Chapter 409 |
“Then, Master…”
Four girls, all with Liguang’s face, spoke at the same time.
“The Liguang you lost—”
The black-haired, straight-haired girl smiled shyly.
She raised a slender finger and gently tapped her own nose.
“Is it me?”
Her tone was as soft as water.
The blonde twin-tailed girl immediately stepped half a pace forward, her fluffy twin tails swaying lightly.
She held her hands behind her back, bent slightly at the waist, tilted her head to look at Fang Qi, and her crimson eyes were full of playful glee.
The brown-haired short-haired girl also stepped forward.
She placed one hand on her hip and lifted her chin slightly.
“It’s me, right!”
The red-haired girl with a single ponytail remained in place, her high heels making her appear even taller.
Arms crossed, she lifted her gaze slightly, crimson eyes lazy and cold.
“It’s me.”
The four girls tilted their heads at the same time, their movements perfectly synchronized.
“Please choose your Liguang.”
Voices of different emotions overlapped, echoing across the grassy clearing in front of the forest cabin!
Fang Qi was stunned.
Oh my God…
So many Liguangs!
Is this heaven?
No…
It could also be a hellish battlefield!
He had to pick the right option!
His gaze sharpened!
He scanned from left to right, then right to left!
Four faces. Four completely different looks.
Four entirely different temperaments!
But…
His eyes paused.
Every face was Liguang’s face.
…Only one correct choice?
Looking at the four girls with such distinct expressions in front of him, he felt cold sweat prickle on his back.
A three-in-four chance of death!
Choose wrong…
And you die!
…No way!
Impossible!
Only a gambler would pick such a life-or-death question!
He wasn’t going to choose!
He had to find another way!
So he took a deep breath…
Then he threw his hand forward with a flourish!
Watch me pull off a Galgame master move!
“NONE OF YOU ARE!”
He declared passionately.
The four girls all blinked at the same time.
Fang Qi crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared down at the four girls through his nostrils!
He put on an air of utter disdain!
“The Liguang I lost is one with silver hair and heterochromatic eyes!”
His voice grew louder.
“She’s the Liguang I’ve loved since I was little!”
“She’s the big sister I’ve been drawing since I was three years old!”
“Fang Qi only wants the Liguang who belongs to me!”
Then he reached out a hand!
“Come on! Give my Liguang back to me!”
He kept his head raised, looking down at the four girls with a haughty expression.
Chin held high, his face full of self-righteousness.
Perfect!
Just like him!
But then…
The four girls all smiled at once.
A gentle yet benevolent smile!
A smile that sent chills down his spine!
Fang Qi: “…?”
What’s going on?
Why are they all smiling like that?
Did what I say just now… say something wrong?
I was right, wasn’t I?
And before him, the black-haired straight-haired girl lowered her gaze slightly, her slender fingers gently clutching the hem of her school skirt.
“Master, do you mean that if Liguang takes another form…”
She raised her eyes, and in her deep amber pupils, there was a tremble in her gaze.
“You won’t recognize Liguang anymore?!”
The blonde twin-tailed girl picked up her words, her crimson eyes obviously dimming!
Meanwhile, the brown-haired short-haired girl tilted her head slightly.
The bright cheer on her pretty face had clearly faded.
“Master, you know that Liguang’s true form…”
She squinted, lightly tapping her chest with a finger.
The red-haired girl with the single ponytail finally spoke:
“Is an ugly monster.”
She stood with her arms crossed, her long legs wrapped in a tight black skirt slightly crossed.
Her voice was the softest, and the coldest.
Then…
“…Master? You know that, don’t you?”
The four girls’ voices overlapped again.
All staring at him with a dark, lingering gaze.
Fang Qi: “I…”
Before him were four pairs of eyes.
Two amber, two crimson.
In the gradually darkening sky, they all glimmered with a faint, eerie glow.
Fang Qi was utterly lost.
…Huh?
Then cold sweat trickled down his forehead!
He was drenched in sweat!
This time, he was truly drenched!
…Damn!
How could he have missed that!
An ugly monster…
That Crazy Girl of his had always been bothered by that!
