiastic about labor, well, that thinking..."
The lazy little salted fish couldn't finish the sentence.
Ning Su: "Charge! Otherwise there won't be any beef-filled steam buns left!"
The other players had arrived very early, several of them wearing constipated expressions—presumably, they had been prying about Xue Fei with the people here again.
As soon as she spotted him, Tang Xin brought her tray over.
Not long after, they saw Xue Fei walk in.
The players all stared intently at her face.
The reddish morning light filtered through the leaves and fell upon her face. Unlike on most people, where it might look eerie, on her exceptionally beautiful face it only added a sense of ambiguous allure.
It was impossible to imagine her without a face.
Ning Su had already bought breakfast early today, and with the breakfast Uncle Li gave the two children for free, there was more than enough food on the table for all of them.
She stood by Uncle Li's spot for a moment, bought a cup of soy milk, and left.
Tang Xin withdrew her gaze and whispered to Ning Su, "No wonder I felt she was like a child. Turns out she's got no mind to speak of."
Once desire is mentioned, people always subconsciously think of unsavory things. Civilized people ought not to display desire so plainly; it should always be tucked away beneath neat and proper attire.
People also tend to believe desire grows heavier with age—words like "insatiable desire" are never applied to children.
But what if a person has no brain—none of the myriad thoughts that spring from having one—and is driven solely by a single, straightforward desire?
Tang Xin thought for a moment and said, "The night before last, Fei Xueying tore off her head and ripped off her limbs. You could say she was dismembered into eight pieces. Yet the next day, when she saw Fei Xueying, she showed no emotion whatsoever."
Qin Wu said, "Is it because she has no brain, so she can't remember?"
Tang Xin fell silent for a moment, then said, "But just now she still wanted to buy breakfast for Ning Su. She remembered that."
Jia Yahua said, "She remembered to buy breakfast for Ning Su, perhaps because Ning Su is connected to her desire. She wants to reproduce, wants a child?"
Ling Xiao denied this. "No. She also forgot that Ning Su tied her up last night. It's because at night she has no head and can't retain memories. During the day, with a face on her head, she still has some brain left and knows what happens in the daytime."
Some brain.
That phrasing was rather inspired.
Ning Su nodded. "It seems you were right last night. She hasn't completely turned into a Desire Monster yet. She does still retain a part of her mind, but only a small amount during the day."
He looked toward the doorway where Xue Fei's figure was long gone and said, "Humans use reason to restrain desire, or you could say, use the brain. As the brain shrinks and vanishes, it gradually yields ground to desire. When desire swells to its extreme, it becomes a Desire Monster."
The others fell into thoughtful silence.
Tang Xin sighed for reasons unknown even to herself. She took a sip of water and said, "I just asked some of the women here about Xue Fei. I got something."
The night before, they had all assumed Xue Fei's desire was lust, so they had asked the men here about her and only heard a bunch of sleazy, nonsensical things.
Today, Tang Xin asked the women, which opened up a different perspective.
"They all cursed Xue Fei."
That wasn't hard to understand. It made sense, come to think of it.
"They also said Xue Fei is a mistress."
Ling Xiao said, "That depends on the timeline. If it was before she became a Desire Monster, before she got involved with so many men, then calling her a mistress might be a key to unraveling part of her backstory. But if it happened after, and the women are just cursing her as a mistress now, then that piece of information is fairly meaningless."
Tang Xin said, "I'll ask around some more during lunch."
Ning Su said, "Once we get a clear picture on this point, we can probably have a proper talk with Uncle Li."
They didn't know a thing, just walked right in and started asking Old Li. Old Li wasn't about to tell them anything.
It'd be strange if the NPC just spilled everything to them outright.
Now the conversation can finally get started.
At 7:30 in the evening, Old Li started shooing everyone out.
When he cleared people out, the dishes and chopsticks definitely weren't washed yet—he still had to clean off the dining tables and tidy up the main room.
Ning Su used the two kids as an excuse to stay behind in the cafeteria and help Old Li clean up.
After wiping down all the tables and picking up the broom to sweep the floor, Ning Su spoke as casually as if chatting about everyday matters: "Uncle Li, when I was eating in the cafeteria today, I heard someone say Xue Fei was a mistress. But from what I can tell, Xue Fei really loves kids. She doesn't seem like the type who'd break up someone's family."
The cafeteria was the most spacious and well-lit place in the entire residential complex.
Unlike those cramped apartments in the tube-shaped building, with narrow windows you couldn't even lean out of, the cafeteria had four big windows. Outside the windows were lush green leaves, and during the day, sunlight filtered through the greenery would spill all across the cafeteria.
At night, several lamps hung from the ceiling. The light they cast was yellowish but not gloomy—it was a warm, amber-toned light with a sense of age and nostalgia.
Since Ning Su had taken over the work, Old Li sat beneath one of those lamps by the large window. The old yellow light settled into the lines of his face. He gazed out the window at the shabby tube-shaped building and let out a low, quiet sigh.
"Fei girl... yeah, she was a mistress back then."
