After an Infinite Flow Player Retires

Chapter 29

Ji Xuan quickly withdrew from the illusion created by the mirror spirit.

The scene around him was the same as before he closed his eyes.

Dark ghost energy tightly filled the entire room while two weak humans clung to the wall in fear, their faces pale and distorted as they waited for death to come.

Ji Xuan lowered his eyes and looked down at Ye Jia who was lying in his arms.

The young man's head rested against his shoulder, his dark and smooth hair sticking out from under his hood. The tip of his chin was pale and delicate, and his beautifully contoured lips were closed tightly even while he was unconscious, making him appear cold and distant.

Ji Xuan silently let out a sigh of regret.

—-The passage of time in the illusory space created by the mirror spirit was different to that of real life. They had stayed in the illusion for three full days, but only a few minutes had passed in the real world.

With this, the other party should soon wake up,

Ji Xuan lowered his head, his gaze falling onto the broken mirror fragments on the ground. A dim light flashed across the depths of his eyes.

It seems that……Big brother didn't like that perfect world plan very much.

But it didn't matter. He had time. Sooner or later, he can personally create the perfect ending belonging to the two of them.

Ji Xuan curled up his lips and gently pressed his lips on the sleeping young man's forehead.

He laid Ye Jia back down onto the ground and then stood up and walked towards the two fearful humans.

Dong Gua trembled violently as he backed away but his back was already firmly pressed against the wall. There was no room for him to retreat.

His face was as white as paper. He watched the man slowly approach him—-The other party's strong oppressive presence made it almost impossible for him to breathe.

It's over, it's over, it's over…..

Dong Gua chanted in his heart.

But unexpectedly, the other party stopped about a step away from him.

Ji Xuan looked down at the two pitifully weak humans before him and spoke.

"It's a pity. If I killed you here, he would realise that I was here."

Please read this from kk translates

The two didn't dare let out a sound. They trembled in fear, waiting for their final sentence.

Ji Xuan asked with a smile that didn't seem quite like a smile.

"So, you will keep it a secret for me, won't you?"

Dong Gua breathed a little. Like a drowning man grasping onto something to preserve his life, he stammered, "I…..I promise. I w-won't say a single word….w-won't say anything."

The other tall and lanky man also quickly swore on it

The next second, their voices abruptly stopped.

It was as if some oath had taken effect. A strange feeling took over them. They instinctively realised—-If they violated this oath, something extremely terrible would befall them.

The two hurriedly looked at each other with a look of panic. They almost immediately understood that it wasn't just their imagination as soon as they made eye contact.

Ji Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

"But….." He seemed to have suddenly thought of something and continued.

Accompanied by a slightly dragged-out tone, those scarlet eyes of his turned and fell onto the tall and lanky man.

"You're different."

Recalling what he saw in the blood mirror, the blood around Ji Xuan gradually thickened and congealed.

Although his expression didn't change much but that look of joy and anger in his eyes made one instinctively even more frightened and fearful.

He casually raised a finger.

A scarlet light flashed and fell onto the tall and lanky man. As if it had a mind of its own, it dived into the depths of his body.

——!!!

The tall and lanky man suddenly widened his eyes. His unclear eyes were bloodshot, and his ugly face became strange and distorted with fear and panic.

Ji Xuan raised his lips but there was no smile in the depths of his eyes.

"Enjoy."

.

In the illusion.

A crescent shape blade swung down, reflecting a bright light.

The young man advanced step by step, the scarlet blood under him spreading as he moved. Wherever his ghost domain touched, it was as if it was corroded by strong acid. They all quickly twisted, shrivelled and shattered, turning into pitch-black smoke and scattering in the air

Floors, buildings, roads, sky——

Everything that was covered seemed to be crushed by some terrible unknown force, turning into an empty and icy-cold void.

Where the darkness and scarlet intersected, the young man's figure was like a sharp silhouette, forcibly splitting the world.

The blade gleamed. It drew a large arc and cut the boundary between the void and the illusory world.

Everything was dying out quickly, as if they were decaying and rotting.

Suddenly, there was a fluctuation in the area ahead that had not yet been eroded.

Cheng Cezhi, Liu Zhaocheng, Ji Xuan…..familiar figures emerged one after another.

"Brother Ye? What are you doing?" Cheng Cezhi looked at him with worry, "Where are you going?"

