VCRMM: Chapter 179

As the Black Valley was boiled, a faint aroma of food gradually permeated the tree hole.

Xu Fengqing frowned slightly.

He was worried about attracting interstellar beasts, so he turned into a shadow again and left the ‘tent’ held up by the shadows.

From the outside, only the darkness of the tree hole could be seen. Not even a trace of the fire had leaked out.

Xu Fengqing’s brow relaxed when he found that the scent of the Black Valley hadn’t drifted out. He was just about to go back again when he glimpsed something out of the corner of his eye.

He turned his head and looked into the distance. Through the gap in the mottled leaves, he could see a beam of light rising from the sky. Judging from the direction, it should be the place where the interstellar beast riot happened during the day.

Xu Fengqing frowned again. He lay on the ground and listened to the movement. The violent vibration had subsided a lot, but he could still hear it.

So what happened over there?

Xu Fengqing got up and stared into the distance.

Perhaps when Ah Xe recovered, they could go over to take a look. After all, it was the same jungle and Ah Xe’s companions might also go to check. The probability of encountering them was much greater.

Ah Xe should be safe with his companions around, right?

At that time, he would be able to retire, return this special game cabin to the R&D center, replace it with an ordinary one and then…

Go meet Snow Roland.

Even if ‘he’ was created from the prototype of Xiao Li, even if the game team designed various details for ‘him’ to make ‘him’ look like Xiao Li, Xu Fengqing always felt that it was impossible to be completely consistent.

This sense of discord would definitely make people ‘emerge from the act’. It was just… Ah Heng’s attitude made him feel strange.

Was it Ah Heng who deceived himself to this point or was Snow Roland really…

Xu Fengqing paused and shook his head to drive this absurd idea out of his mind.

How could such a thing happen in the world?

Transmigration and rebirth? It was ridiculous.

Xu Fengqing retracted his gaze.

In any case, he would know the precise situation when the time came.

He returned to the shadow tent.

The aroma of the Black Valley porridge became more and more intense, filling the narrow tree hole.

Obviously, it was just the simplest ingredients and was made using the most primitive and simple cooking method, but it made him feel a bit hungry.

The nutrient solution provided in the game cabin would solve his physical needs, so this was purely psychological.

Xu Fengqing was thinking like this when he encountered the difficulty of taking the Black Valley porridge off the fire.

He thought for a moment before carefully manipulating the shadow. He turned it into a cover to temporarily isolate the flames before quickly bringing down the porridge and putting it aside to cool.

At this time, the flames broke through his shadow shield and filled the small space with warmth again.

Xu Fengqing’s fingers were still red from the heat. It was just that due to his sense of realism being lowered, it didn’t hurt very much. Only a -10 damage value appeared above his head.

He didn’t care. He looked at the bowl of porridge and hesitated for a moment. Then he took another piece of firewood and picked up a dagger to cut the firewood.

This dagger belonged to Ah Xe.

The man had held it in his hand when Xu Fengqing carried him out of the underground cave. Later, Xu Fengqing used it.

The longer he stayed in the game, the more Xu Fengqing could feel the reality of the game.

Almost every detail was done too well. If it wasn’t for the game interface that always existed in the air, he really would’ve felt like he had entered a different world.

He was also more and more able to understand why Ah Heng and the two Yin families had almost blind confidence in Starry Sky Age.

Xu Fengqing looked focused, as if he was completing some great work.

The flames burned quietly while the silver-haired man leaned against him and slept peacefully. The atmosphere of the tree hole was temporarily distinguished from the dangerous jungle, and there was a rare peace.

Finally, the outline of a wooden spoon gradually took shape.

Xu Fengqing’s carpentry skills were average but he was patient. By the time the porridge cooled down and slightly solidified, he finally completed the last process.

Roar!

The roar of an unknown interstellar beast was suddenly heard. Xu Fengqing made the wrong move and the sharp blade of the dagger cut his finger. Blood suddenly flowed out.

-58.

A damage value appeared above his head. At the same time, there was a bleeding debuff in the upper right corner.

Xu Fengqing frowned. He instinctively pulled a cloth to wrap around his finger and looked cautiously in the direction of the roar.

There were animals running quickly outside and occasional screaming. It was obvious that a chase was happening in the jungle.

It was much more dangerous at night compared to during the day.

After a while, the commotion outside subsided and Xu Fengqing sighed with relief.

The wound on his finger also stopped bleeding. It was only then that he realized the cloth he used to stop the bleeding…

Came from Ah Xe’s clothes.

He just tore a piece to use as a cloth and now it looked even more ruined.

“……”

Xu Fengqing glanced over with some embarrassment.

Seeing that Xenos was still sleeping with his eyes closed, he was slightly relieved. He carefully unwrapped the hem of the clothes from his finger and picked up the bowl of cooled porridge.

It was just that the sleeping man didn’t cooperate. He raised a spoonful of porridge to his mouth but didn’t see the man open his mouth for a long time.

Xu Fengqing pursed his lips in distress.

He knew in his heart that this person was an NPC and might not need to eat, but…

Looking at the sunken cheeks, he couldn’t help wondering if Ah Xe would starve to death before dying of illness.

He had to put down the bowl and wrap his arms around Ah Xe. He let Ah Xe lean in his arms, pinched his chin with one hand and spooned the porridge with the other hand to feed him.

After a few bites, it was easier to handle.

He didn’t need to force it any longer. The man started to swallow instinctively as soon as the porridge was fed to his mouth.

Black Valley could restore energy and health. It should have a tonic effect and was very suitable for patients to eat.

