Chapter 74 — IAVD (QT) Chapter 74

Seven days later.

Du Sheng finally managed to kill the ghost that the villager had transformed into. He collapsed onto the ground, exchanged weary smiles with the other equally exhausted players, and all of them let out a long breath.

They had survived.

At the same time, the game prompt rang out right on cue, announcing that they had cleared this task world and would soon be returning.

Du Sheng didn’t have time to rest. He quickly pulled himself together and exchanged contact information with the girl beside him.

Her name was Qi Qing. She was also a veteran player, having experienced twenty-three worlds. The game worlds were vast beyond measure, with countless players—Du Sheng had never had the chance to encounter her before.

But the moment they met, it felt like old friends reunited. It was love at first sight, minds perfectly in sync.

Privately, Du Sheng thought that if he could do missions with her in the future, that would be wonderful…

Qi Qing seemed to feel the same. Over the past seven days, they had been inseparable. When exchanging contact details, she didn’t utter a single word of refusal—she simply looked at him intently, affection overflowing in her eyes.

Du Sheng felt a little awkward and shifted his gaze uncomfortably.

It was at this moment that he noticed the boss’s family walking out of the house. He immediately gathered his thoughts and went to bid farewell.

As early as the first day he entered the game, after confirming that the boss was the recipient, he had already handed over the items he was carrying.

These three items were wrapped in special packaging that concealed their information. When players touched them, they wouldn’t receive any system prompts about what they were. Du Sheng guessed they must be extremely important—after receiving them, the boss had been visibly pleased, treated him with special care, and even revealed quite a few key clues.

Thanks to the boss’s help, this world became one of the easiest he had experienced since entering the game.

Du Sheng had also grown attached to the boss’s family. With departure imminent, he felt deeply reluctant.

“Boss, we’re leaving now. Please take care of yourselves.”

Ji Xiu glanced back at him, his expression subtly meaningful.

“Why don’t you come with us?”

Du Sheng froze, clearly not understanding what Ji Xiu meant.

Just then, the countdown reached its final second.

Before Du Sheng could voice his confusion, Ji Xiu waved at him with a smile.

“If fate allows, we’ll meet again.”

The next second, the Ji family—three people and one dog—vanished together with the players.

Before losing consciousness, Du Sheng hazily thought: If he hadn’t been mistaken… hadn’t the boss’s family disappeared at the same time as them?

…

The “Native Binding Contract” that Ji Xiu had asked Wu Letong to find was a special item that could only drop inside game worlds. Its function was simple—it allowed NPCs from a game world to be invited to become players.

The item wasn’t valuable, just rare. It didn’t circulate on the market and had to be deliberately sought out.

As for specifically asking Du Sheng to deliver it—that was because the situation had been sudden, and Ji Xiu couldn’t recall any other players’ names at the time. He only remembered the male lead’s name, so he mentioned Du Sheng.

Fortunately, Wu Letong and the others did not disappoint him and successfully completed the commission.

The moment Ji Xiu obtained the item, worried about complications if he delayed, he immediately used the contract and became a player.

However, since there were still players inside the game world, and he was an important NPC, he couldn’t leave his post at will. He had to wait until the players cleared the mission before he could enter the Game City with them.

As for Wang Qiuyue and Ji Chunsheng—both were ghosts and could not enter the game directly.

If they insisted on entering, they could only do so as Ji Xiu’s bound contract possessions.

Just like how, in reality, some people kept minor ghosts—when they were pulled into the game, those ghosts would follow them inside.

After careful consideration, both Wang Qiuyue and Ji Chunsheng chose to bind themselves as Ji Xiu’s contracted ghosts.

This had one major advantage: when the mother and son wanted to leave the game world, they wouldn’t need to pay additional points. As long as Ji Xiu had enough points to exit, they would leave with him.

There was another benefit as well.

As a bound unit, their family of three wouldn’t be split up and sent to different game worlds like other players. The game would treat them as a single entity, allowing the whole family to participate together in every world.

Oh—and there was also Da Huang.

When he heard they were leaving, Ji Chunsheng was extremely reluctant to part with Da Huang and begged Ji Xiu to bring him along.

