Yan Hebi sat on his chair, lost in thought, feeling like he had lost something very important and was deeply saddened.

 

Yan Hebi returned to the rest area, where Ning Xinyao had already been waiting impatiently. She frowned and said unhappily, "Why did it take you so long?"

She suspected that Yan Hebi might have guessed her intentions and went to the restroom to discuss with his teammates. If that were the case, then his words would need to be taken with a grain of salt.

Yan Hebi didn’t want to lie to her, so he awkwardly loosened his tie. A hint of red appeared on his shirt collar—a lipstick mark.

Ning Xinyao: "???"

After Mrs. Lin extinguished her cigarette, she sprayed perfume near Yan Hebi. Naturally, the scent clung to him, and as he moved, the fragrance wafted into Ning Xinyao's nose. It was the pure, natural scent of an expensive perfume, very pleasant, but at this moment, it made her feel uncomfortable.

She frowned and asked, "Were you with a woman?"

She remembered that the Green Team had no women, and Yan Hebi had previously mentioned that a lady from here had invited him to play.

Yan Hebi replied, "Yes, I ran into Mrs. Lin in the restroom just now. She helped me adjust my tie."

Ning Xinyao rolled her eyes. How exactly does one adjust a tie in a way that leaves a mark on the shirt collar? Yan Hebi had also washed his face, and his hair was still damp. Going to the restroom only required washing hands—what did he do that required washing his face?

After spending a long time in the game world, Ning Xinyao had gradually realized that men, once freed from constraints, could do anything. She didn’t like indulgence and wouldn’t engage in relationships with male teammates, but many men didn’t care and would do anything. She got along well with Yan Hebi because, although he was a bit of a "central air conditioner" (NT: someone who is kind to everyone), in this game world, he only helped women without taking advantage of them.

But now, Yan Hebi seemed to be using the game as an opportunity to take advantage of NPCs. What a scoundrel.

Then again, taking advantage of players could lead to trouble if they met in other worlds. NPCs were different—once the game ended, they could just leave without any responsibility.

Even Yan Hebi had become like this.

Ning Xinyao had initially felt a bit guilty about trying to extract information from Yan Hebi, but now she felt no remorse at all.

She moved past the topic and continued to coax Yan Hebi. Yan Hebi deliberately avoided her questions a few times, but seeing that Ning Xinyao kept pressing, he finally realized that this teammate was truly different from before.

He forced a bitter smile and said, "Xing Ye is indeed a following Fate player, and his initial skill is very powerful. Ordinary people can’t harm him. In this world, his initial skill is especially effective. Whether he loses or wins money, he remains invincible."

"How so?" Ning Xinyao asked nervously.

Yan Hebi explained, "Xing Ye has two initial skills: 'Lose Everything' and 'Love Money Like Life.' 'Lose Everything' is an absolute defence ability obtained by sacrificing all his QR codes. That’s why, at the beginning when everyone exchanged points for chips, he chose QR codes instead. For him, QR codes can sometimes be a burden, and now, in a world where he can use his initial skill without losing QR codes, it’s incredibly convenient for him.

The second skill, 'Love Money Like Life,' is even more powerful. It’s both offensive and defensive, with two modes of use. One is 'You want my money, I want your life,' which allows him to attack by giving money. In the world I encountered him, he was a wealthy man who always carried large amounts of cash. Our world was very difficult—we had to fight terrifying parasitic monsters, like the giant octopus from the movie Deep Rising. I thought we were all going to die, but then Xing Ye started throwing money at the octopus—ten thousand at a time. Each time he threw money, the octopus was injured. Finally, he threw a bank card that supposedly had tens of millions on it. After the octopus melted the card, it died instantly. Xing Ye said that the more money he gives to his opponent, the more deadly the effect."

Ning Xinyao was stunned. She had never heard of such a skill before. "So his attack power is incredibly strong?” As a following Fate player, if he became rich in every world, he could just throw money to kill people? And completely unsuspected?

"Let’s say, if I were to gamble with him in a casino and win too much money from him, would I die?"

Yan Hebi nodded guiltily. "Yes, he’s that powerful. When he entered the casino world, he said this was probably the most suitable world for him—whether he wins or loses, it’s advantageous. If someone gambles with him and wins too much money, they might just drop dead, and the system wouldn’t be able to trace it back to him.”

"This is our team’s secret. I’m telling you because I’m worried about your safety. You mustn’t tell the Red Team!"

Yan Hebi remembered Xing Ye’s instructions and blushed, but he bravely grabbed Ning Xinyao’s hand and gave it a few pats.

Xing Ye had said that when revealing this information to Ning Xinyao, Yan Hebi had to make some moves to take advantage of her. Only then would she believe he was telling the truth.

"Oh my!" Ning Xinyao resisted the urge to pull her hand back and let Yan Hebi continue patting it. "So he’s in his element in this casino?"

"Exactly," Yan Hebi said, patting her hand a few more times. "Otherwise, do you think I’d willingly lose all my points to him? I didn’t dare not lose. If he lost to me while using his initial skill, it would be a disaster."

Ning Xinyao’s skin crawled as Yan Hebi kept touching her hand. Combined with the scent of perfume, Yan Hebi’s once-clean face now seemed greasy in her eyes.

