Chapter 26: Tentacle Monster, Don’t Like

Chi Liu came back to his senses, looking intently at Secretary Wen, who wasn’t sleeping in the middle of the night. He then glanced at the knife, its blade seemingly flowing with green liquid. He folded his arms and stood there, waiting for an explanation.

Secretary Wen opened his mouth several times to say something, and several reasonable and legitimate reasons flashed through his mind. Still, in the end, his shoulders slumped, and he looked away with a guilty and ashamed expression: “…Sorry, I can’t say.”

After a pause, he promised anxiously and earnestly: “But I guarantee that I have not done anything that violates moral and legal bottom lines!”

He is a law-abiding citizen of the vacation world! QAQ

After a long silence, Chi Liu shrugged: “Okay.” He stretched and brushed past Secretary Wen.

Secretary Wen’s body stiffened, but Chi Liu didn’t care, just threw the strange finger bone into the glass jar, and turned to walk back to the bedroom.

Halfway there, he turned his head and smiled: “That knife is quite pretty. Hmm…” He looked at Secretary Wen’s green eyes in the moonlight and said, as if joking, “The color is quite similar to your eyes.”

Secretary Wen, whose forehead was almost dripping with cold sweat: “!!!”

What is Little Chi’s background? How can he be so perceptive!

Chi Liu: “Go to bed early, we’re going to the amusement park tomorrow afternoon.”

After saying that, he yawned and returned to the bedroom—as long as it’s not illegal or violates moral bottom lines, his friend can do whatever he wants.

What’s wrong with waving a super chuunibyou knife in the living room in the middle of the night, a knife whose material he can’t even see? Secretary Wen is just a weak, harmless little secretary who loves two-dimensional culture! He didn’t hurt anyone!

What’s more, Chi Liu leaned against the door, lowered his gaze, and smiled helplessly, despite sensing that something was off. Secretary Wen, Xiang Xiang, and even… his reserved boyfriend, whose gunshot wounds vanished without a trace after half a month…

He didn’t feel any resistance, wariness, or disgust toward them.

It was as if an instinct that had been stored in his body long ago was telling him—they were beings that could be trusted unconditionally.

Chi Liu trusted his self-awareness’s judgment, looked only forward, and never dwelled on things; so he went to bed and quickly fell into a sweet dream.

In the living room, the weak little secretary stood frozen in place with a big knife, his eyes widened in disbelief: He passed just like that?!

…

The next morning, Chi Liu first went to the Mengxia District Police Station.

He found Captain Zheng and asked, “If it’s convenient for you to disclose, I would like to ask, what are the investigation results regarding the suspect who was hiding in the ceiling ventilation duct to shoot me more than half a month ago?”

That day, he was rarely mentally disturbed and subconsciously trusted Chu Qi, then went home to rest. A few days later, Captain Zheng called to inform him that the criminal Chu Qi had turned over to the bureau had completed the first round of interrogation and wanted him to provide a supplementary statement.

Everyone would care about the person who wanted to kill them.

After arriving in this world, he had only acted as a good Samaritan twice and had not offended anyone. He couldn’t understand why anyone would want to kill him in that way.

Captain Zheng appeared to be very busy lately, with noticeably dark circles under his eyes. A cup of strong, bitter tea sat on the table. His cold and stern face rarely displayed any hint of apology: “I’m sorry, Mr. Chi, that is a classified case, and it is still under investigation. We cannot disclose the suspect’s identity, appearance, or motive.”

Chi Liu shrugged, not feeling particularly disappointed: “Okay.”

Captain Zheng looked thoughtfully at the gentle and handsome young man in front of him.

Chi Liu probably didn’t know that Secretary Wen, who was responsible for protecting him, later sent many more replicants.

Without exception, they were all sent by players to kill Chi Liu.

Those replicants seemed to have been brainwashed from the moment they were created, and they couldn’t be interrogated for any information at all.

Fortunately, Secretary Wen later sent the replicant’s main body, the base traitor who had undergone plastic surgery and killed Wen Xi’s teammates.

During the interrogation, that person stated that he had escaped when many players were arrested and did not know where the last group of players and those replicants had been transferred. When asked why the players sent people to kill Chi Liu, that person just hesitated and said: “Because of a prophecy book written by a player with precognitive abilities. They call it ‘The Player’s Game Manual.'”

When asked about the specific content of the prophecy and its relationship with Chi Liu, that person was also unclear. Those player executives did not share this information with him.

Captain Zheng’s brain was burning from trying to sort out the clues. Before Chi Liu left, he took the metal bracelet out of the evidence bag again and said with some concern: “Of course you can live a normal life. But be especially vigilant about people wearing this kind of bracelet.”

With Secretary Wen’s protection, those replicants could not harm Chi Liu for the time being. However, the players’ obsession with killing Chi Liu ran so deep that it couldn’t be ruled out that they might not hesitate to expose themselves to attack Chi Liu personally.

Chi Liu looked at the metal ring again thoughtfully, smiled and agreed, and thanked him again before leaving.

…

After leaving the Public Security Bureau, Chi Liu took a taxi directly to the amusement park to meet up with Secretary Wen and Xiang Xiang.

The amusement park on Sunday was especially lively, with families of three playing happily everywhere.

Xiang Xiang, who had never been to an amusement park and had never seen so many humans, shyly hid behind Secretary Wen, but his blue eyes were shining brightly!

To welcome the arrival of vacationing children, the amusement park was filled with mascots and floats, and various nursery rhymes played in a 24-hour loop in different play areas.

Chi Liu was walking in the crowd wearing much looser casual clothes, and there was no sign of anything unusual in his abdomen.