As a result, Ji Xiu not only had two contracted ghosts—but also a contracted pet.

Players had probably never seen such a distinctive newcomer.

When Ji Xiu appeared in the central plaza of Game City, many players around him froze, their gazes repeatedly drifting to Da Huang at his feet.

These days, someone bringing a pet into the game?

Ji Xiu ignored their looks. He raised his head, gazed at the sun and moon hanging simultaneously over Game City, narrowed his eyes slightly, then turned and merged into the endless flow of people.

Game City existed in the cracks of the void, where both sun and moon were visible at the same time.

Even at night, the sun and moon merely sank a little and never disappeared. As a result, the city barely distinguished between day and night, bathed in eternal light. Players were always active, and only the massive clock in the center of the plaza marked the passage of time.

The plaza was the spawn point. After surviving their first game world, players who entered Game City would all appear here.

To live afterward, everything required points.

For example, staying at a game hotel cost anywhere from dozens to hundreds of points per day. Buying a house cost thousands—or even tens of thousands—of points.

Ji Xiu was in a miserable state.

He had skipped the standard player progression and possessed not a single point.

If he wanted to live here, he needed to find a quiet place to enter a game world and earn some points first.

Halfway through, Ji Xiu suddenly felt that something was missing. Turning around, he saw that Da Huang hadn’t followed him and was instead standing there in a daze.

He called out to him.

“Da Huang, keep up!”

Da Huang let out a howl and hurried over on all fours, rubbing against Ji Xiu’s leg before gesturing behind him.

Ji Xiu looked up.

“Boss!”

Huang Wenli and Lu Zhizhen were holding hands as they walked over, smiling.

Ji Xiu paused slightly, then smiled gently. “How did you know I’d be here at this time?”

Huang Wenli narrowed her eyes smugly. “Du Sheng told us the mission was complete. We guessed you’d be coming, so as soon as we got the news, Sister Lu and I came here to find you.”

Ji Xiu showed a look of realization and smiled. “I see. Unfortunately, I don’t have anything on me right now to give as a gift. How about I repay you after clearing a few worlds?”

Lu Zhizhen hurriedly waved her hands. “There’s no need. Back in ‘Family Reunion,’ if you hadn’t stepped in, Wenli and I would have died long ago.”

She paused, then added with a complicated expression, “If you really want to repay someone, you should give it to Wu Letong. He’s the one who found the item. We just helped locate Du Sheng.”

Ji Xiu caught the subtle implication. “You’ve gone your separate ways?”

Lu Zhizhen froze, then laughed. “You noticed.” She nodded frankly. “That’s right. Not long after leaving, we split due to some issues. Wenli and I joined a team mainly made up of female players. He formed his own team and recruited male players. The two sides are competitors now, so we haven’t been in contact for a long time.”

It was clearly more complicated than that—but Ji Xiu hadn’t even settled his own situation yet, let alone meddle in others’ lives. He simply nodded in understanding and changed the topic.

“I don’t have any points. I’m planning to enter a game world soon. Let’s exchange contact numbers and stay in touch.”

As soon as Lu Zhizhen heard this, she said she had rented a house nearby. Since she had moved in with Huang Wenli, the place was empty. The rent had already been paid and couldn’t be refunded, so she offered to give Ji Xiu the key to stay there temporarily.

In Game City, aside from the very first world where players spawned in the plaza, all later game entries and exits occurred from wherever the player entered.

Entering and exiting a game on the street was extremely unsafe. If a player returned injured, they could easily be robbed or killed.

Points were a player’s lifeline. Many people would risk everything and turn to darker paths.

Lu Zhizhen explained all this, then added, “Entering and exiting from a residence is much safer.”

Ji Xiu considered it briefly, then accepted without refusing, thanking her sincerely.

Lu Zhizhen smiled happily—but then seemed to think of something. Her expression changed. She suddenly withdrew her smile, stepped back half a pace, and waved her hands awkwardly.

“I said you don’t need to thank me so much. Let’s go—I’ll lead the way.”

Hmm?

Ji Xiu raised an eyebrow.

When they arrived, Lu Zhizhen handed him the key and told him to stay as he pleased. The rent was paid for another three months.

