The monster suddenly emerged from the sea, vehemently denying, "No way! I only want one boyfriend!"
It hurriedly explained, and as soon as it surfaced, it saw Yin Xiu standing there dejectedly. It quickly reached out its tentacles to comfort its boyfriend, but as soon as it reached out, Yin Xiu suddenly grabbed it.
"If it's just me, then don't hide." Yin Xiu quietly gripped the tentacle he was holding, staring intently at the head floating up in the seawater. "Don't make me wait so many years again. How many years can I wait for you to become human without affecting me? Human lifespan is very short."
The monster hesitated in the seawater, then crawled back along the shore, its massive body lying prostrate in front of Yin Xiu, rubbing against him affectionately.
Sorrow lingered in the shadow cast by that somber, enormous figure.
"I also want to be with my boyfriend every day, to see you every day, to go to many places with you, and to stay with you until you go to your coffin. But if I get close to my boyfriend, he will turn you into a monster, and I don't want you to become a monster."
It slowly lowered its head and nuzzled Yin Xiu. "Monsters can only stay here. Monsters have too long a lifespan. Living endlessly will only cause suffering. One day you will find that the people you care about have all died."
"The friends you finally made, the people you consider family, all the little things you've collected will disappear before your eyes, and you'll live a long time, continuing to stay in this cramped place until you die..."
"So, I don't want you to become a monster. It's enough for you to live as a human being."
Its gaze toward Yin Xiu was purer than anyone else's; it truly understood the suffering of monsters and didn't want Yin Xiu to become like it.
If you are human, you can go to a wider world to live your life; if you become a monster, you will only be locked up here for the rest of your life.
Even if Yin Xiu is unaware of everything now and is willing to become a monster, when Yin Xiu regrets it one day, no one can help him turn back to the beginning. It must stop Yin Xiu before he becomes as painful as it is.
"I understand." Yin Xiu reached out and touched the tentacles that surrounded him. "I know what you're thinking."
"You're afraid I'll end up trapped here like you, and that's for my own good."
The monster lay down in front of Yin Xiu and nodded, having finally managed to persuade her boyfriend to also become a monster.
"But now, as long as we're together, it will exacerbate my mutation, and we can't stop it." Yin Xiu shrugged.
The monster drooped its head, not wanting to separate from its boyfriend, nor wanting its boyfriend to turn into a monster; they seemed to be caught in a dilemma.
Seeing that the monster in front of him was about to dive back into the sea to escape Yin Xiu's transformation, Yin Xiu quickly looked down and grabbed the tentacles at his feet.
The monster pondered, "Before, I was too young, so I couldn't control the changes I caused to those around me. But now I'm much older. Maybe if I can bring back the part of me that I kept outside, I can control myself much better, and I can even take on human form again."
"To lift the seal that's binding you... I'll have to go find Lady Ye." Yin Xiu pondered. He would only have a chance to meet her if he cleared the current dungeon. Lady Ye might not even come out to see him. He had to go back and think of a way.
"I'll figure something out. In the meantime, you just stay here and wait for me to come back." Yin Xiu stroked the tentacles beside him, soothing the monster's emotions. "We'll always find a way. Just stop avoiding me."
"Okay." The monster nodded, then cautiously looked at Yin Xiu. "Are you going back now?"
Yin Xiu shook his head and sat down on the spot. "I'll stay with you a little longer."
The monster happily shook its huge tentacles. Although the dilapidated sea village was extremely desolate, and all it had to do with the sea it had long since grown tired of, having its boyfriend by its side was enough to make it happy.
In the small town of 35, after Yin Xiu left, Ling Feng and 408 waited on the shore for Yin Xiu to surface again.
But the entire black fog had dissipated after wandering around the town, and Yin Xiu still hadn't returned. 408 vaguely sensed something was wrong and began pulling on the rope to lift him up.
When they pulled to the end, they found no one on the rope; the other end was empty. They didn't know if it had come loose because it wasn't tied tightly, or if Yin Xiu had untied it himself, but the result was that Yin Xiu had disappeared after going into the lake.
"If I lose this, her boyfriend will kill me!" A chill ran down 408's spine. He quickly jumped into the water and searched frantically, but there was nothing in the lake.
408 shakily made his way ashore, needing to hurry back and tell the other person about it, to see how the players would handle it.
He turned around, preparing to go to the town, and found Ling Feng still squatting on the lakeside, looking around.
"Let's go, let's go back. We need to tell the others that we can't find him as soon as possible." 408 urged. He wasn't very clear about the relationships between the players, but as long as everyone was accounted for, everything would be fine.
Ling Feng looked at the rope on the ground, then turned and stared at 408. "Yin Xiu is gone?"
"yes."
Ling Feng pondered, "So now the players in the town have no leader and no protectors."
408 frowned, not understanding what he meant, and too lazy to care about this person anymore, so he turned around and walked towards the town.
The town had to halt all activities due to the arrival of the black fog, forcing players who were supposed to be completing the game to seek refuge. They were unfamiliar with the black fog and staying outside could easily lead to trouble. Now that the black fog had dissipated, everyone came out to prepare to continue arranging things for the players.
Everything was going well. The dungeon players were handing over items to the town players, who were then assigning them new roles to help them clear the dungeon together. But this was only halfway through when 408 rushed back.
"Yin Xiu! Yin Xiu disappeared after entering the lake filled with black mist!"
Zhong Mu rushed forward and covered his mouth, dragging him aside. However, the sound was still heard by some nearby players, especially those dungeon players who had been almost forcibly subdued and integrated into the town. They immediately showed their confusion.
The town leader who had been suppressing them was gone... Did that mean they no longer needed to listen to these strange things?
Handing over items to monsters is already a dangerous thing, and making the sacrifices cooperate with monsters makes the players passive, which is very abnormal.
Now that the leader has suddenly disappeared, leaving only these offerings and monsters... perhaps they can still put up a fight?
Faced with the restless dungeon players, the town players immediately stepped forward and surrounded them, using their numbers to put pressure on them and prevent them from rebelling.
Even though those people couldn't hide their restless hearts, they still kept quiet because it was not an easy time to resist.
But each of them had a burning flame in their eyes, and they had no intention of giving up.