She asked, "Oh no, what if I win money from him while gambling? You know my luck is really good."

Yan Hebi, suppressing his discomfort, placed his hand on Ning Xinyao’s thigh and blinked. "Actually, his ability has a weakness. 'Love Money Like Life' is a double-edged sword. Of course, I have a way to protect myself."

"How could you…" Ning Xinyao slapped Yan Hebi’s hand away angrily. "After all the worlds we’ve been through together, show some respect!"

Yan Hebi stammered, "Respect? If it weren’t for you being so pretty, why would I bother with you? You’ve been bossing us around because of your looks too, haven’t you? Sit on my lap, and I’ll tell you his weakness."

Yan Hebi didn’t want to do this, but Xing Ye had said that if he revealed the weakness too easily, Shao Lin wouldn’t believe it. Ning Xinyao had to suffer a bit first.

Ning Xinyao’s eyes turned red as she bit her lower lip and glared at Yan Hebi. Yan Hebi wiped his face and blurted out, "Stop pretending! It’s not even your real body. I’m so handsome—it’s not like you’re losing out!"

He really wasn’t suited for this kind of acting—his tongue was practically tied in knots.

But Ning Xinyao was also furious at this point and didn’t notice Yan Hebi’s poor acting. She decided to go all out and sat directly on Yan Hebi’s lap, even planting a kiss on his cheek. In a soft voice, she said, “Is this enough now?”

Yan Hebi: “…”

He hadn’t expected Ning Xinyao to go this far!

Yan Hebi couldn’t stand this atmosphere any longer and quickly said, “The weakness of ‘Love Money Like Life’ is that if he activates his initial skill but fails to give away the money and instead receives money from the opponent, Xing Ye will suffer backlash. The more money he receives, the heavier the backlash, and it could even kill him.”

“So that’s how it is,” Ning Xinyao said thoughtfully. “You’ve told me so much for my sake. You mustn’t let Xing Ye know you’ve shared this with me.”

“Hmph,” Yan Hebi said, pulling out his room key card. “Then it depends on your performance tonight.”

Ning Xinyao: “…”

She forced a smile and took the key card, saying, “I understand. Wait for me tonight.”

With that, she stormed off, nearly twisting her ankle in the process.

After Ning Xinyao left, Yan Hebi sat in his chair, feeling as though his heart had been hollowed out. He felt like he had lost something very important and was deeply saddened.

He had no mood to go back and play pool with Mrs. Lin. Instead, he asked a waiter to bring him two bottles of wine and began drinking alone.

As he drifted in and out of consciousness, he felt someone soft supporting him. The person tugged at his tie and asked, “Why aren’t you using the tie pin I gave you?”

Yan Hebi didn’t know what he said in response before he passed out.

*

When Ning Xinyao returned to the Red Team’s gathering spot, she thought about what had just happened and let out a disgusted “ugh,” feeling nauseated.

Shao Lin and the other three players approached her. Seeing her in this state, her arms red from scrubbing, they couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong? Did Yan Hebi not tell you anything? Well, even if he was a former teammate, now that he’s not on your team, he’d naturally be wary of you. Let’s just call off our deal.”

“Who said anything about calling off the deal?!” Ning screamed. “I worked so hard, even selling myself, to get this information! You have to give me the points and QR codes! I should’ve asked for more in the first place!”

“Oh?” Shao Lin smiled faintly. “So you succeeded. But…”

Ning Xinyao had spent three to four hours looking for Yan Hebi, being stopped by the waiter, waiting for him to come out, and probing for information. In the eyes of the Red Team members, extracting information shouldn’t have taken that long. They assumed she had done everything necessary during that time.

Lu Qi muttered, “Always acting so high and mighty, but in the end…”

“Shut your filthy mouth!” Ning Xinyao cut him off, not wanting to discuss the topic with these men. She then relayed what Yan Hebi had told her about Xing Ye’s initial skill.

Shao Lin, being cautious by nature, was skeptical. “A skill like that really exists? That’s quite extraordinary.”

“If you don’t believe me, go ask him yourself!” Ning Xinyao snapped. “You’d better take care of Xing Ye tonight, or else I’ll have to go back to Yan Hebi… I’m out here risking my life, and you all just sit back and reap the benefits.”

With that, she stood up and said, “I’m going to take a shower.”

After Ning Xinyao left, Shao Lin pondered, “If what she found out is true, it’s worth a try. But if it’s fake…”

“We can just test it,” Lu Qi said. “Win a little money from him and see if he gets hurt. That’ll confirm whether the skill is real or not.”

“Then who’s going to test it?” Shao Lin raised an eyebrow. “Ning Xinyao definitely won’t agree to do it again.”

Lu Qi and Shao Lin turned their gaze to Lin Si, who shook his head repeatedly. “Why should I go? I don’t have any tricks to cheat! How am I supposed to win against Xing Ye? And I’ll get hurt!”

“Don’t worry,” Shao Lin said. “I have a way to lower Xing Ye’s luck. You just need to play a luck-based game with him. Don’t gamble too much—keep it within ten chips.”

In another room far away, Xing Ye was watching a projection. “Yan Hebi did well. Now it’s time to put on a show for them and figure out how Shao Lin could lower Liu Yi’s luck.”

 

Translator : DarNan