Chapter 39: Where It All Began—and Ends

“Just now… did you see that guy’s face?”

A young man beside Lou Chen spoke teasingly.

The blue jacket he was wearing was completely soaked in blood, to the point of turning pure black.

He exuded an unpleasant smell of blood.

Lou Chen subtly frowned and moved a bit to the other side.

This was a temporary resting place.

Lou Chen and he were merely temporary partners.

In the completely dark environment, Lou Chen pulled bandages from the other’s backpack and wrapped them around his hand, tightening them around the bleeding wound.

He listened absentmindedly as the young man continued talking.

The latter completely failed to realize he was being looked down upon.

“He probably can’t believe we left him behind.

But then again, he was the slowest runner.

Serves him right for getting eaten.”

“It looks like we’re the only ones who got out of the instance, right?”

He laughed gleefully, still immersed in* the thrill of having just pushed someone off the edge of the instance.

He completely failed to notice that Lou Chen had already found what he wanted from his backpack.

He took out the items one by one: bandages, medicine, a handy dagger…

After talking for who knows how long, the young man finally realized that Lou Chen had not responded to a single word he had said.

Instead, he had unconsciously let him empty out his entire backpack.

The backpack was now deflated, obviously taken away by the other.

“What are you doing!”

He hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed the backpack straps, pulled it into his chest, both shocked and frightened.

A roll of bandages slipped out due to his sudden movement and rolled a few times on the ground, leaving a long white trail.

Lou Chen gave him a cold glance, bent down, and slowly picked up the bandage.

“What do you mean by this?

Speak!”

The young man yelled, his tone very rude.

“Give me back my things!”

“You won’t be needing them.”

“What?!”

“I saw you kick him.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have tripped.

I could have turned back to save you.

You didn’t need to use someone else as your stepping stone.”

Lou Chen looked up, sighed, and showed a very helpless expression.

But there was a trace of deeply hidden, almost contemptuous regret in his tone.

“I know, you’re Lou Chen.

I’d heard your name even before I partnered with you.”

Hearing this, the young man was unimpressed, even thinking Lou Chen was making a fuss.

“I just thought it would be more interesting.

I could tell that after he heard your name, he kept bothering you throughout the whole instance.

Obviously, if he got out, he would definitely follow you around.

Don’t you find that annoying?

I was helping you.”

Lou Chen gave him a flat look.

“I don’t like my partners doing things like this.

So we’re done.

Understand?”

His tone was not aggressive, even a bit gentle, but his words left no room for negotiation.

As his words fell, the young man heard the cold, mechanical system sound in his ear: [Your team has been disbanded]

“What are you talking about?”

He watched in disbelief as Lou Chen turned away.

His movements were so decisive, catching him off guard.

He had heard the talk of those around him.

Everyone’s evaluation of Lou Chen was very consistent—he was an easygoing, relatively approachable big shot.

With him on your team, you were safe.

In instances, although he would save people who got into trouble in front of him, he wouldn’t waste time specifically rescuing them.

He hadn’t expected Lou Chen to have a moral conscience.

But it was obviously impossible to stop him with force.

He silently cursed, wishing he could pry open Lou Chen’s skull.

But he was also one of those clinging to the strong.

He couldn’t just let him go find another partner.

So, the young man racked his brains, trying to recall what Lou Chen had just said.

“Wait—what did you mean by ‘you won’t be needing them’?”

Lou Chen turned around, his face expressionless.

The young man flushed red: “You took all my medicine and bandages!

They were wrong about you.

You have no sense of responsibility!”

Lou Chen stared at him for a while.

As if reminded by the young man, he suddenly remembered there was one more thing he hadn’t done.

Without warning, he raised his hand and pushed the young man’s shoulder, who had no idea what was happening.

It was just a light shove, like between friends.

But the next moment, the ground suddenly split open with a terrifying crack.

Scarlet, terrifying tongues of flame eagerly squeezed through the crack, like hellfire swallowing the young man’s screams along with him.

“No.”

Lou Chen frowned. “We’re not out of the instance yet.”