Even though he’d tried to heal her with so many kisses and confessions…
Deep down, she still cared!
Yeah, right!
Liguang was a girl too!
What girl wouldn’t care about having an “ugly” side to her!
So, what he just said—“I want the Liguang with silver hair and heterochromatic eyes”—was basically equivalent to…
—“Without that silver-haired, heterochromatic-eyed look, Master won’t acknowledge you!”
No!
That’s not what I meant!
“I—!”
He was about to say something…
Suddenly, the sky went dark!
In a matter of seconds, the clear, sunny sky plunged into darkness!
…?!
Fang Qi looked up sharply!
The sky, which had been bright and cloudless moments ago, was now completely covered by thick, heavy clouds!
The sunlight vanished.
In just a few breaths, the entire grassy clearing in front of the forest cabin fell dark!
In the distance, the dense woodland became utterly pitch-black.
Black, deep and profound.
The shadows of the trees began to sway!
“Caw—!”
A strange cry, from some unknown creature, came from the direction of the woods!
Then, the sound of wings flapping!
The next second, a black mass surged past in flocks from among the trees!
Fang Qi stared, his eyes fixed.
…Bats?
Or… something else?
He couldn’t tell.
He could only see that dark shadow surging in the blackness!
Like a living, moving ink!
The wind grew stronger!
On the grass, the blades were flattened by the gusts.
The temperature around them plummeted!
The cabin in front, which had been warm and cozy, now only stood as a grim silhouette in the dark.
The flowerpot on the windowsill became a vague, menacing shape!
The wind chime by the door made a chaotic, jarring clatter in the wind!
“Creak…”
The cabin door was slowly blown open by the wind.
The pitch-black doorway looked like a silent, gaping maw!
…Hiss!
Fang Qi’s hair stood on end!
Suddenly, a flash of white light sliced across the sky!
A bolt of lightning tore through the air!
In the harsh white glare, it lit up everything before him!
Those four identical pretty faces turned deathly pale in the flash of lightning!
They were smiling!
A gentle smile.
A playful smile.
A bright smile.
A cold smile.
In that instant of lightning, all of it burned clearly into Fang Qi’s pupils.
Then the lightning died.
The four faces sank back into the darkness.
“Boom—!!!”
Thunder exploded!
…Holy shit!
Fang Qi’s body went stiff!
He almost instinctively turned to run!
No way…
This is terrifying!
What the hell… what’s going on!
Fang Qi felt tears in his eyes!
This is all wrong!
Wasn’t this supposed to be a Galgame?
Where was the sweet romance talk?
How… how did it suddenly turn into a horror game!
Sure… I kind of like playing horror games…
It might even be fun to play one with my Wife…
But this horror game is based on a jealous Wife being angry…
That is way too terrifying!
“Boom—!!”
The thunder still rumbled overhead!
Afterimage of that lightning flash still lingered on his retina!
The smiling faces of the four girls in front of him had become nothing more than blurry silhouettes in the darkness.
Fang Qi swallowed hard.
What should he do?
Explain himself?
Say, "That's not what I meant"?
Screw explanations!
The more he explained, the messier it got!
This kind of thing only gets worse the more you try to clarify it!
So...
Got it!
Play weak!
Wife, save me!
Fang Qi instantly put on a miserable face!
"Liguang... you, you, you..."
He was stumbling over his words!
"Don't scare me like this!"
His voice trembled faintly, sounding genuine.
It really was a bit shaky—he didn't even have to fake it!
"I'm scared! I'm really scared!"
"I don't want a horror game!"
His words echoed in the darkness.
The silhouettes of the four girls in front of him didn't move.
The atmosphere around them was still a little eerie.
But Fang Qi raised an eyebrow slightly.
Because he noticed...
After a few seconds of silence...
The surroundings actually began to brighten, bit by bit!
Although the sky was still gray, although the dark clouds still hung thick, at least it was no longer completely pitch-black!
Because...
Dawn had broken.
In the distance, the strange sounds in the forest faded away.
The things shaking in the shadows of the trees were gone.
