Chapter 218 - 217: Not a Big Problem

Chapter 218: Chapter 217: Not a Big Problem

Late at night, three people sat on a rooftop, bored out of their minds.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Li Qing glanced down at his phone and saw that it was already past midnight. Seeing no reaction from Huangfu Miaomiao’s side, he immediately stood up.

"Let’s go. To the next location," he said.

Huangfu Miaomiao got up lazily. "Shouldn’t we give Feng Ling a call? It’s been four hours. No matter what she was eating, she should be done by now..."

Li Qing, who understood social etiquette a bit better than she did, said, "They’re surely catching up while eating. It’s rare for her to see a friend. I don’t think we should call."

Huangfu Miaomiao shot him a sidelong glance. "Hmph. As if you’re so considerate."

Li Qing replied stiffly, "Since we’ve decided to cooperate with Feng Ling, I will do my best to shoulder my share of the responsibility. We’re a team now. We should divide the work, not dump everything on Feng Ling."

"What are you trying to say?" Huangfu Miaomiao was deeply displeased. "Are you saying I’m dragging Feng Ling down?"

Li Qing frowned and looked at Huangfu Miaomiao. "Of course that’s not what I meant. You’ve contributed to the search for the Maze. Without a player accepting the Maze quest, humans can’t open a Maze through normal means."

Holding the birdcage in one hand and placing the other on her hip, Huangfu Miaomiao said, thoroughly annoyed, "I want to call Feng Ling not because I want to dump everything on her, but because I’m worried about her. We haven’t heard from her in four hours. Aren’t you worried something might have happened to her?"

Li Qing’s mouth twitched. ’It would be difficult to find anyone in this city who could pose a threat to Feng Ling,’ he thought. ’If I had to name one, it would probably only be Ye Zheng.’

"There are twenty-four hours in a day. It’s only been four hours without contact..." Li Qing muttered under his breath. "Being together every single moment... that’s suffocating in itself."

Huangfu Miaomiao was furious. Standing on the rooftop, she yelled, "Feng Ling wouldn’t feel suffocated! You don’t know her at all! You’re talking nonsense!"

Seeing that the two were about to start a real fight, Xu Yiming, despite feeling awkward, resolutely stepped in to mediate. "Um... shouldn’t we head to the next location? If we find the Maze entrance sooner, Feng Ling will be happy when she gets back."

Her face full of indignation, Huangfu Miaomiao suppressed her anger and stomped down the stairs, feeling deeply wronged.

’I just wanted to call Feng Ling,’ she thought. ’What gives you the right to say I’m pressuring her? What gives you the right to say I’m suffocating her? What gives you the right?! I was the one who met Feng Ling first!’

Administrators were always high and mighty, and a lower-class citizen like her never had a chance to interact with them. So when she first met Li Qing, she only found it novel.

But who would have known that this Daoist would start following her and Feng Ling, not only becoming their partner but also outshining her at every turn. She really couldn’t help but hate him.

She also hated herself—hated that even though she knew Li Qing could help Feng Ling, she still couldn’t control her dislike for him.

The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt, and her eyes reddened.

Huangfu Miaomiao strode forward resentfully, raising a hand to wipe away her tears.

She was walking so fast that the Crow in the cage grew dizzy from the shaking and started cawing.

"Stop that!" Huangfu Miaomiao warned the Crow fiercely. "If you attract any players, you’re dead meat!"

From the street corner ahead came a young woman’s sigh. "After so many players died, they’d have to be pretty heartless to still dare to show up..."

"Feng Ling!" Huangfu Miaomiao’s face lit up, and she ran over happily, lifting the birdcage.

The Crow in the birdcage: "CAAAW!—"

Feng Ling walked unhurriedly under a streetlight, smiling as she watched Huangfu Miaomiao run all the way to her.

"Aside from those lunatics in the Star Association, most Alien Species cherish their lives. Besides, didn’t you two assimilate new Cards? You need to be more confident~" Feng Ling said.

Last night, she and Ye Zheng had killed many Alien Species, yielding a rough estimate of over sixty Cards. On Li Qing’s advice, Xu Yiming had assimilated an antelope Card, and Huangfu Miaomiao had assimilated a Chameleon Card.

Therefore, Feng Ling wasn’t actually that worried about the two of them.

This was especially true for Huangfu Miaomiao. Feng Ling believed Little Skeleton’s biggest problem right now was her habit of seeing herself as a weakling. No matter the situation, she would instinctively cast herself in the role of the victim, failing to realize she was already stronger than most players.

Huangfu Miaomiao immediately felt at ease once she was by Feng Ling’s side.

She said, "Our Cards might be good for escaping, but we still have the Daoist with us. He’s definitely no match for players on his own."

Feng Ling chuckled. "Who told you to run? You both have a speed advantage. You could totally kill the Alien Species, and it’s not too late to run if you find you can’t."

As Feng Ling spoke, her gaze fell on the Crow in the birdcage. She continued, "However, you must ensure the Maze Administrator’s safety. After all, if it dies, the Maze will contaminate this city."

Huangfu Miaomiao felt a pang of jealousy and muttered under her breath, "Then I can only look after the Crow. I can’t look after the Daoist."

Hearing this, Feng Ling thought for a moment, then said, "If you can’t, you can’t. It’s not a big deal."

Huangfu Miaomiao’s eyes instantly lit up. She looked up at Feng Ling. "...Not a... big deal?"

"Mhm." Feng Ling nodded.

In her view, the Maze Li Qing had been responsible for no longer existed. If he suddenly died, it wouldn’t have any major consequences. At most, it would make her search for the Maze a little less convenient, but that was something human technology might be able to solve in the future.

Besides, Li Qing was a free agent now. Since he no longer needed to watch over a Maze, he could log off at any time.

So, if he encountered an emergency, couldn’t he just log off?

Of course, Huangfu Miaomiao had no idea what was going through Feng Ling’s mind. She was already over the moon, feeling like she had finally one-upped Li Qing! ’Oh yeah~ I’m so happy!’

Behind Huangfu Miaomiao, Xu Yiming and Li Qing arrived one after the other.

When Xu Yiming saw Feng Ling, a relieved smile appeared on his face. "You took a long time with that meal. Was it a friend you hadn’t seen in a while?"

"Yeah, we hadn’t seen each other in over ten years," Feng Ling said with a small smile. "I never expected to run into him here. Fate is a funny thing. So we talked for a bit longer. What about you guys? Find anything?"

Li Qing slowly shook his head. "The entrance should be in this area, but we haven’t figured out the specific timing yet."

Feng Ling asked him, "Could we have already missed the window for the Maze to open?"

Li Qing furrowed his brow and thought it over seriously. "I don’t think so. The period during the day when a Maze can be opened wouldn’t be just a few short minutes. It should be a relatively long interval..."

"Forget it. Let’s keep looking." Feng Ling glanced around and asked them, "Where to next?"

"The intersection up ahead," Xu Yiming replied. "Intersection, rooftop, back alley. We’ve just been rotating between these three spots."

Feng Ling nodded and headed for the intersection.

Huangfu Miaomiao, Li Qing, and Xu Yiming immediately followed.

Perhaps it was just Feng Ling’s good luck tonight, but just as she led the others to the intersection, a large golden exclamation mark appeared above the Crow’s head.