Chapter 474 (1/2)

The Lengthy Process

Zhao Youyue’s 2D travels lasted a long time. Approximately the entire summer holiday was spent in the gaming world. After all, she was here to create an iconic character. Su Shi had her full attention, and effort and Zhao Youyue hoped that the same applied to the creator.

Su Shi was a hidden protagonist. People would think that she was some mysterious quest-giver, or a side event that occasionally saved players from death.

Nobody would actually assume that she was the actual protagonist, all this while hidden behind the splash image of a decoy heroine.

Only players who have been in contact with Su Shi at length would know who she really was.

She did not seem cute at all, and lacked proper speech. She did not even know how to act courteously, and seemed to be hiding something. She gave off the vibe of some wild conspirator, looking plain on the outside; hiding her deft elegance behind masked movements. No one would be able to tell that she was an actual princess.

All this just gave players a feeling that she could not be trusted, the thought of her being the type of character that will plot players in a lousy situation bloomed in many. However, she was impeccable; doing better than what was said.

Slowly but surely, she evolved from being a side character, to something far more – by remaining who she was and sticking to her ideals.

She had basically sneaked into that secret place in a gamer’s heart. As they cleared missions together, her fame would increase, and when it reaches a certain point, she would have her grand battle with Lee Xiye.

From such an angle, if players could just hold off on deploying her as their companion in various boss fights, they could postpone the battle between Lee Xiye and her.

To casual players, having her around would decrease the difficulty of the game while letting them feel the warmth of a good-hearted maiden. What reason was there not to use her?

Many players who had experience in dating games would give Su Shi’s affection pointstheir best. The more time spent together, the higher the affection points.

Some players would purchase beautiful clothes for the maiden and change her appearance, only to find that this regular looking maiden was actually a goddess.

Players who were able to come upon this discovery would most likely be scarce as, “trust challenges” tended to happen. This was a typical Zha Feng deathtrap. It got players complacent and misled into thinking that they had seen through Su Shi’s plan, and trusted the righteous fairy, Yan Qingmeng’s deceptive, evil ways. As they try to increase Yan Qingmeng’s affection points, that path would lead them against Su Shi.

Only those who have been standing by Su Shi’s side the entire time would understand her true beauty. Thus, when the truth is revealed, those who did not trust Su Shi could only regret their choices.

In this artificial game world, unlike previous light novels or manga where the timeline moved in one direction, Zhao Youyue noticed that time was not relative, so players could make different choices. It was an interesting observation, but it did not matter much to her.

The nameless maiden Su Shi would never gain any feelings for the player, as she had too much in her mind to even consider irrelevant emotions such as love. Of course, she would be appreciative of the players’ actions, while even accepting the players’ many gifts, unlocking the outfit changing function. That function would also open up her scarred heart, where she would begin to learn that the world may still hold people who would still give their all to her.

Players were chameleons. They could turn into angels; they could also end up as devils. They could proceed down a path without giving a second thought about any possible rewards; they could also chop up the NPC in charge of the mission just because they did not like him, hoping that something rare would drop.

They could drop by Qing Lou to pick up girls; only to go on a prostitute killing frenzy by the next moment – to get back their payment. This would then be followed by the player killing everyone in Qing Lou resulting in soldiers coming after them