Chapter 78

"I quite like your name." Yuan Lan's thumb pad rubbed against the skin on Bai Xuechao's jawline, as if stroking a pet he was raising.

He asked enthusiastically, "What should I call you from now on? Do you prefer Xuechao? Axue? Or Xiaoxue? Or Achao? Xiaochao? I'll give you a chance to choose."

When Yuan Lan said "Xiaochao," a clear voice slowly emerged in Bai Xuechao's memory.

『Both our names have a "zhao" in them, quite a coincidence. You're still young, can I call you Xiaochao?』

"Are you not choosing?" Yuan Lan's gentle and sweet voice rang out beside Bai Xuechao's ear, drawing Bai Xuechao's attention back.

A gentle smile played on his lips as he gazed into Bai Xuechao's eyes.

Bai Xuechao, with his head raised, quietly looked at Yuan Lan, his clear scarlet eyes like the world-renowned Moussaieff Red Diamond, beautiful and pure, seeming to refract splendid fire under the light. Staring at them for a long time, there was a feeling as if one's soul would fall into them.

The two looked at each other for a few seconds.

"Originally, you would have been my favorite toy collectible." Yuan Lan's tone revealed a hint of regret, and he sighed, "Is the special ability's influence so great on you? Your thoughts have become so sluggish, I'm a little sad."

The past perfection made this flaw even more apparent.

Yuan Lan murmured with even more regret, "I originally thought it would be interesting to have you chat with me in the future."

"Host! Host! Bai Xuechao!" As Yuan Lan spoke, Xiao 6 also cried out anxiously in Bai Xuechao's mind, simultaneously releasing loud gong and drum sound effects, trying to pull Bai Xuechao's consciousness back. "Wake up! Ji Chuanze is only seven hundred meters away from you! He'll be back any moment!"

Inside Bai Xuechao's head, gongs and drums thundered, louder than Xiao 6's words. He finally couldn't resist, slowly replying, "Stop shouting, I'm fine."

Xiao 6: "Gah?"

Are you acting on me?!

"I'm not acting on you," Bai Xuechao said slowly.

Xiao 6 then realized it had spoken its thoughts aloud and wiped away a bead of code sweat: "Then you..."

"I really was controlled." Because he was controlled by Yuan Lan's special ability, Bai Xuechao's thoughts were a bit sluggish, and he spoke slightly slower than usual, "But it seems I have good willpower?"

Xiao 6 then remembered, "Oh right, Yuan Lan's special ability can be broken free from, and it depends on the willpower of the person being controlled, irrelevant to their level."

Then why isn't the Host breaking free from control yet?

On the other side, Yuan Lan had already accepted this fact. He was still in a period of great interest in Bai Xuechao, not disappointed by this, and instead said with a smile, "Never mind, being a pretty little toy is fine too, it's just a bit of a shame to become a consumable."

He pinched Bai Xuechao's soft cheek and muttered to himself, "It's been so long, haven't you made up your mind yet? My special ability hasn't had a precedent of turning people into idiots, has it?"

After saying that, he actually began to recall the people he had controlled with his special ability, wondering if anyone had seemed as if their brain had been nibbled on, like Bai Xuechao.

"Not silly," Bai Xuechao said, pulling himself away from his conversation with Xiao 6, and replied to Yuan Lan.

Yuan Lan first let out an "eh?", then looked at Bai Xuechao with some surprise and said, "So you haven't become that dull yet, then why didn't you answer me just now?"

"Because I didn't want to choose any of them," Bai Xuechao said slowly, giving him a look of disgust. "Don't call me that, it's disgusting."

Despite being called disgusting, Yuan Lan burst out laughing: "I'm relieved to see you're still so interesting!"

Bai Xuechao: "..."

Xiao 6 cried out, "Pervert, begone!"

"I respect your choice, I'll change the appellation." Yuan Lan, grinning, cradled Bai Xuechao's face and made a decision for himself, "Then I'll call you Xiaoxuechao. Surely no one calls you that. I'm the only one in this world who calls you that! If there's a second, I'll kill him~"

Bai Xuechao's expression was indifferent: "I refuse."

"Refusal is invalid, Xiaoxuechao~" Yuan Lan still wore a grinning expression.

Yuan Lan wrapped his arms around Bai Xuechao's waist. As he straightened up, he used a little force in his arms, lifting Bai Xuechao from the sofa chair like a large doll.

After being controlled by Yuan Lan's special ability, Bai Xuechao no longer felt dizzy or had a headache, and his strength gradually returned somewhat. He moved his body, wanting to break free, but Yuan Lan held him even tighter. So he decisively delivered an elbow strike behind him, but as he moved, he felt his body stiffen, and then he stood still obediently, beyond his control.

