This Character is Suspected of Cheating! [Unlimited Flow]

Before Wanrenzhan could even react, he was sent flying by a vine.

The impact nearly displaced all of his internal organs. He slammed into the ground, gasping in pain.

—The Devil Vine had arrived!

Xiao Lü was furious.

He had originally stayed quietly near his roots, silently sulking while lightning flashed across the sky.

He endured it.

He waited.

He waited for He Yu to finish "playing" and come home.

But no matter how long he waited...

He Yu never returned.

So he came looking.

He was going to kill this human who had stolen his treasure!

He Yu suddenly spoke,

"Secretly love Xiao Lü."

Hearing those words, the Devil Vine froze completely.

Ever since arriving, he hadn't looked at He Yu even once.

He had kept his back toward him the entire time.

Now even his back stiffened.

He didn't move at all.

Secretly... love him?

He Yu remained expressionless, his voice as calm as ever.

"I only became his partner because it served another purpose."

"I don't like him."

"Now he's no longer useful."

"So..."

"Are you still willing to love me?"

Wanrenzhan: "???"

—How could a mouth at thirty-seven degrees say something so ice-cold?!

Xiao Lü stiffly turned around.

His watery blue eyes looked cautiously toward He Yu.

His voice was uncertain.

"Really?"

He Yu nodded.

"Really."

Xiao Lü stared at him without moving.

His eyes clearly revealed that he was wavering.

He Yu smiled faintly and extended a hand.

Xiao Lü looked at his hand.

Then at his smile.

Suddenly he shouted,

"Love!!"

The black shadow flashed.

He rushed to He Yu's side.

Unlike when he had slapped Wanrenzhan away, however, he stopped abruptly the instant he reached He Yu.

His blue eyes sparkled.

Carefully, he stretched out a hand.

The tip of a vine cautiously approached He Yu's wrist.

He Yu shifted his hand slightly aside.

Just as Xiao Lü froze...

He gently grasped the vine tip.

Xiao Lü became even more rigid.

The torrential rain stopped instantly.

The clouds parted.

Bright sunlight poured down.

Flowers bloomed everywhere in an instant.

—He held his hand!

—He held his vine tip!!

Ahhh!!

Xiao Lü screamed silently inside.

The vine tip held in He Yu's hand began growing warm.

His roots remained beneath the Life Tree.

Only a single vine had stretched over.

Now that vine instantly burst into countless little white flowers.

They bloomed flamboyantly, swaying even without wind.

He Yu said,

"Let's go back."

Holding the vine tip, he started walking.

Xiao Lü's upper body balanced atop the vine.

Now he swayed from side to side as though drunk.

Pink bubbles seemed to surround him.

His blue eyes had once again turned into shy red ones.

The vine tip He Yu held remained stiff.

Yet the rest of his body had gone completely soft.

He stayed pressed tightly against He Yu.

Although much taller than He Yu...

He stubbornly insisted on acting like a delicate little bird.

Wave after wave of flowers bloomed around him.

Was that fragrance filling the air?

No.

It was the sickeningly sweet smell of love.

[Bullet Screen: "...He's way too easy to coax!!"]

[Bullet Screen: "Pathetic, Xiao Lü! Did He Yu ever say he liked you? He only said he doesn't like Wanrenzhan!!"]

[Bullet Screen: "Forget it. I'll ship them anyway. They really are sweet."]

[Bullet Screen: "Wait... He Yu is leaving this instance... Ahhh, my ship!"]

Hand in hand...

Surrounded by pink bubbles...

Bathed in endless floral fragrance...

The man and the vine gradually disappeared into the distance.

Wanrenzhan was still lying where he'd fallen.

His internal organs felt completely out of place.

Staring blankly at the now-clear sky, he questioned his entire existence.

Did you all forget...

There was still someone here?

No.

There was still one heartbroken single man whose love had been stolen.

Wait.

Why had the Devil Vine beaten him?

Because He Yu had gone with him.

Because he'd stolen the Devil Vine's partner.

Not only had he been beaten just now...

He'd also been beaten when they left the Life Tree earlier.

If he'd really stolen He Yu...

Maybe it would've been worth it.

But He Yu had only been tricking him into revealing his secret!

Not only had He Yu turned on him without hesitation...

He'd even coldly declared he didn't like him.

He hadn't gained anything.

He'd lost a secret.

And gotten beaten twice.

What was wrong with this world?

Why was he always the one getting hurt?

The Devil Vine openly fell in love with He Yu right in front of him.

The two walked away hand in hand, sweet as could be.

Leaving the injured man lying behind.

Wanrenzhan roared,

"What the fuck did I ever do?!"

He was emotionally devastated.

[Bullet Screen: "Poor dummy, hahaha!"]