"Ye Jia, what are doing outside at such a late hour?" Liu Zhaocheng frowned, "You still have work tomorrow."

Ji Xuan slowly stepped forward.

His expression was calm and gentle, and his dark eyes flashed with concern.

He said, "Senior, after finally meeting after so long, don't you want to reminisce old times with me?"

"We used to be such good friends." Ji Xuan smiled slightly, "I will never be your enemy."

Ye Jia's gaze indifferently swept across these illusory phantoms.

The sea of blood roared behind him, charging ahead mercilessly.

Those figures were quickly swallowed up.

"…..Xiao Jia."

At this moment, a gentle voice sounded from another direction.

The look in Ye Jia's eyes wavered slightly. He turned and looked in the direction of the sound.

His mother looked at him from a distance.

The wrinkles on her face and the white hairs at her temples were gone. Wearing a light-yellow dress, she wore her favourite pearl necklace around her neck and her long hair was pulled up into a high ponytail. She looked extremely elegant and beautiful.

She gently smiled.

She looked…..just like how she did the night before her death.

Ye Jia looked at her expressionlessly. The fingers around the handle of the scythe tightened slightly.

His mother smiled gently and slowly stretched out her hand to him.

"Don't you want to stay with us?"

She said softly, "Stay with me. I will never leave you again."

Ye Jia stood quietly in place. A certain dark emotion rolled about in the depths of his light-coloured eyes like turbulent clouds in the sky before a storm.

He chuckled lightly.

"Shameless."

Ye Jia slowly stepped forward, his voice still calm, "Do you realise how many bosses in that game have tried to use this trick?"

He asked lightly, "Do you know what I did?"

In the game, what ordinary monsters and ghosts sought for was nothing more than satisfying their hunger and desire to kill. They wanted his life and he also wanted theirs.

The essence of it was just a fight to their deaths between the two parties, there were no private grievances.

But this kind of ghost who would try and read his memory, find his weakness and even involve his late mother…….

——It had turned this matter it a personal enmity.

The smile remained on Ye Jia's lips, but his eyes were as cold as frost.

"I will make your demise as long and as painful as possible."

The sea of blood behind him was no longer restrained. It swelled like crazy and instantly submerged the entire world.

A scream sounded from a distance.

A transparent snake with colourful patterns appeared, "Ahhhhhhhh!!"

After being forced to reveal itself, the mirror spirit realised at this moment that it had miscalculated.

When it was caught by that terrible monster earlier, it had originally thought that it was doomed, but it didn't expect the other party to just say a few inexplicable words and then let it go.

Although the mirror spirit didn't understand that happened between them, there was one thing it was quite certain about.

No matter what it was planning on doing, that powerful and terrifying existence was not going to intervene.

And so, the mirror spirit began to act unscrupulously.

Although it had heard of Ace's reputation and knew that this person wasn't someone it should provoke, it also smelt the powerful and enticing scent emanating from this person, enticing it to take the risk.

After all…..No matter how amazing he may be, Ace was still just a human.

As long as he was human, he would have weaknesses and desires, and it was a creature that bred on that desire. As long as it was given time, it could take that human and his soul and make it its own.

But who would have thought that…..It seemed to have bought itself to its demise.

Its eyes rolled around cunningly. It then began to beg for mercy, "Big brother, please forgive me! I don't dare do it anymore! I promise!"

Ye Jia looked down at it indifferently.

Please read this from kk translates

His eyes were cold and distant. He looked down from above, as if he was look at an insignificant piece of dust next to his feet.

The mirror spirit's heart fell. An ominous premonition rose inside it.

—-This person didn't seem to be the type to be moved by words.

In instinctively shuddered and turned around to escape.

But before it could take more than a few steps, the thick blood on the ground seemed like it had a consciousness of its own. They surged and wrapped around the mirror spirit.

"Ahhhhhhhh———-!!!!"

A painful scream reverberated through world that was covered with darkness and dark red blood.

The mirror spirit tumbled around in the sea of blood. Its slender body seemed to have endured some kind of inhumane torture as it twisted and turned into strange shapes and let out sharp cries of pain. It had never experienced such a horrible feeling before. The pain was so intense, the word pain seemed to have lost its meaning. It struggled on the brink of collapse and was tortured by precisely controlled pain. It felt as if its body and soul were slowly being cut apart and that sensation had been magnified by at least a hundred times.

