Cultivating in Online Games

Chapter 48 - I'll Be With You

Ye Zhou lay on the hospital bed, staring blankly at the old-fashioned mobile phone from top to bottom.

Five days, exactly five days had passed. Apart from his parents calling to check on him and his cousin Ye Jian asking some questions about game account registration, no one else had called him.

He had asked his cousin countless times if he had given his number to Dugu Zhuo, if he had remembered the numbers correctly, if he didn’t know how to use paper crane messaging and accidentally sent the number to someone else.

Every time, Ye Jian gave the same answer: he had given it, definitely didn’t remember it wrong, Ye Zhou’s number was at the tip of his tongue, didn’t send a paper crane message, said it to his face, didn’t make a mistake, gave it to the most good-looking player in the crowd.

Then why hasn’t he called me yet?

Ye Zhou stared at the yellow-green screen of his phone, feeling a little sad.

If it weren’t for this sudden illness, he wouldn’t have thought of giving his real-life contact information to Dugu Zhuo. They had only known each other in the game for less than a month, their relationship wasn’t that close, shouldn’t he…shouldn’t he wait two or three months before giving out his phone number?

But this sudden situation made him worry that Dugu Zhuo would think he wasn’t playing anymore, so he had someone else log in to tell Dugu Zhuo about his situation and left his phone number.

When he got the old-fashioned phone, he imagined Dugu Zhuo’s voice, wondering if Dugu Zhuo’s real-life voice matched the one in the game.

Dugu Zhuo’s voice was deep and elegant, like a cello. It would be nice if it sounded as good in real life.

However, Dugu Zhuo didn’t call. Ye Zhou’s mood went from anticipation to disappointment and then to self-doubt.

He thought, even if Dugu Zhuo didn’t have any intentions towards him, at least they were good friends in the game, right? As good friends, exchanging contact information in private shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Ye Zhou couldn’t help but wonder, did he misunderstand? Did Dugu Zhuo’s so-called “blood oath” and “intimate relationship” only exist in the game, and did Dugu Zhuo want to keep reality and the game separate, not wanting their relationship to involve real life?

He had been feeling down, eating less, and had to rely on intravenous fluids to replenish energy and nutrition.

The doctor conducted various tests on him and determined that Ye Zhou’s lack of appetite was related to psychological factors, as his gastrointestinal tract had no diseases. For someone bedridden for a long time, mental health was especially important.

After discussing with Ye Zhou’s family, the doctor realized that excessive playing of holographic online games could indeed cause brain fatigue, but an all-or-nothing approach was also not advisable. Completely preventing Ye Zhou from engaging in some recreational activities would only cause him to wither away gradually.

A week later, Ye Zhou was discharged from the hospital. His parents returned his smartphone to him and he regained the opportunity to log in again, but this time the caregivers would strictly enforce the online time. Except for the two time slots from 9-12 and 15-18, the game helmet would be confiscated during other times.

Regaining the helmet, Ye Zhou didn’t show ecstatic joy. He put down the helmet and took out his smartphone, opening WeChat to see some advertisements and public account push messages, but there were no new friend requests.

He became even more depressed, even didn’t feel like playing games anymore, throwing the hard-won helmet aside and lazily sitting back in the chair.

At this time, his cousin Ye Jian sent a message: Have you got the game helmet? Come online, I’ve reached level 19 these days and stuck at the final level dungeon. I don’t want to find someone else to help me through the dungeon. You’ve already passed the level 20 dungeon, right? Hurry up online and help me!

Seeing Ye Jian’s message, Ye Zhou’s gaze slowly moved to the game helmet on the table.

Ye Jian’s message gave him a reason to return to the game. Ye Zhou solemnly put on the helmet.

Because of his poor health, Ye Zhou rarely met with relatives and friends, and this time, the game gave him and his cousin the opportunity to play together.

It’s 10 a.m. now, and Ye Zhou logs into the game. A week ago, Ye Jian had logged out in front of the Tanye Temple with his account, and the place he logged back in was also the Tanye Temple.