[Bullet Screen: "I'd almost believe your sympathy if you left out one of those 'haha's."]

—

By the time Wanrenzhan returned...

The Devil Vine was giving He Yu flowers.

An enormous bouquet of every imaginable flower had been tied together with vine tips and presented before He Yu.

Those watery blue eyes curved into crescents.

They saw only He Yu.

He Yu looked back at Xiao Lü.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

Wanrenzhan: "..."

Grinding his teeth, he looked away.

Tch.

What's so impressive about that?

This instance would officially end tomorrow.

No.

Technically...

It would end tonight at midnight.

They would soon leave this instance and return to the Transit Station.

As for the Devil Vine...

Heh.

He could just stay on Love Planet and wait to die.

Once humans were gone...

There'd be no one left to make him experience love.

Sooner or later...

This world would be destroyed.

Thinking that...

Wanrenzhan finally felt a little better.

He didn't approach the Life Tree.

Bo Jingshan and Zhen Xing continued cultivating beneath it.

Duan Yuchen was forging equipment.

Eugene and the others surrounded him, organizing forging materials and helping however they could.

The scene clearly resembled two opposing camps.

Naturally...

Wanrenzhan walked toward the camp he'd joined.

Everyone remained busy with their own work.

Nobody paid him any attention.

Wanrenzhan sat directly on the ground.

Impatiently, he said,

"Who's single?"

"Partner with me."

Gedai glanced at him.

Expressionlessly, he paired up with Wanrenzhan.

Then immediately returned to his work.

Lowering his voice, Wanrenzhan said,

"Help Duan Yuchen reforge my axe."

"I need higher combat power."

"Otherwise we won't be able to join forces and kill them next round!"

Eugene looked at him, frowning.

"What are you talking about?"

Wanrenzhan blinked.

"Huh?"

Looking confused, he said,

"Weren't we forming an alliance to surround and kill He Yu?"

Siya looked completely innocent.

"What are you talking about?"

"We don't understand."

Gedai sneered.

"Heh."

"So you want to kill He Yu."

"Good luck."

"We don't have that ability."

"No, I—"

Qiong interrupted him.

"Please don't spread nonsense."

Duan Yuchen looked back from his forging.

His face remained expressionless.

"Wanrenzhan."

"You can eat whatever you want."

"But you can't say whatever you want."

"What alliance?"

"There wasn't any."

"Don't try framing us."

Wanrenzhan: "..."

He froze.

Blankly staring at the group.

Very quickly...

He realized what had happened.

His eyes widened.

"You don't seriously think I betrayed you, do you?!"

"When I went out with He Yu..."

"I absolutely never told him we planned to surround him!"

Gedai replied with only one word.

"Heh."

Wanrenzhan took a deep breath.

Suppressing his anger, he insisted,

"I'm serious."

"I never mentioned that."

Siya tilted her head.

"Then what did you talk about?"

Wanrenzhan: "..."

Eugene sneered.

"Can't answer, can you?"

"Heh."

"Traitor."

"If you've got guts..."

"Don't show up in front of us next instance."

Wanrenzhan: "..."

He grabbed his own hair.

"I really didn't betray you!!"

"Heh."

Wanrenzhan couldn't explain himself no matter what he said.

Tilting his head back toward the sky, he howled,

"AHHH—!"

"WHO THE HELL DID I OFFEND?!"

[Bullet Screen: "HAHAHAHA Wanrenzhan is so miserable!"]

[Bullet Screen: "I almost feel sorry for the dummy. We know the truth, but he can't explain anything, hahaha."]

[Bullet Screen: "Surround He Yu? As the 'traitor,' he'll be the one surrounded next instance!"]

[Bullet Screen: "He's really, really pitiful."]

—

Midnight arrived.

The instance ended.

Yet no announcement sounded.

Everyone remained on Love Planet.

Nobody was transported back to the Transit Station.

The following morning at eight...

Still no announcement.

At noon...

Still nothing.

This time...

Every contestant's expression became grave.

Even Zhen Xing stood up, frowning.

"What's happening with this instance?"

Eugene narrowed his eyes.

"Thirty days are already over."

"But we still can't leave."

"This situation feels awfully familiar..."

Wanrenzhan exclaimed,

"Ghost Town?!"

The three exchanged looks.

—their previous instance, Death Countdown, had been exactly the same.

A bug had trapped them even after completing the objective.

The previous bug had been Li.

Could this instance also have a bug?

The three simultaneously looked toward He Yu.

And then toward the blue-eyed Xiao Lü standing beside him.

Xiao Lü looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"You're leaving?"

Almost instinctively...

He reached out and grasped He Yu's hand.

Turning around, those watery blue eyes stubbornly stared at He Yu.

He wanted an answer from him.

"Yes."

"We're leaving."

"But we can't get out."

"Did you do something?"

