Naming Technique of the Night

Chapter 1273: Chapter 718: It’s Okay, I’m Here

“Shall we go to the casino?” Yan Yan asked, “I lost over ten thousand during the day at the casino, and I really want to win it back, but I’m afraid to go. Qing Chen, can you help me win it back?”

“No way, there are too many people there,” Qing Chen replied.

“How about we go dancing? I saw a lot of people wearing pretty clothes and dancing. They looked so happy,” Yan Yan suggested.

“I can’t dance…”

“Me neither! We can just move around!”

“I’m not going…”

“How about we go drinking?” Yan Yan proposed.

Qing Chen responded, “I can’t drink, I need to stay sober…”

“Ah, our honeymoon is too imperfect. It doesn’t feel like a honeymoon trip at all, it’s like we are still carrying a heavy burden,” Yan Yan muttered.

Qing Chen thought to himself, this is indeed not a honeymoon trip.

The large cruise ship held thousands of people celebrating onboard, which was the true essence of the trip.

But Qing Chen couldn’t travel without distractions, as he still felt a certain anxiety of facing life-and-death challenges and was vigilant against external dangers.

He was unable to be at ease and natural.

Qing Chen knew this state wasn’t right.

For example, Uncle Li Dong was different from him. Even during the battle of the century, what he saw in his mentor Uncle Li Dong was only a sense of freedom.

However, Yan Yan didn’t blame Qing Chen, she merely asked him to sit with her in the bar for a while.

She had just drunk half a glass when she, slightly tipsy, tilted her head towards Qing Chen: “Hey, we’re both ‘Internal Test Players,’ right?”

Qing Chen was taken aback, as this was the first time Yan Yan openly acknowledged her status as an Internal Test Player.

He instinctively glanced at the bartender, confirmed they weren’t eavesdropping, and then nodded in agreement.

Yan Yan smiled and asked, “How many years have you been here?”

“15 years, how about you?” Qing Chen counter-questioned.

“I’ve been here 15 years too. It’s possible we were both brought to the Outer World together by Yan Liuyuan,” Yan Yan said with a smile, suggesting they might have met back then: “Wow, knowing each other from 15 years ago sounds pretty cool, right?”

Qing Chen seriously stated, “I’ve searched through memories from my childhood. I was brought here alone. Also, you joined Spade when you became an Internal Test Player, so I guess you only became one in recent years…”

He had opened the top door of his Memory Palace and saw memories from before he turned two years old.

He saw Yan Liuyuan carrying him, humming lullabies along the way, gentle and light.

Yan Liuyuan fed him and lifted him over his head to amuse him.

Therefore, Qing Chen never feared the one closest to God; instead, he felt more affinity.

“Boring,” Yan Yan commented: “I even inquired about you after I went to Los Angeles Foreign Language School. I heard quite a few girls liked you back then, but your personality drove them away, Merkaba.”

Qing Chen laughed and said, “Back then, I dared not fall in love. The day couldn’t feed me, and at night, I had to do odd jobs to support myself. Others in love would go out to play, but I couldn’t afford to. Later, my life started to stabilize through playing chess with others.”

Yan Yan shook her head: “Money isn’t the foundation of love.”

“Yan Yan, you must have had a good life after coming to Outer World. You can sail across countries, you can train firearms at shooting ranges,” Qing Chen earnestly said, “So you might not know how much being penniless can influence life. You would subconsciously avoid things in store windows, and when classmates wanted to go out to play, they’d carefully avoid you so as not to hurt your self-esteem. It was only someday at 15 that I suddenly saw through it.”

“What happened on that day when you were 15?” Yan Yan curiously asked.

“Forgot,” Qing Chen replied with a smile.

“Boring, if you don’t want to say, then don’t. With your memory ability, would you forget anything?” Yan Yan helplessly downed a big glass of whisky in one go.

…

…

Ten minutes later.

“Hey, if you can’t handle your liquor, don’t drink,” Qing Chen carried Yan Yan along the long corridor: “I thought you had a good tolerance, downing such a big glass of whiskey directly, but in three minutes, you’re out.”

Yan Yan obediently lay on Qing Chen’s back, motionless. This was one of the rare quiet moments she had, usually as fierce as a tiger, now more like a little rabbit.

She nestled her head into Qing Chen’s back: “Qing Chen, are you tired?”

“Tired, who isn’t tired living?” Qing Chen answered with a laugh: “After crossing over, surviving was the first priority, then getting captured to the A02 secret military base, constantly thinking about escape. Now that the disaster of City 10 has just passed, I need to think about how to develop it further. At present, there are two directions I’m especially focused on: one is the A-Class Genetic Potion, and the other is the Nanorobot, but the production line for Nanorobot is very special, and I still don’t know where to get it.”

Yan Yan suddenly said, “I’m tired too.”

Qing Chen fell silent.

Yan Yan continued lying on Qing Chen’s back: “Actually, I awakened my abilities at the age of one, impressive right? My family viewed me as the hope for the future. Just at age four, they sent me to the Fire Pit with difficulty, hoping I’d bring prestige to the family. Whenever I went home, they no longer treated me as family but revered me like a deity. They would tell other villagers that I was a born great person. Then villagers brought their most valuable things, like wild boar hind legs, asking me to bless them or solve their problems.”