The Creatures That We Are-Chapter 1192: From Li City with Tragic Love

Zhang Wei finally remembered that it was Lust he was talking to. He slowly lifted his hands from Zhou Jing’s shoulders.

“Well, it’s just...seven. That’s not a lot. Those people lack experience. I’ve seen people dating dozens at the same time.” Zhang Wei redirected the conversation. “But where do you get the time? Are there any tips for time management?”

“It’s nothing.” Zhou Jing didn’t seem to realize that Zhang Wei was shading her. “They have more than one girlfriend, too. We’re all keeping each other company and getting what we want.”

Her surprising honesty left Zhang Wei speechless.

She continued to walk. Moonlight cast her footsteps in a lonely light. “Don’t you find life ultimately futile, Zhang Wei? Like the White Bone Spirit. So it cultivated hard to become sentient, so it fell in love with Sanzang, but at the end of the day, it was still fated to be broken into a pile of bones...”

Don’t just change the original as you see fit! Zhang Wei argued silently. The White Bone Spirit was trying to eat Sanzang. She didn’t love him!

Zhou Jing turned around with a hint of melancholy. “We’re all going to become bones. Nothing matters in the end.”

She paused, smiling with a glint in her eyes. “Only pleasure makes me think I’m alive. So, I don’t need anything but pleasure. Whoever can give me that, I’ll be with them. That’s it.”

She turned to Zhang Wei, “What do you think?”

I think you’re full of shit!

“You’re...so right!” It was the first time Zhang Wei found bullshitting as difficult as actually eating shit.

Zhou Jing perked up. A string of +1 popped up above her head for her increasing affection.

“The first time I saw you, Zhang Wei, I knew we were the same kind of people.”

A notification suddenly popped up before Zhang Wei: you can now ask Zhou Jing for her phone number. Do you wish to?

Zhang Wei pressed “Yes”.

“Let’s add each other’s contact, Zhou Jing.”

“Of course.” She took out her phone and quickly pocketed it in three seconds. Her contact was automatically added to his phone.

This game’s cutting corners left and right!

“It’s nice talking to you tonight. See you.” Zhou Jing turned around with a smile, skipping away like a girl falling in love for the first time.

Watching her go, Zhang Wei’s heart quickened all of a sudden.

He slapped himself awake.

...

After the scene, Zhang Wei returned to his dorm room. Time for a review.

Raven Shark lay on his bed with his eyes closed and his hands clasped on his belly, looking even more serene than a dead man in a coffin.

“You asleep already, Raven Shark?”

“I should be...according to the game...” Raven Shark quietly responded, eyes still closed.

“Don’t fall asleep just yet! I’ve made a great progress!” Zhang Wei summarized what happened tonight, radiating with excitement. “Now that I have her contact, it’s time to go on dates, right?”

“Yes...” Raven Shark’s voice became more and more sluggish. “Remember...e-shop... Give gifts...during dates... Increase...affection...”

“What gifts does Zhou Jing like?”

“Check her...character archetype...” Raven Shark fell asleep.

Zhang Wei had no choice but to order dozens of gifts from the shop randomly. He wasn’t going to run out of money anytime soon.

He skipped the daily summary and started a new day.

When he showed up in the classroom, Vermilion Bird was teaching “Relevance between the Game Setting in Strange Realm and the Primary Target”. Zhang Wei turned to the desk by the window. Zhou Jing wasn’t there.

He hollered at the podium, “Sister Xia, Zhou Jing skipped class again?”

“Yeah.”

Confused, Zhang Wei said, “That doesn’t make sense. I triggered a scene with her in the grove. She has no reason to skip class again.”

“Grove?” Vermilion Bird eyes him suspiciously. “You sure move quickly.”

“It’s not what you think!” Zhang Wei hurriedly briefed her on what happened.

Vermilion Bird’s first reaction was the same as his. “Whoa, what an incorrigible woman!”

“Right?” Zhang Wei swallowed his words when his phone rang. He beamed when he saw the notification. “Haha! She sent me a message!”

His smile promptly stiffened when he clicked it.

[Zhou Jing: Zhang Wei, I’m on a date with boyfriend number four. Sign the attendance sheet for me. It’ll be bad to miss too many classes. Teehee~]

Zhang Wei lowered his phone and slapped his thigh. “Shit, the number one MC has become the backup!”

...

Cinema, afternoon.

The movie currently being screened was a blockbuster named From Li City with Tragic Love, combining romance, action, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, thriller, and gunfighting elements, starring Nine Frost and Chen Ying.

Nine Frost, covered in blood and gunshot wounds, clutched Chen Ying’s hand and said in a velvety voice, his expression adoring, “Promise me that you’ll live...”

“No, I’m not abandoning you!” Chen Ying met his eyes with determination, face covered in tears. “If we die, we die together!”

“Go! Go now!” Nine Frost shoved her away.

Sobs could be heard all around the cinema. Zhang Wei munched on popcorn without even a hint of sadness on his impassive face, while Raven Shark, sitting beside him, was bawling.

“It’s such a cliche story. Why are you crying?!”

“I don’t wanna... Sob... But this is my character... Wah...” Raven Shark explained in starts and stops.

Realizing that he had become Zhou Jing’s backup plan, Zhang Wei anxiously sought out Raven Shark for ideas. They couldn’t have an effective conversation over the phone, so Zhang Wei had to ask Raven Shark out. Their date scene triggered, and here they were.

Raven Shark blew his nose into a tissue. Finally, the programmed scene was over.

He asked Zhang Wei, “Have you sent an invitation to Zhou Jing?”

“Yeah.”

“What did she say?”

“She said she had to think about it.” Zhang Wei threw his hands in exasperation. “She’s dating seven guys at the same time. What’s there to think about dating another one?”

“It’s probably because your Charisma isn’t high enough,” Raven Shark said. “Usually, you’ll need a really high Charisma to trigger scenes with the most difficult romance option.”

“So she’ll date me as long as I hit a threshold with my Charisma?”

“In theory, yes.”

“Is there a way to quickly improve my Charisma?”

“It’s +5 for practicing singing in karaoke, +7 for going to a spa for men. Those can only be done once per day.” Raven Shark thought for a moment. “I think there’s also an outfit that gives you +10 in Charisma. It’s...”

“The Dawn Battle Outfit?” Zhang Wei said the name.

Raven Shark nodded. “Yeah.”

“Haha, the name caught my eye, so I made the order last night. It should arrive today.” Zhang Wei took out his phone. “Alright, let’s not waste any more time. I’m skipping ahead.”

The movie reached a climax at that moment. From the skyscraper, Nine Frost pushed Chen Ying, wearing a hang glider, off the building.

“No!”

Chen Ying reached toward him as she glided to safety. Nine Frost flashed her a cool smile while bleeding from his mouth, wearing specially made bombs on him.

Boom! The skyscraper exploded.

Nine Frost’s smooth voice narrated:

Hope is ahead. Go forward and don’t turn back.

Remember, behind you is no longer darkness, but my watchful gaze.

Zhang Wei’s finger twitched. He suddenly felt a pang in his heart.

Although the movie was fake, his companions were fighting at this moment. He wondered how things were going for them.

Don’t let them down, Zhang Wei!

He pressed skip.