Wanrenzhan scratched his head irritably.

They definitely didn't have enough votes to remain in this instance.

Siya was equally frustrated.

"What the hell is wrong with this competition?"

"Why are there so many bugs?"

"We completed the objective."

"So why can't we leave?"

"What kind of broken thing is this?"

Gedai looked at He Yu expressionlessly.

"You seem unusually unlucky."

"Every time something like this happens."

"I suspect..."

"You're the real bug."

In the Who Is the Undercover instance...

He Yu's Frost Beast had been far more vicious than those in other arenas.

In Death Countdown...

He Yu encountered the system bug, Li, and couldn't leave after clearing the objective.

Now...

The same thing had happened again in Universal Love.

—Maybe He Yu really was the bug.

Duan Yuchen and the others also looked awful.

Only two thousand advancement spots remained.

If they were delayed too long...

Would those places all be taken?

If they died because of something like this...

They wouldn't even be able to rest in peace.

It would be too unfair.

Qiong looked toward the distance, as though staring beyond the instance itself.

"Isn't the Top Talent Show system going to give us an explanation?"

"Last time the explanation was a system bug."

"This time too?"

"The Top Talent Show is supposed to be the Federation's greatest competition."

"And yet it has this many bugs?"

"Has Mechanical Planet become incompetent at maintaining systems?"

Gedai replied flatly,

"Insult the system all you want."

"Leave Mechanical Planet out of it."

The Bullet Screen had already exploded.

[Bullet Screen: "What's going on?"]

[Bullet Screen: "Why can't they leave after clearing the objective? Why is there another system bug?"]

[Bullet Screen: "Other arenas also have Devils."]

[Bullet Screen: "Wait... something seems different? The Devils in the other arenas attacked humans on sight. Some contestants never even encountered them. Only this arena's Devil became Xiao Lü... with blue eyes!"]

[Bullet Screen: "Top Talent Show, hurry up and investigate!"]

[Bullet Screen: "Does the Top Talent Show system actually have problems? Yesterday He Yu and Wanrenzhan talked about the previous season... Oh my god, this really feels like some huge conspiracy..."]

...

Watching the endless flood of doubts...

Qiu Dao paced back and forth anxiously.

"Why is there another bug?!"

"What exactly is going on?!"

"Didn't we already investigate last time?!"

A Mechanical Planet engineer beside him wiped sweat from his forehead.

"We couldn't find anything."

"We performed a complete system scan."

"There weren't any abnormalities..."

Qiu Dao roared,

"And you call this no abnormalities?!"

At that moment—

Someone entered.

The young man's voice was mechanical and devoid of emotion.

"The King sent me."

"If it's a system bug..."

"...then it should be eliminated completely."

Qiu Dao immediately became respectful.

"Understood."

"We'll leave it to Mr. Abier."

—Abier.

One of Mechanical Planet's senior executives.

A consultant for the Top Talent Show system.

A specialist responsible for resolving all technical issues.

—

Eugene narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked toward He Yu.

"Should we use the same escape method as last instance?"

His gaze shifted toward Xiao Lü beside He Yu.

Before He Yu could answer...

The Devil Vine trembled slightly.

He stared fixedly at He Yu.

"What do you mean?"

"You really are leaving?"

"You're really going to abandon me here alone on Love Planet?"

The weather changed instantly.

Dark clouds rolled overhead.

He Yu allowed Xiao Lü to continue holding his hand.

Turning toward him, he calmly replied,

"I'm leaving."

Xiao Lü trembled.

"You have to?"

Drip...

A raindrop landed on He Yu's face.

Looking into those familiar watery blue eyes...

He saw someone even fiercer than the big cat.

Even more stubborn than Li.

Yet fundamentally...

They were almost identical.

The powerful Devil Vine.

Stubborn.

Willful.

Those watery blue eyes were now filled with confusion.

Moisture had already gathered along the rims.

Even so...

He Yu remained completely unmoved.

"Yes."

"I have to."

Xiao Lü slowly released his hand.

Then suddenly stepped back two paces.

His eyes remained locked onto He Yu.

The next instant—

Vines exploded outward.

Several intertwined together into a giant cage that trapped everyone inside.

One vine tightly wrapped around He Yu's waist.

The watery blue eyes turned fierce.

Black mist surged violently.

"No."

"I won't let you leave!"

[Bullet Screen: "Even though I know the system is bugged right now... my heart hurts. Is my ship really ending like this?"]

[Bullet Screen: "It was doomed from the start. I never shipped them. I ship Zhen Xing and He Yu!"]

[Bullet Screen: "Damn it! How do they solve this? There are fewer and fewer advancement spots left! Is the escape condition killing Xiao Lü?!"]

Weapons appeared in Eugene's and the others' hands.

Slowly...

