383: 7.73 Unknown Intruder

7.73 Unknown Intruder

Ba-thump!0

Lu Yizhou's heart gave a lurch and his vision abruptly swayed. Moshe's voice seemed to echo beside his ears, but it also sounded faraway. Lu Yizhou wanted to answer yet his tongue felt swollen in his mouth. The system notification's warning blasted his mind like a wailing siren, and then everything turned dark.

[System notification: We would like to apologize for the short disturbance we have caused for the patients. As of now, the simulator is undergoing quick maintenance. This will take approximately ten minutes. Please wait patiently and thank you for your understanding.]

Lu Yizhou's sight was totally black and no matter how many times he blinked, it didn't change. It seemed like his body had fainted, but his consciousness was floating amidst this unknown space. He hissed, full of accusation. [What have you done?!]

In this space, 666's voice echoed loudly as if it came from all directions.

[666: N–No, Host, it isn't 666! 666 swears in the name of Admin God QAQ! Remember that we have hacked into the main system since the previous simulation? 666 has been maintaining the stealth mode all this while and acts very carefully whenever we have to do something. There's no way 666 will make this kind of error at times like these!]

It was becoming instinctual for Lu Yizhou to blame 666 for every problem that came his way, judging from many perilous situations the system had put him in before.

But then, he recalled that 666 had changed the time limit for him in the fifth world and also helped him retrieve the secret data from the recycle bin in the sixth world. Those acts were certainly more dangerous and risky than simply defusing a simple time bomb inside the simulator. But 666 had executed both of them very well.

If it wasn't 666, then what had alerted the main system?

Unknown intruder…

[Can you find out what is happening?]

[666: Hmph! Do you have something to say to 666 first, Host?]

Lu Yizhou let out a long-suffering sigh and admitted his mistake. [This time, I have accused you blindly. I'm sorry.] Even without any visuals, he could imagine how high 666's nose right now from his smug tone. 

[666: Aiyah… Host is too kind. Why are you apologizing to 666? You're making 666 shy. Do you want 666's help to observe the situation in the main system? Sure, 666 will gladly do it for Host. After all, 666 is the most intelligent system, right~]

Lu Yizhou discreetly rolled his eyes. [...Yes.] Anything to get the system to work.

[666: Hehehehe please wait a minute~]

[666: Oh! Poor Moshe. He seems very shaken, Host. His complexion doesn't look too good.]

Even though he was currently in soul form, Lu Yizhou still felt something within his chest twinge as if twisted by an invisible force. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Right, Moshe. He must have been so shocked when Lu Yizhou fainted all of a sudden right in front of his eyes. Lu Yizhou wanted to demand 666 to tell him more but… in the end, he held himself back. He had a hunch that it was better if he didn't see his lover right now when he was in such a helpless state.

For Moshe, whose heartbeat didn't even stutter when his own life was threatened, to be very shaken, how much fright had Lu Yizhou caused him?

Ten minutes, he counted inwardly. Ten minutes and he would go back to his lover.

The wait was agonizing, especially when the space in front of him was pitch black. The darkness seemed to manifest into his mind, conjuring one scenario after another. He couldn't erase the thought of Moshe's pale and distraught face from his mind. It nearly drove him insane.

Fortunately 666 came back in the nick of time. Lu Yizhou sensed the system's presence in the back of his mind but it was very unlike 666 to remain silent. Lu Yizhou instantly knew that something was wrong. Goddamnit, the simulator really didn't let him catch a break, did it? He took a deep breath to prepare himself. [What is it?]

[666: This… This might be a little hard to believe, Host. But 666 senses a very familiar presence. It looks very much like… the protagonist, Zion.]

Lu Yizhou closed his eyes. If he could feel his limbs, he would have pinched his brows right now. Right, another troublemaker. Lu Yizhou had been happy with the news of Zion's coma, secretly wishing that the protagonist would drop dead suddenly in his sleep. With the way they parted ways, there was no chance for Zion and Cedric to be together in the future. If Lu Yizhou could just get rid of Zion, then it meant removing a huge obstacle because he did not even consider Cedric as a threat. The mission might even be completed after that.

Alas, he should have known that nothing would ever come easy.

[How can he alert the main system? Wait, no— how can he get into the main system in the first place?]

[666: That… It seems like the drug he has been affected with plays a very big part, Host. He's supposed to be clear now, but for some reason, he is still not awake yet. 666 suspects that his subconsciousness has drifted out of this world and through some coincidences, found its way into the main system. Ckckck, this lucky bastard.]

Lu Yizhou's eyes were chillingly cold. [So it all comes down to the bug, huh? I should have gotten rid of them ages ago.] 

He had not even begun to approach Regius yet because the man was currently in Moshe's hands and Moshe himself hadn't even shown his shadow in front of Lu Yizhou until today. Lu Yizhou wasn't scared that he wouldn't get the chance to meet Regius because he knew Moshe's temperament clearly. Knew he wouldn't grant Regius an easy death after what the latter had done. 

And now everything had come back to bite him in the ass. He should have asked Moshe about Regius right after they met! But could anybody blame him for being so weak in the face of his lover's beauty? With Moshe out to get his soul like that, Lu Yizhou was helpless but to be drawn toward his orbit. 

He heaved out a heavy sigh. [So… has Zion come to an awareness about this world?] Just thinking about it gave him a headache. Last time he could deal with Zion easily because the man was so full of himself and confident in his own capabilities. 

If there came a day when Zion knew about the simulator… fuck, that would be such a pain in the ass. Lu Yizhou wholeheartedly cursed the person who had created the rule which prohibited him from killing the protagonists. Everything would be so much easier if he could just eliminate them.

[666: Err… 666 is not sure either. He must not have gone too deep before the system detected him. For now, we can only wait for news from the maintenance department — Oh my Admin God, the system forum is going wild! Every transmigrator out there is currently experiencing the same thing as you, Host! This project has been going on for more than a decade and this is the first time such a huge problem has cropped up!]

[666: *shiver* W–Will we have to meet Admin God again after this…?]

Lu Yizhou had no answer to that question. If it was depending on him, then no — he had nothing to talk about with Dr. Feng who was currently monitored by God-knows-who. But this problem had affected the entire simulator. The people who had created the bug would be alarmed, and those who had been kept in the dark would also be notified. 

From now on, the existence of bugs would come into light and that also meant… Z wouldn't be able to keep his status quo. Lu Yizhou had no idea whether this was a good development or not. 

Lu Yizhou was too engrossed in his conversation with 666 that ten minutes passed without him noticing. The next thing he knew, something was tugging on his consciousness and he let it be. He let himself be pulled along with the current, going up and up until he breached the surface. 

The sounds came to him first; the roaring engine of the car, Kaede's voice that was urgently demanding the closest hospital under The Void's territory to expect them, the continuous car horns and lastly… the quick, erratic pulse beside his ear…

His brows wrinkled and he struggled to peel his eyes open. A cold touch landed on his cheek, followed by a tentative voice, so soft and quiet that it was almost lost amidst the cacophony of chaotic sounds around them. "Lu Yizhou…?"

Oh. Oh, that voice. So full of hope, hesitance and fear. Lu Yizhou's heart gave another pang as his eyelids fluttered open. "Moshe…" he rasped, his vision slowly coming into focus. 

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