"When I was little, I envied other children who had toy dolls to play with," Yuan Lan's soft voice sounded behind him. "At that time, I thought I would have many toys in the future too."

Is that why you became a perverted puppeteer?

Bai Xuechao stated expressionlessly, "Do you want me to pity you?"

"It doesn't matter to me." Yuan Lan lowered his head, resting his chin on Bai Xuechao's shoulder, and said with a laugh, "Anyway, I just made it all up."

Bai Xuechao: "..."

Fun-loving person confirmed.

Xiao 6 tearfully knocked on a wooden fish: I'm sorry, Host, I really feel like shipping it.

"I've been wanting to say this since earlier, your lure-pheromone smells very good, and it's cool and refreshing, making me feel very comfortable~" Yuan Lan said, bringing his prominent nose to Bai Xuechao's neck, pressing against his snow-white skin and taking a deep sniff.

Warm breath sprayed on the skin of his neck. Bai Xuechao's hair stood on end; he immediately wanted to break free from control and give Yuan Lan a punch, giving him a black eye.

Should he be glad that it felt comfortable rather than delicious? Otherwise, today, he and Yuan Lan would have to kill each other.

Mutual predation among special ability users, until death.

Just then, the door to the game room was pulled open.

"What's going on, it's all water..." Ji Chuanze's mumbling voice suddenly stopped.

He saw Bai Xuechao standing on the sofa chair, intimately hugged around the waist from behind by a tall, white-haired youth, whose head was also buried in Bai Xuechao's neck.

Hearing his voice, the white-haired youth looked up at him, revealing an unfamiliar yet handsome face. Although his smile was gentle, the aura he exuded made him feel danger.

As if from an animalistic instinct, all his muscles subconsciously tensed up.

He realized that this man was very dangerous!

"What are you doing?" Ji Chuanze asked, holding a milk tea in his left hand and the Tang Hengdao he brought from the car downstairs in his right. After asking, he first froze for a moment, then reacted, looking at Yuan Lan with a somewhat serious expression and asking, "Wait, who are you?"

He had never seen this person in the organization.

Given Bai Xuechao's personality, he wouldn't act so intimately with anyone other than Duan Xingzhi, as if they were blood brothers.

Yuan Lan had no intention of answering him. His brilliant golden eyes stared at the paper bag Ji Chuanze was carrying, which had the milk tea shop's logo printed on it, and he asked with a smile, "What kind of milk tea did you buy?"

His previous question was completely ignored.

Ji Chuanze felt somewhat displeased: "Bai Xuechao, who is he?"

Xiao 6 excitedly covered its code-like little hands over its mouth, silently shedding wide tears: Families, who understands? This feeling of a wife returning home to question her husband!

Although Ji Chuanze had already returned, Bai Xuechao didn't immediately break free from control.

Just like before, if he broke free from control, Yuan Lan would react. If he broke free now, Yuan Lan would immediately react, and his headache would instantly return. With the two of them so close, a struggle would definitely ensue, and he would be at a great disadvantage.

Therefore, Bai Xuechao's initial plan was to wait for Ji Chuanze to return, then fight Yuan Lan to distract him, while he would seize the opportunity to break free from control and suddenly attack Yuan Lan.

However, Ji Chuanze was a level 7 special ability user. A level 7 against a level 9 meant a ninety percent chance of death.

Ji Chuanze was not without advantages. His special ability, "Eye of Weakness," had a very strong mechanism that allowed him to see the weaknesses of all things, and hitting them would cause a critical strike. The increase in his special ability level only increased his critical damage and enhanced his ability to destroy a hit object in one blow.

Using this against Yuan Lan's puppet threads, although it would be a tough fight due to the level difference, it would be enough to hold out for a while.

The only problem now was that Bai Xuechao was under the control of a special ability and couldn't assist Ji Chuanze.

When Ji Chuanze discovered that Bai Xuechao was controlled by Yuan Lan's special ability, would he stay and fight Yuan Lan to the death? As a level 7 special ability user, facing a level 9 special ability user plus the level 8 special ability user he controlled, even an idiot would know to run away.

Their Dark Organization didn't follow the "No, I have to go with you" trope; when it was time to abandon something, they would abandon it.

Jiang Yunyi's teaching was – to make the best choice under the given circumstances.

Ji Chuanze's best choice would be to immediately escape upon realizing he was at an absolute disadvantage, report the situation to Jiang Yunyi, and await his decision. After all, Bai Xuechao was only controlled, not dead, meaning the other party might still have use for Bai Xuechao and wouldn't kill him for a while.