Ji Xiu looked over the small two-bedroom apartment and was fairly satisfied. He thanked her again.

Huang Wenli grinned mischievously, squeezed Lu Zhizhen aside, and shielded her behind herself.

“Boss, stop thanking Sister Lu already. If you keep it up, the boss’s wife will get angry, and Sister Lu’s life will be in danger.”

She cautiously scanned the surroundings and asked, “Boss’s wife came with you too, right?”

Ji Xiu smiled with warmth in his eyes. “Of course. How could I not bring them?”

At the plural word them, both Huang Wenli and Lu Zhizhen understood immediately.

Looks like the boss’s wife and little Chunsheng were both here.

And with the boss raising two vicious ghosts—entering game worlds from now on would be a total slaughter. Befriending him proactively was definitely a profitable move.

Huang Wenli even boldly tested the waters. “Boss, how about you rest today and we enter a game together tomorrow?”

Ji Xiu looked at her.

Huang Wenli blushed and admitted honestly, “I want to cling to you and the boss’s wife.”

Her bluntness actually earned Ji Xiu’s favor. After a moment’s thought, he nodded indifferently.

“Sure. I’m not in a hurry today anyway.”

Huang Wenli’s eyes lit up instantly. She thanked him enthusiastically, pulled Lu Zhizhen away to prepare, and said they’d come back tomorrow.

Ji Xiu saw them off.

After they left, he closed the door and raised his hand, summoning Wang Qiuyue and Ji Chunsheng.

Two figures—one large, one small—appeared in the living room.

“Where is this? Have we escaped reincarnation?”

Wang Qiuyue quickly scanned her surroundings and turned to ask Ji Xiu.

Leaning against the doorframe, Ji Xiu smiled lazily. “Yes. We’re free.”

Ji Chunsheng didn’t care about reincarnation at all. His eyes sparkled as he excitedly ran around the apartment, then dashed back.

“This place is so pretty!”

Ji Xiu rubbed his head. “As long as you like it. For the next three months, we’ll stay here for now. Once we earn enough points, we’ll move to a bigger place.”

Ji Chunsheng cheered and spun in excited circles.

Ji Xiu indulgently watched his childish celebration, then looked at Wang Qiuyue.

“Let’s go. I’ll show you around our new home.”

Wang Qiuyue was a little resistant to the unfamiliar environment. After hesitating several times, she followed silently behind Ji Xiu.

Noticing her unease, Ji Xiu helped the mother and son get used to the layout and taught her how to use modern appliances. Then he changed the subject.

“Want to go out and take a look?”

Trapped in Ji Family Village, Wang Qiuyue and Ji Chunsheng had never interacted much with the outside world. Game City, which blended features from countless eras, was the perfect place to broaden their horizons.

Wang Qiuyue looked surprised. After thinking it over, she shook her head.

“We’re entering a game tomorrow, right? There’s no rush. You haven’t slept in two days. Rest first.”

Ji Xiu smiled gently and helplessly. “So concerned about me?”

He took her hand. “Come on. Rest with me.”

Wang Qiuyue answered softly, “Alright.”

She didn’t need sleep as a ghost—but since Ji Xiu asked, she was willing to pretend, to accompany him.

…

Fourteen hours later, Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli knocked on the door right on time.

“Boss, we’re here.”

Ji Xiu opened the door and let them in. After chatting briefly in the living room, the three of them formed a temporary team and entered the game together.

After a brief loss of consciousness, the game introduction sounded in his mind. 【Task World: Apartment Legends】 【Task Level: Supernatural, B-rank】 【Player Identity: New resident of Ping’an Apartments, ordinary office worker】 【Task Requirement: Survive for three days】 【Task Reward: 2500 points】 Ji Xiu steadied himself and examined his surroundings.

He stood before a newly completed apartment building. Eight people were around him—five men and three women.

Besides Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli, there were two unexpectedly familiar faces.

Ji Xiu nodded to the male and female leads, Du Sheng and Qi Qing.

“We meet again.”

Du Sheng and Qi Qing stared at him in disbelief.

“Boss?! Why are you here too?”