As soon as he logged in, he saw a person wearing a straw hat standing in front of the Tanye Temple like a statue, staring in the direction of his login.

Seeing him, the person almost instantly appeared in front of Ye Zhou, took off the straw hat, and said softly, “You’re back?”

It was Dugu Zhuo.

Not having seen each other for a week, Dugu Zhuo seemed a bit haggard, but his appearance was still so handsome, just with a bit more weathering, and there was a hint of sadness in his eyes.

Ye Zhou didn’t know what to say. It seemed inappropriate to directly ask why he didn’t call or add him on WeChat, so he just nodded lightly and said, “Yeah, there were some things before.”

“Your cousin told me,” Dugu Zhuo said as he lightly held Ye Zhou’s wrist.

Ye Zhou felt a bit resistant. He tried to pull away, but found that Dugu Zhuo was stronger than he had imagined.

“Are you feeling mentally down and losing your appetite because of something on your mind?” Dugu Zhuo asked after checking Ye Zhou’s pulse.

“It’s nothing, just a bit bored without being able to use my phone,” Ye Zhou replied simply. “I haven’t logged in for a week. Your level should be quite high now, right? I might not be able to keep up with your progress. You should go level up first, and I’ll catch up as soon as possible.”

“I’m still at level 20,” Dugu Zhuo said.

“How is that possible…” Ye Zhou opened the friend information to check.

Their former teammate was already at level 26, and the highest ranking player on the leaderboard had reached level 30, a Yaozu player named Yi Meng Xiao Yao. And Dugu Zhuo was indeed only at level 20.

“Why haven’t you leveled up? Did something happen in real life during this time, so you didn’t have time to go online or make calls or send WeChat messages?” Ye Zhou’s eyes lit up slightly as he automatically found reasons for Dugu Zhuo.

“I wanted to level up together with you,” Dugu Zhuo’s voice was so gentle.

“Then why…”

Seemingly knowing what Ye Zhou wanted to ask, Dugu Zhuo said, “I can’t… you call real life the third dimension, right? I can’t contact you in the third dimension.”

Ye Zhou was suddenly happy, and then lost again. He lowered his head and asked, “So you’re very clear about separating the game from reality.”

Dugu Zhuo firmly held Ye Zhou’s hand and didn’t let go. “But in the game, I’ll always be waiting for you.”

Ye Zhou looked up at Dugu Zhuo again, as if there were many stories hidden in those eyes.

It’s true, in the game, everyone is handsome and beautiful, with extraordinary skills, but in reality, everyone has their own troubles.

Ye Zhou is a person with hemiplegia in reality, so it’s impossible for him to go out and meet people. Perhaps Dugu Zhuo also has reasons he can’t articulate. Maybe he’s abroad, or perhaps he’s burdened with debts and dare not contact others…

And even if Dugu Zhuo contacts him, or even comes from afar to visit him, what difference would it make? Can he go out to eat, shop, or watch movies with Dugu Zhuo?

He can’t.

Their connection seems to only exist in this game. Once one party gives up playing the game, they’ll have no further ties.

At this moment, Ye Zhou thought very clearly, and let go of some small thoughts. He grasped Dugu Zhuo’s hand again and said, “Yeah, in the game, I’ve always been your teammate.”

The two seemed to reach some kind of tacit understanding, yet at the same time, nothing seemed to have changed.

At this moment, Ye Zhou received a friend request from Ye Jian. Ye Jian had logged in with Ye Zhou’s account before, so he knew Ye Zhou’s game ID, “One Leaf Boat,” and added Ye Zhou as a friend through searching his ID.

After accepting the friend request, Ye Zhou told Dugu Zhuo, “This ‘Sailing ¥ Long Voyage’ is my cousin. He also created an account, a human clan. He’s stuck at level 19 and hopes I can help him pass the Bai Ri Sect dungeon.”

“I’ll accompany you,” Dugu Zhuo said.