He had always adhered to the idea of playing happily when he wanted to play, so he quickly threw the ominous shooting case out of his mind, and said very generously to Xiang Xiang and Secretary Wen: “Take whatever you like, I’ll pay!”

Even if he took a fancy to the most expensive town hall figure in the park store, he could buy it without batting an eye!

It feels great to be a wealthy man!

Xiang Xiang obediently thanked him softly. Secretary Wen felt a little guilty about what had happened last night and was embarrassed to respond, frequently clicking and pushing his glasses—he tends to do this when he’s nervous.

Chi Liu didn’t care, just walked happily in the crowd.

Passing by the “Small Boat Adventure” project, a huge, emerald-green artificial lake came into view. The lake was full of small islands, planted with flowers and trees, and decorated with cartoon scenes. Tourists would sit on boats on the lake and pass by these attractions.

Secretary Wen suddenly stopped at this time. He pointed to the lake, his emerald eyes full of tension, and said: “That, do you think it’s quite cute?”

Chi Liu looked blank: “Huh?”

Did Secretary Wen want to play this attraction?

This attraction isn’t engaging; it merely collects the theme park’s cartoon characters, and nearly all the players are very young children, particularly little girls dressed as princesses.

Secretary Wen’s true love is a pink-haired twin-tailed moe girl. Does he also like this kind of thing?

Secretary Wen gestured toward the lake in a flustered manner: “Just like this kind of thing, a verdant lake—although it’s not as lucky as this lake to have beautiful flowers, trees, and small islands to decorate it, but even if it’s a little incomplete, it can be called cute, right!”

Green lakes are so cute, not scary at all, right?

Chi Liu, who didn’t understand at all, twitched his lips, but still reluctantly said: “…Ah. I guess so.”

Because if he didn’t answer yes, Secretary Wen looked like he was about to shatter!

Secretary Wen breathed a sigh of relief and pushed his glasses with a smile—he knew it! NPCs won’t hate and fear harmless and beautiful little lakes!

Xiang Xiang was holding a large bunch of cotton candy, looking thoughtfully at Secretary Wen, tilting his head as if he had figured something out.

Passing by the small aquarium of the theme park again, Xiang Xiang grabbed Chi Liu’s sleeve in the jellyfish area. He looked up with a somewhat nervous little face, pointed to the transparent and gorgeous jellyfish in the glass box, and organized his words very unskillfully: “That kind of thing, would you hate it? It’s a different color from here, blue, a defective jellyfish that tries hard but can’t grow venom glands, would you hate it?”

Chi Liu blinked in surprise. Although he didn’t understand what Xiang Xiang wanted to express, he still gently touched the other’s hair and smiled: “Jellyfish are already very beautiful. For humans, aren’t jellyfish without venom glands even cuter?”

After a pause, he pointed to the tourists around him who were admiring the jellyfish in amazement, and said: “Look, everyone likes them.”

Xiang Xiang’s blue eyes suddenly lit up, and he said excitedly, stuttering: “Do you really think they are beautiful and cute?”

Chi Liu bent his eyes and nodded. Xiang Xiang felt so happy that he was about to faint!

Having received all the answers they were satisfied with, Secretary Wen and Xiang Xiang instantly threw their unease to the back of their minds.

They played happily all the way, and finally came to the “Amazing Roller Coaster” project.

The roller coaster winds around the undulating artificial mountain, almost rotating 360°, which is very exciting. In the center of the mountain, a huge dark blue tentacle monster enhances the tourists’ thrilling experience.

Chi Liu gently stroked his abdomen—with his constitution that is so prone to vomiting now, it’s better not to play this kind of project.

Just as he was about to let Secretary Wen and Xiang Xiang go to play, Secretary Wen looked subtle. Amidst the screams of the tourists who had already entered the venue, he pointed to the tentacle monster and asked: “…Would you like this kind of thing? Just, bigger, bluer…more terrifying.”

Chi Liu glanced at it, smiled, and said without hesitation: “Not very much.”

He’s not some niche enthusiast who likes tentacles; his preferences are very mainstream.

Secretary Wen: “…”

Apologies, boss; he tried his best!

Chi Liu: “Do you like that kind of thing?” He couldn’t tell, Secretary Wen’s hobbies are pretty extensive.

Secretary Wen: “I don’t like it!”

After a pause, Secretary Wen’s eyes flickered for a moment. Taking advantage of the boss’s absence, he, a member of the working class, rarely indulged in the pleasure of complaining about the boss: “It’s normal for us not to like it! That kind of tentacle monster is the worst! Really!”

They only exploit employees!

At that moment, a mascot wearing a bear head passed by, holding a bunch of cute animal-shaped helium balloons in his hand.

Xiang Xiang suddenly looked at Chi Liu’s abdomen in surprise: The baby said that he sensed a bear, he likes bears, he wants…

But he can’t tell Little Chi that he can hear the baby talking…

His little face wrinkled in distress.

Suddenly, the mascot stopped. He realized his bear head was missing! Also gone was a bear helium balloon!

Who the hell did this?!

…….

Chi Liu stared blankly at the bear head and a bear helium balloon that floated toward him, along with the mascot chasing after them… rarely frozen in place, at a loss.

What, what’s going on?

A certain guilty baby sensed his mother’s emotions and realized that he had done something wrong but didn’t dare to speak up.

Secretary Wen, who witnessed everything, twitched his lips, and was about to take out his wallet to solve the problem for his friend very righteously, when Chu Qi’s voice exploded in his mind with a whoosh:

“Find a way to remind Little Chi to go home early, I want to show him the surprise I prepared for him.”

Secretary Wen: “…”

The boss came back from his business trip so quickly this time!

Also, how many times has he said it—his brain is not a public telephone! It is not!