The eight contestants surrounded He Yu and the Devil Vine.

Outside...

Vines surrounded everyone.

Inside...

The eight surrounded the vines.

Every gaze was filled with vigilance.

"Do we attack?"

Eugene asked.

Even if they couldn't win...

If escaping required killing the Devil Vine...

Then they had no choice but to try.

Naturally...

Every single one of them was cursing the system.

If this bug hadn't happened...

They would've already left.

There'd be no need to fight this monster.

Xiao Lü turned his head.

His blue eyes glared murderously at them.

"You can all leave."

"But not him."

"I'm keeping him."

Vines whipped wildly through the air.

Battle was about to erupt.

Holding his axe, Wanrenzhan sighed helplessly.

"Come on."

"If you keep him..."

"He'll die!!"

Xiao Lü froze.

His eyes filled with confusion.

"Why?"

"I don't know how to explain it."

"But let him go."

Qiong's threads wrapped around her fingers.

"No!"

"You're lying to me!"

Xiao Lü looked at He Yu.

His expression became almost deranged.

"Are you lying to me too?"

"Are you trying to kill me?"

"Come on then!"

"Kill me."

"If you kill me..."

"...you can leave."

"If you can't..."

"...then stay with me forever!"

He flicked his hand.

The vine around He Yu's waist pulled him off balance.

He stumbled toward Xiao Lü.

Xiao Lü opened his arms...

And caught him.

He had always seemed shy before He Yu.

Always wanting to lean against him.

But the moment He Yu fell into his embrace...

It became obvious.

He was much taller than He Yu.

Far broader.

Far stronger.

He could effortlessly imprison He Yu within his arms.

Completely domineering.

He Yu struggled twice.

He couldn't break free.

Zhen Xing exchanged a glance with Bo Jingshan.

The two charged forward simultaneously.

Seeing them move...

Eugene, Wanrenzhan, Duan Yuchen, and everyone else rushed in as well.

They had to kill him!

Besides...

This was also an opportunity.

Perhaps...

They could kill He Yu at the same time.

Clang!

Bang! Bang!

The vines lashed wildly against the eight contestants' weapons.

Beneath the Life Tree...

The area instantly transformed into a battlefield.

Their exchanges were so fast they became afterimages.

No one noticed...

The Life Tree had begun emitting a faint glow.

The Devil Vine was terrifyingly powerful.

Even one against eight...

He wasn't at a disadvantage.

Of course...

Neither side gained the upper hand.

The battle remained evenly matched.

Suddenly—

The Devil Vine froze.

The vines fighting everyone abruptly weakened.

Little by little...

They began losing their vitality.

Everyone stopped.

Confused, they looked over.

The Devil Vine's black silhouette was fading.

The once-ferocious vines lost all strength.

Slowly...

They retreated back toward the Life Tree.

At the same time...

An ancient, aged voice echoed through the world.

"Devil."

"You destroyed this world."

"You deserve to die."

"I have awakened."

"I will no longer allow you to run wild."

Everyone looked up in shock.

The silent Life Tree suddenly revealed a gigantic face.

It had been the Life Tree speaking.

—Holy shit!

—The Life Tree was alive?!

The Life Tree had awakened.

The Devil Vine had survived by absorbing the Life Tree's life force.

Now...

The Life Tree was absorbing the Devil Vine's vitality instead.

Before the Life Tree...

The Devil Vine seemed fundamentally incapable of resisting.

Just as he could consume the Life Tree...

The Life Tree could consume him.

The vines continuously shrank.

They were being devoured by the tree.

The black silhouette grew fainter and fainter...

Until almost nothing remained.

Those watery blue eyes never left He Yu.

They were filled only with longing.

He Yu tightened his grip.

Holding firmly onto the vine wrapped around him.

The Life Tree spoke again.

"Humans."

"You do not belong here."

"Once I finish killing him..."

"I will allow you to leave."

He Yu didn't move.

Eugene shouted,

"He Yu!"

"Let go!"

Advancement spots were disappearing rapidly.

Gedai grew anxious.

"Don't you want to advance?"

Suddenly...

He Yu smiled.

The lenses resting on his nose reflected a cold gleam.

His voice remained perfectly calm.

"Why are you adding unnecessary scenes to the performance?"

Everyone froze.

Even the giant face on the Life Tree froze.

He Yu held the vine tightly with his left hand.

With his right...

He pushed up his glasses.

As his hand lowered again...

A silver-white sword appeared in it.

The nameless longsword worth six combat power.

Holding the sword...

He Yu lowered his eyes slightly.

Then he spoke.

"If you're going to interfere with the competition..."

"...then interfere."

"But why insist on adding this little performance of your own?"

"Did anyone ask for my opinion?"

"I'm..."

"...very..."

"...annoyed."