For the first time, the feeling of regret and fear developed in its heart.

But Ye Jia just stood on the side, listening calmly. It was as if he was appreciating some kind of beautiful melody. Those amber-coloured eyes were half narrowed as he stood before the bloody scene, making him appear cruel and frightening.

After a long, long time, those miserable cries seemed to have become part of the background noises.

The scythe blade moved slightly. It hovered above the mirror spirit as if it would fall any second and completely end the other party's life.

"You think that you have strong willpower, don't you?"

The transparent snake laid on the ground with its body twisted up. It raised its triangular head, its pair of transparent eyes vicious and crazed. It hissed, "….What I created were all the truest desires in your heart."

"You are very strong. You could choose to force me out like this from the very beginning, right?" The mirror spirit smiled bitterly, "But you didn't. You chose to stay here for three days, didn't you? What were you thinking about during those three days?"

It knew that it wouldn't be able to escape.

Therefore…..even if it would be hurt, it wanted to make the other party feel the same pain as well!

The mirror spirit's mouth opened wide, its transparent tongue sticking out as if it was tasting the emotional changes of the other party. It sneered coldly, "Deep in your heart, haven't you had those thoughts before?—–How good it would be if all of that had never happened? How good it would be if this world was real—-"

"You surrendered to your own desires. After spending three days living a life you could never live, how did it feel? Satisfying? Or despairing?"

It raised its head and started to laugh uncontrollably. The malice in its voice couldn't be concealed.

"Who would have thought that the deeply concealed wish the famous Ace couldn't resist was to be an ordinary and insignificant human!"

Ye Jia's eyes were lowered.

His expression was the same as usual. He seemed to be used to hiding all his emotions under a perfect mask.

"…..Yeah." He suddenly spoke. His voice was calm, as if he wasn't affected by the other party. He just repeated indifferently, "Who would have thought."

Nine to five, a busy life filled with trivial matters with days slipping away from the fingers like running water, a life so calm that one would barely notice the passage of time.

—-Continuing until all his hairs turned grey, until he passed away.

An extremely peaceful and boring life.

But for him, it was so……

Alluring.

——So alluring that even if he knew that it was all just an illusion, he couldn't help but desire it.

Ye Jia lowered his eyes. The sharp blade cut down without hesitation.

A cold light silently flashed. In an instant, the mirror spirit's life was terminated.

As soon as the blade fell, the illusion around him every quickly fell apart.

The scythe in his hand disappeared.

Ye Jia stood alone at the junction between darkness and blood, his slender figure looking extremely lonely.

His voice was very soft, so soft that it was about to be swallowed up by the air as soon as those words left his lips.

"What's fake will always be fake."

A pity.

.

With the mirror spirit gone, the illusion also dispersed.

Ye Jia opened his eyes. Using his hands to support himself, he slowly got up.

From the moment he woke up, the ghost energy around him returned to his body like a beast being restrained.

The cold surroundings began to warm up again, and it also gradually brightened up.

The small room returned to its original state.

Ye Jia massaged his temples. His head was pounding.

He raised his eyes and saw the two people hiding in the furthest corner of the room. They appeared to be extremely frightened and were trembling like crazy as they stared at him with horrified eyes.

"…..Mirror spirit?" Ye Jia was expressionless, "You even thought of that."

Dong Gua squeezed out a smile with difficulty, but it looked worse than crying, "Brother Ace, this was all done by that skinny guy. I didn't do anything!"

He fearfully stood up as he supported himself using the wall, "I-In order to express my sincere apologies, I will immediately go surrender myself!"

This attitude was very good.

"Then what about your things?" Ye Jia narrowed his eyes and looked at him suspiciously.

Dong Gua hurriedly explained, "Of course, they will all be handed in! Including my account book and how these cursed items work and how to remove the curse……I am willing to atone for my wrongdoings and actively cooperate!"

Ye Jia's gaze fell onto the other man. His brows furrowed slightly, "What about him?"

That tall and lanky man…..looked a little strange.

Dong Gua hastily added, "He will do the same! He will do the same!"

He kicked the other person and spoke half-truthfully, "This man is very timid and was scared shitless by you. He will be better after some time."