This plan of Bai Xuechao's wasn't testing him, but Ji Chuanze.

However, Bai Xuechao wouldn't place all his hopes on Ji Chuanze. If Ji Chuanze chose to escape, he wouldn't be completely helpless either.

He would pretend to be completely controlled, first leaving with Yuan Lan, taking the opportunity to gather information on the Apocalypse Society. Anyway, Yuan Lan didn't know that he could break free from control at any time. After he finished collecting information on the Apocalypse Society, he would look for a suitable opportunity to escape from Yuan Lan.

So, the plan began.

First, he needed to make Ji Chuanze realize that he was controlled by Yuan Lan's special ability.

Bai Xuechao began, "He is—"

He had just uttered two syllables when his mouth uncontrollably closed. He hadn't expected Yuan Lan to use his special ability so quickly; he thought he would have a chance to reveal a few more words.

"Guess who I am?" Yuan Lan asked with a smile.

This guy's even playing games now.

"Huh? I'm not interested in playing boring guessing games with you," Ji Chuanze said to Yuan Lan, frowning.

Bai Xuechao's reaction just now was clearly off. Ji Chuanze tightened his fingers around the black scabbard and asked Bai Xuechao, "What's wrong with you?"

He decided to make it more obvious.

Just then, Yuan Lan's arm was still around his waist, so he directly pulled Yuan Lan's arm away.

As he pulled it away, he felt his arm instantly stiffen. Then, under the control of the special ability, he slowly pulled Yuan Lan's arm to his chest. He held Yuan Lan's hand with both of his, as if very dependent on the other, hugging the other's hand tightly to his chest.

Because of his movement, Yuan Lan pressed even closer to his back.

"Don't be coquettish," Yuan Lan said, feigning helplessness.

Bai Xuechao: I want to kill someone.

Yuan Lan truly had a perverse sense of humor.

Xiao 6 was so engrossed in the "shipping" that it was about to faint, frantically pinching its own code.

Bai Xuechao looked sideways at Ji Chuanze.

Ji Chuanze wasn't stupid. He could see that Bai Xuechao had clearly intended to pull away the white-haired youth's hand, but stopped halfway and abruptly changed his movement.

And now, the look in Bai Xuechao's eyes was also sending him a signal that his previous actions were not voluntary.

—Bai Xuechao was likely under the control of a special ability!

Ji Chuanze's eyes widened slightly.

He thought, even if Bai Xuechao was unwell when he left, with his strength, he shouldn't have been so easily caught. He should have been able to hold out until he returned.

This unfamiliar white-haired youth should be a level 8, or even level 9, special ability user!

To be able to control Bai Xuechao, the other party's special ability could be a psychic ability like Mr. Jiang's, or a special type of ability. In a better scenario, he would only need to deal with this white-haired youth. In a worse scenario, he would also have to deal with Bai Xuechao!

Realizing this, Ji Chuanze stood ready for battle. And Bai Xuechao's next movement made him pause again.

Bai Xuechao was seen grabbing the youth's hair that hung over his shoulder.

"Hey? Don't pull so hard," Yuan Lan's sweet, syrupy voice said. He reached out and freed his hair from Bai Xuechao's hand. "I'll feel pain."

Bai Xuechao said indifferently, "Really? I don't believe it."

A person who could laugh heartily after half his foot was severed, now claiming pain from a hair pull? Who was he trying to fool?

"It really does hurt~!" Yuan Lan completely ignored Ji Chuanze on the side, resting his chin on Bai Xuechao's shoulder, shaking his head back and forth as if pouting.

Bai Xuechao wouldn't perform meaningless actions. Ji Chuanze's gaze fell on the youth's medium-length white hair, and it was as if a light bulb went off!

Before coming to A Port, he had also read intelligence about Dream Game City. He knew that on the last day of the previous year, a youth of unknown age and appearance, with no information known except for his white hair, had made a huge gamble with City Lord Gong Ting, and the City Lord had lost.

Since then, Dream Game City began to become associated with the Apocalypse Society.

In an era where hair could be dyed any color, white hair wasn't particularly rare. Moreover, some special ability users' hair color changed after awakening, making white hair even less unusual. Therefore, Ji Chuanze initially didn't connect the youth in front of him with the youth from the intelligence report until Bai Xuechao "emphasized" the other's white hair.

"You're from the Apocalypse Society!" Ji Chuanze said.

"Congratulations, you got it right!" Yuan Lan finally gave some attention to Ji Chuanze, looking at him with smiling eyes and saying, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Yuan Lan, and I'm the boss of the Apocalypse Society."

Ji Chuanze's pupils trembled.

The other party was actually the leader of the Apocalypse Society!

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