“Thank you,” Ye Zhou said politely. “You haven’t leveled up these days, so what have you been doing in the game?”

“I’ve been refining pills,” Dugu Zhuo said.

“Refining pills? Like the Foundation Building Pill?” Ye Zhou asked.

“You can try one,” Dugu Zhuo handed Ye Zhou a Foundation Building Pill.

Ye Zhou suddenly remembered, “Ah! I haven’t eaten the Foundation Building Pills I obtained from clearing the Bai Ri Sect dungeon before logging out last time. Have you eaten them? What effects do they have?”

Dugu Zhuo explained, “Players who have already reached the foundation stage will gain 50,000 experience points, but the Foundation Building Pills I refine have better quality, providing 60,000 experience points.”

After listening to Dugu Zhuo’s explanation, Ye Zhou ate one Foundation Building Pill and indeed gained 50,000 experience points.

“Can I eat more of them?” Ye Zhou asked, looking up.

“Before level 30, you can level up with pills, so you don’t have to worry about falling too far behind in levels,” Dugu Zhuo said. “After level 30, don’t worry either. I’ll find other ways to help you level up.”

“That’s great, I can still play with everyone,” Ye Zhou said happily.

He can level up to level 30 with pills now, but if his level gets too high, he won’t be able to help Ye Jian level up.

Even if there’s a big level difference, they can still team up. But if they’re both level 30 and Ye Jian is only level 19, when three people team up, the difficulty of the dungeon monsters will increase to the average level of the three people, which is level 26 monsters.

Level 26 monsters are basically at the level where they would die from being lightly touched by a peach tree monster’s branches for Ye Jian, who is only level 19. By then, Ye Jian will become a stumbling block with the young followers of the Sun Worship Sect.

The two arrived at the agreed-upon location with Ye Jian, at the border of the Eternal Day and Eternal Night areas, next to two huge rocks.

A man with an oily face came to Ye Zhou and patted his shoulder, saying, “Xiaozhou, it’s me!”

As soon as Dugu Zhuo saw the man, his pupils contracted. He immediately stepped in front of Ye Zhou, drew his sword, and pointed it at the man’s throat, saying in a low voice, “Who are you?”

“I’m his cousin! We’ve met before, even if I’ve changed my account, you don’t have to treat me like this all of a sudden, right?” Ye Jian, whose game name was Yangfan￥Yuanhang, reflexively raised his hands.

“It’s him,” Ye Zhou patted Dugu Zhuo’s back and said.

But Dugu Zhuo didn’t move an inch. He said, “Are you going to the Eternal Day Sect’s dungeon?”

“When did I say I was going to the Eternal Day Sect’s dungeon?” Ye Jian pulled out a fan from somewhere and waved it. “Xiaozhou, just because you saw that I’m a human, you assumed I’m from the Eternal Day area, right? No! I’m from the Eternal Night area! Am I the most unique human player in the game?”

Ye Jian’s face was full of “I’m really awesome”.

“What’s going on with him?” Ye Zhou was also dumbfounded and asked Dugu Zhuo in a low voice.

Dugu Zhuo said, “He’s filled with evil energy, and although he’s human, he’s a practitioner of the evil path. What’s more, he practices the taboo technique of collecting and consuming, and his cultivation method is one of the top yin evil methods!”

Ye Zhou: “…”

“Tell me! How did you obtain such a sinister cultivation method, and how did you practice the technique of collecting and consuming?” Dugu Zhuo demanded sternly.

Ye Jian protested, “What collecting and consuming? Why do you make it sound so bad? I just bought a painting while doing a task, and the painting was full of beautiful women. I could enter that painting to cultivate. I just clicked on the scroll, and the environment around me changed to mosaic everywhere. Then it prompted me, saying that I had cultivated a few people, and then my level increased. This game is so interesting. Are the number of times you cultivate still counted in terms of people?”

Dugu Zhuo: “…”

Ye Zhou: “…”