—–Or perhaps he won't ever get better.

Based on the instincts he had honed during his time in the game, Dong Gua knew that he shouldn't let the young man in front of him know what happened just now or the consequences would be unimaginable.

.

Dong Gua pointed to the sky and vowed that he would actively cooperate with the Bureau's investigation. He even expressed that he would help with dealing with the other cursed items which may be circulating around—-He threw himself into the deep end without any hesitation.

Only after watching the other person's short winter melon-like figure disappear through the door of the Paranormal Investigation and Management Bureau did Ye Jia truly believe in the other party's sincerity to turn himself in.

……How strange.

Although Ye Jia had long known about Dong Gua's ability to go with the flow and adapt accordingly to changes in power, he didn't expect him to have such a drastic change in attitude.

.

In the corner outside the building.

A hooded young man stood quietly in the dark, his slender figure almost blending with the shadows around him.

Ye Jia looked at the entrance to the Bureau not far away. A complex look flashed across his eyes.

He perhaps had not been aware of it until now——-Or perhaps, he was aware of it, but didn't want to admit it:

Ever since he cleared the game, everything he had done was done in order to allow him to live what he imagined an 'ordinary life of an ordinary person' was like.

Clumsy, difficult, and the occasional failure, but he never grew tired of it.

If nothing happened, perhaps after a few years or after a decade, Ye Jia would be able to truly live the peaceful and ordinary life he dreamed of.

However, reality was cruel.

Just as he thought he had successfully escaped, leaving the past behind him, the game collapsed, and the ghost door opened. Fierce ghosts, monsters….and even people he was acquainted with that he thought he would never see again appeared before him one after another. They reached out to him, trying to pull him into that nightmare again. They whispered in his ear——

It isn't over yet.

You are still one of us.

Don't think that just by putting on a superficial layer of human disguise, you can pretend that you have forgotten everything.

Stop dreaming.

The illusion of peace and tranquillity was like the moon reflected in a pond. You could only watch from a distance but can never touch it—-He now deeply understood this.

Ye Jia lowered his eyes.

Please read this from kk translates

He still remembered how panicked he was when he was first dragged into the game. He had struggled with all his might in attempt to survive in that dangerous instance.

But now……

Everything was different.

Whether it was the world, the game or he himself. They were all no longer what it used to be.

Ye Jia raised his eyes. His amber eyes gleamed as he looked at the distant sky. The clouds there were reflected in his eyes. At that place, rain fell heavily onto the city below.

He couldn't be more certain. His current peaceful life was currently at risk. If he left it alone, that life would soon be no more.

—-Since he couldn't avoid it, then he won't try and avoid it.

Ye Jia raised his hand. He pulled down his hood with his pale and slender fingers, the shadow from it hiding those eyes that had turned cold.

It was just a matter of returning to his old profession.

He slowly stepped back, his figure instantly melting into the seemingly endless darkness behind him.

.

Wu Su had never expected that something so wonderful would befall him.

While he was busy looking up information about the cursed items in the library, a short and chubby man pushed open the door to the Bureau.

He held a large cardboard box in his arms which was completely filled with various cursed items.

"My name is Dong Gua." Dong Gua said, "Call your captain over."

Dong Gua's name was very familiar.

This person was also someone from the game. It was said he was immune to curses and once took advantage of that immunity and was involved with some dirty work. Although he had washed his hands clean of this later, as someone with experience in the game, Wu Su didn't think that someone like him would be anyone friendly.

Wu Su immediately put his guard up. He rushed to the interrogation room at the fastest speed possible.

What he didn't expect was….

The other party actually came to turn himself in.

Watching Dong Gua obediently give them his rental address, his keys and all the stolen goods he had smuggled out from the game and even provide them with a list of all the cursed items he had sold and the purchaser's details, Wu Su felt that the situation was unreal.

T-that's it??

Don't even need them to question him…..??

Just that simple??

Just as Wu Su was still in confusion, Dong Gua seemed to have noticed his stare.

He raised his chubby face and walked straight towards him.

"Wu Su?"

Wu Su was a little surprised. He didn't expect the other party to know him. He nodded, "That's me."

"Ace asked me to pass a message to you."

Dong Gua's voice wasn't loud, but it sounded like thunder exploding in Wu Su's ears.

"He wants to have a chat with you."