After feeding the man half a bowl, Xu Fengqing thought of something. He touched the man’s stomach and found that the lower abdomen, which should’ve been flat, was slightly bulging.

He was speechless.

This appetite… was too small. His family’s Chenxi ate more than this.

Xu Fengqing shook his head. He thought it was either a detail that the game team hadn’t done well or… the NPC had a miserable life before.

He stopped feeding the porridge and drank the remaining half a bowl himself in a few sips to replenish his declining stamina. Then he leaned against the tree trunk and closed his eyes.

Xu Fengqing was ready to deal with it all night like this.

It was impossible to go offline. He would probably have to stay in the game until Ah Xe recovered. Otherwise, leaving Ah Xe behind would probably be no different from murder.

Xu Fengqing thought of this and couldn’t help sighing. His heart became more and more worried. After seeing Snow Roland, could he really distinguish between virtual and reality?

He couldn’t figure out the answer at this moment.

Finally, he simply closed his eyes.

Theoretically, players didn’t need to sleep in the game. It was just that after a period of continuous online activity, the concentration would be reduced and the speed of physical decline would increase.

At that time, the negative state could be eliminated through medicine or sleep.

Of course, Xu Fengqing didn’t completely sleep.

In such a dangerous wilderness, he didn’t dare to completely relax his vigilance even if there was the shadow to cover them.

Half awake and half asleep, he spent the night safely in the tree hole. It wasn’t comfortable, but at least it wasn’t as hard as when he fled the previous night.

The fire was dying out and the night was cold. They huddled together, drawing warmth from each other’s body heat.

The ‘shadow tent’ created by Xu Fengqing also slowly dissipated with time.

Finally, a ray of morning light penetrated through the cracks in the tree trunks and fell on Xenos’ face.

Compared with yesterday’s weakness, paleness and abnormal flush, his complexion had finally regained a trace of health.

At this time, light-colored eyelashes trembled slightly. Xenos opened his eyes under this dazzling sunlight.

There was a bit of bewilderment in them but he soon came to his senses.

He couldn’t help being stunned when he saw the scene in front of him.

The gap in the tree trunk wasn’t big but it allowed him to see the blue sky, the morning dew condensed on the leaves and…

The sunlight that shone directly on his face.

His eyes hurt from the sun but he stared at everything in front of him. He felt the breeze blowing in and seemed a bit greedy.

Xenos couldn’t remember how long it had been since he went outside. Every day in the underground remained the same. There was only the darkness, coldness and humidity day after day, and… the hopelessness of despair.

He never thought he would be able to come out one day.

Since he couldn’t move his legs and lost an arm, leaving the cave was looking for death or adding chaos to the group whose living conditions were already difficult.

So he never asked to go out.

He refused even when Silin occasionally asked if he wanted her to take him out on a walk.

Silin was his dearest sister. How could he put her in danger for such an unnecessary trifle?

However, he really wanted to… he would love to…

Take another look at the outside world.

It was beautiful.

He silently stretched out his only palm to catch the bright morning light. There was pious joy, as if looking at a holy object.

Xenos’ hand was white and his fingersshone white in the daylight.

His face, which had been worn out and lifeless, now had a smile that was as simple as a child’s smile.

It wasn’t until the man behind him hummed unknowingly in his sleep and the warm breath fell on top of Xenos’ slightly cool hair that Xenos’ mind returned.

He remembered the man with black hair and black eyes.

Xenos turned his head slightly. He saw the black-haired man, who suddenly appeared in the underground cave, leaning against the tree trunk and sleeping with closed eyes. One knee was bent and the other arm was weakly wrapped around his waist.

He was protected between the man’s arm and bent right leg. He leaned against the man’s arms and was covered with a coat that didn’t belong to him.

Some intermittent scenes gradually came to mind.

It turned out that these fuzzy images weren’t dreams. It was indeed the mysterious man who rescued him, placed him in the tree hole and took care of him for one night.

Many doubts appeared in his heart, but seeing the obvious tiredness on the man’s face, Xenos kept quiet.

He withdrew his gaze and continued to lie motionless in the man’s arms. He hadn’t fully recovered, but at least he was much stronger than the state where he could die at any moment yesterday.

Xenos quietly released his spiritual power.

Despite his strength of two and a half stars, his current spiritual power could only detect movements within a radius of ten meters, but it was enough for now.

He was wary. Then his eyes suddenly moved and fell on the man’s right hand on his knee. To be precise, it was the wound on the index finger of the right hand that hadn’t fully healed.

This injury should’ve happened not long ago. The blood seemed to have not completely coagulated.

Xenos thought about it. Then he reached out his slender left hand and gently held the man’s finger.

It lit up with a faint blue light.

His magic power had only slightly recovered but it was no problem to heal such a small injury.

Xu Fengqing’s sleep was very light. Once his finger was held, he suddenly opened his eyes and saw this scene.

The wound on his finger healed quickly and the bleeding debuff on his status bar disappeared with it.

He watched the miraculous magic in a motionless manner until he received a notification in his ear, alerting him that an external call was requesting access.

TL Note: Maybe some people have already sensed hints of it, but yes, this is one of three side CPs that the author will expand upon in the extras.

The three CPS are: Su Mo x Chi Yu, Chamo x September and Xu Fengqing x Xenos (Eldest Brother CP).

They will occasionally show up in the main story, just like Su Mo and Chi Yu so far, but the main focus on their relationships will be in the extras, for those who don’t like side CPs.

Proofreader: Purichan