He turned around, leaving the flames behind him.

He stepped through a white barrier that appeared out of nowhere.

It was like a film of water that pressed over his face and then broke.

The sounds in his ears went from muffled to clear.

Lou Chen closed his eyes and opened them again.

Without surprise, he was back on the first floor.

Other players immediately crowded around him.

“As expected, big shot, you made it out!”

Someone said enviously, looking him up and down.

“You’ll be on the second floor soon.

I really envy you…”

Logically, they would ask him about the instance details.

But the Land of Desire Amusement Park was a strange place.

It never had repeated instances.

Once those monsters were defeated, they would immediately disappear from the game.

The ones that didn’t die would flee to other instances.

So clearing experience was useless.

The only thing that mattered was improving your own strength.

“Where’s your teammate?”

Lou Chen didn’t answer.

He sidestepped and walked past everyone.

“He doesn’t have a teammate anymore.”

“This is an opportunity…”

Behind him, the whispering wasn’t even hidden, carrying a hint of expectation.

Lou Chen actually didn’t need a teammate.

But the rules of the Land of Desire Amusement Park had suddenly changed a few days ago.

It was said that many instances required two people to get points…

It was as if they were deliberately making things difficult for them.

Personally, he didn’t care.

No matter who partnered with him, as long as they didn’t get in the way or disrupt his plans, it was fine.

But unfortunately such people were rare.

Most people, after going through a few instances with him, would suddenly think their relationship had become close.

Then they would arrogantly make some wrong judgments.

Although Lou Chen had no interest in saving everyone, he couldn’t tolerate someone killing others right in front of him.

Even stranger, Lou Chen could keenly notice that these past few days, whether he was in an instance or not, there was a lingering gaze on him.

It seemed to be scrutinizing him.

But when he turned to where the gaze was coming from, he found nothing but empty space.

What could it be…

Lou Chen couldn’t determine the truth.

Just now, for example, he could feel that when he killed his former partner, that gaze became clearer and stronger.

It seemed satisfied with what it saw, becoming more interested in Lou Chen, to the point where it no longer tried so hard to conceal its presence like before.

Anyway, now he had to find a new partner.

Lou Chen needed to pass the first floor quickly… no, actually all seven floors.

That was his goal.

Although he had never heard of any player achieving it, in his brief eighteen years of life, he had never encountered anything he couldn’t accomplish.

So everything was boring to him.

Hmm…

He thought thoughtfully.

This time, he had to be careful choosing a partner.

He was already tired of changing people so often.

But he never expected that just as he said this to himself, he looked up and a figure unexpectedly caught his eye—

Obviously, the other had been watching him, not hiding his interested gaze, carrying a subtle sense of determination.

Lou Chen had never seen such a strange person before, to the point where he frowned.

First, he had the most beautiful face Lou Chen had ever seen.

If he hadn’t known a bit about the entertainment industry, he would have thought this person was some kind of famous star.

He had a very special aura, enough to make him stand out from the crowd.

And he clearly didn’t realize his own appeal, because he was just casually leaning against a wall, not noticing how many people were milling around in front of him, trying to get his attention.

Second, he was alone.

He was likely a new player.

The Land of Desire Amusement Park didn’t care about player batches.

It seemed to arbitrarily spit out newcomers.

As if it were just a chaotic trash can.

Yu Ziyu’s face didn’t have the gloomy aura that lingered on people who had been here for a long time.

Very pleasing to the eye.

Lou Chen’s gaze back was so obvious that the other had no reason to miss it.

They looked at each other for a few seconds.

Suddenly, a strange thought overrode his reason and caution.

—If he missed this person, he might never find a suitable partner again.

The gaze that had been watching him recently matched this person so well, it sparked his interest in finding out more.

By the time Lou Chen realized what he had done, he had already walked towards the other’s position.

There had been someone originally pestering him, but seeing Lou Chen approach, they retreated, not daring to complain, making room for him.

“Hello.

My name is Lou Chen.”

Lou Chen looked at the person before him and spoke the words that would upend his entire life from then on.

“…Do you have a partner?”

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