The ’Secret Cultivator’ organized her thoughts internally and said, "My game character’s attitude toward going to the third floor to seek the ’Taboo Treasure’ has been far too urgent—so urgent it’s abnormal, so urgent it’s incomprehensible."
Yang Qizhou frowned slightly and said in a deep voice,
"Your game character has been pursuing the ’Taboo Treasure’ for quite some time now. With the treasure so close at hand and considering it involves secrets related to divinity, showing a bit of urgency is quite logical."
For this reason, his own game character hadn’t found the ’Secret Cultivator’s’ continuous urging to be abnormal.
Yang Qizhou mentally added this thought.
"That’s correct, Lord ’lamp holder,’ the treasure is within arm’s reach, and it might even hide the secret to becoming a god. It’s only natural for a game character to express some impatience. But..." As the ’Secret Cultivator’ spoke, she paused, her brows knitting tighter than before. After breathing deeply for two seconds, she continued,
"But I understand my game character. Even if she were desperate, no matter how badly she wanted the ’Taboo Treasure,’ she would never act so recklessly, so impatiently as to repeatedly prod ."
This woman seemed rather resolute.
Yang Qizhou had already pieced together a general assumption in his mind; whether for the sake of dark humor or other motivations, he retorted, "We players can’t control the direction of the plot, and you aren’t the game character. How can you be so certain..."
This time, the ’Secret Cultivator’ didn’t hesitate a bit and replied without doubt,
"Because I know with absolute clarity: if your game character truly wanted to go to the third floor to search for the ’Taboo Treasure,’ there would be no need for my game character to urge at all—he would move immediately. Conversely, if your game character had already made up his mind to explore potential secrets on the second floor, no matter how many times my game character spoke, it wouldn’t alter your game character’s decision. It might even risk tearing our relationship apart."
"So if I were the game character, I would never act so irrationally."
"Lord lamp holder, I trust you can understand what I’m trying to say."
If the ’Secret Cultivator’ herself were the game character, she would never choose to be so pushy... really?
Yang Qizhou stood up and said, "Sorry, my urges to use the restroom are acting up today. I’ll step out for a moment."
Very soon, Yang Qizhou arrived at the restroom again. He reached his hand into the void, tugging out a small white fleshy orb. The large eye on it blinked energetically before it suddenly perked up and chirped cheerfully, "Daddy, Daddy! And you claimed this isn’t your divine kingdom..."
Goddamn divine kingdom.
Yang Qizhou resisted the urge to let his lips twitch and said with a straight face, "Let’s play a game, okay? In a moment, you’ll just tell Daddy one thing—say that the big sister nearby isn’t acting normal."
"Huh? What kind of boring game is that? ...But if it’s with Daddy, I don’t mind." The little white creature lazily rolled over.
After making the arrangements, Yang Qizhou quickly sent the palm-sized little flesh ball back to the game layer. With an unabated grin on his face, he walked out of the restroom relaxed, sat back at his original spot, and said,
"The ’Taboo Treasure’ is just within our reach. Let’s continue the game."
The lamp holder no longer looked as overly serious as before. Was it because he now had a method to handle the crisis and had made the necessary preparations? The ’Secret Cultivator’ stared quietly ahead, exhaled faintly, and said,
"You didn’t think there was anything unusual about the ’Secret Cultivator’—you merely chalked it up to her excitement about being so close to the ’Taboo Treasure,’ unable to suppress her enthusiasm."
"It was at this moment that Big White’s voice tickled your ear... Daddy, Daddy, the woman next to you isn’t right. Hmph, this game is boring... huh? Uh-oh, Mom’s calling me. I’m off to sleep now."
"The ’Secret Cultivator’ isn’t right?"
"Your mind immediately sharpened with alertness, though your expression betrayed nothing out of the ordinary. Facing her impatient and slightly twisted smile, you naturally gave a simple nod... ’It’s fine. Let’s go, let’s head up to the third floor.’"
"Soon, you both ventured deeper into the dim corridor."
"Along the way, the ’Secret Cultivator’s’ voice filled with anticipation. ’We’re finally about to find the ’Taboo Treasure.’ Lord Dark Crow of Profane Fortune, do you know how many sacrifices I’ve had to make for this day? I’ve died nearly a hundred times.’"
"’I couldn’t care less about your resurrection escapades back in the ’Land of Prayer Light.’"
"You muttered internally, brushing her comment off carelessly."
"Inside the confined space, the passage of time seemed to slow, as though a minute stretched to ten, or perhaps half an hour. You couldn’t tell how long had passed, but at last, you spotted a staircase leading to the third floor."
"During this journey, you continuously observed the ’Secret Cultivator’s’ expressions, looking for the faintest trace of abnormality."
"But something struck you as bizarre..."
"The ’Secret Cultivator’ exhibited no suspicious behavior. Her personality seemed normal, her thoughts clear, her actions rational. If not for the earlier strange bouts of urging and Big White’s warning, you might have dismissed your suspicions as overthinking."
"Could it be that Big White was mistaken?"
"Was it possible there was truly nothing wrong with the ’Secret Cultivator,’ and her persistent urging was simply the result of excitement over the imminent discovery of the ’Taboo Treasure’?"
"As this thought drifted through your mind, the two of you arrived before the staircase."
"According to the ’God of Justice’s’ revelation, all you had to do now was ascend these steps to the third floor. There, the legendary Taboo Treasure awaited."