Bats, or whatever they were, had all flown off.
The wooden cabin in front of him returned to its former warm and gentle appearance!
The wind chime by the door chimed brightly and clearly.
The door that had been blown open by the wind closed on its own!
"Phew...!"
Fang Qi slowly let out a breath and relaxed a little.
Alright, alright, playing weak really worked...
But the consequences of making his Wife angry were truly severe...
"Master..."
The girl with long, straight black hair suddenly spoke softly.
Fang Qi's breath caught for a moment!
"You should..."
The blonde twin-tails chimed in, her tone still carrying a hint of displeasure.
The brown-haired short-cut girl tilted her head:
"Probably make a choice right now..."
The red-haired ponytail girl lowered her gaze slightly:
"Isn't that right?"
Fang Qi: "..."
He still had to choose...!
Was this life-or-death question unavoidable after all...?
Alright, alright...
No shortcuts were allowed, it seemed!
He rubbed his face, which was still a bit stiff, stood up straight, and focused his gaze on the four girls in front of him.
Now he could see their faces again.
The black-haired girl tilted her head slightly, a trace of helplessness in her amber eyes.
The blonde twin-tails puffed out her cheeks while her red eyes twinkled slightly.
The brown-haired short-cut girl rested a hand on her hip, her expression caught between amusement and exasperation.
The red-haired ponytail girl was still standing with her arms crossed, but the coldness at the corner of her mouth had softened a little.
The expressions of the four girls were all different.
But because of his earlier "playing weak and fearful," they each showed signs of helplessness or tenderness.
Fang Qi was momentarily stunned.
They... all felt like Liguang.
He couldn't tell them apart.
He really... couldn't figure out which one was Liguang!
They all had Liguang's face.
Every single one of them carried Liguang's shadow.
The gentle obedience of the black-haired girl.
The playful charm of the blonde twin-tails.
The frankness of the brown-haired short-cut girl.
The cool aloofness of the red-haired ponytail.
All of them were like Liguang.
Like his Crazy Girl.
Like different sides of his Crazy Girl, showing up in different states.
...He just couldn't see it!
He looked back and forth between the four girls.
The black-haired girl smiled at him.
The blonde twin-tails winked playfully.
The brown-haired short-cut girl started glaring at him.
The red-haired ponytail girl gave him a brief, indifferent glance.
Fang Qi's eyelids were twitching wildly!
Holy crap!
A harem of Liguang's many faces!
How was he supposed to crack this?
...Just pick one randomly?
But what if he chose wrong? Wouldn't that be disaster?
—"Master doesn't love Liguang enough. If she changes her appearance, he can't recognize her."
Fang Qi: "..."
But he really couldn't tell.
Right now, he just felt like his Liguang...
How could there be four of her?
Could it be...
Fang Qi felt a bit uncomfortable, lacking confidence.
Was it really because his love for Liguang wasn't strong enough that he couldn't recognize her...?
...Wait a minute.
He suddenly narrowed his eyes.
No, he shouldn't doubt himself!
He suddenly realized a problem!
Were the four girls in front of him truly... only one of them being Liguang?
He squinted, scanning their faces.
Could it be that all of them were Liguang?
When you got right down to it, wasn't this entire virtual world constructed by Liguang?
Everything here—the sky, the grass, the forest, the cabin—
And of course, the four girls in front of him included—were all powered by Liguang's core!
In this world, apart from him, Fang Qi, the "player" who had been pulled in...
How could there possibly be any other consciousness?
Shouldn't everything here that could move, speak, and smile at him be controlled solely by Liguang herself?
From that perspective, what was this "only one is real" nonsense?
If only one was real, who were the other three?
...Ghosts?
This really was a horror game!
...Impossible!
Fang Qi scanned the familiar, pretty faces of the four Liguangs in front of him!
Liguang had lied to him!
They all had to be Liguang herself!
He narrowed his eyes and observed carefully.
The black-haired girl had a tender and shy expression because of his scrutiny.
The blonde twin-tails immediately made a face at him.
The brown-haired short-cut girl met his gaze directly, openly staring back.
The red-haired ponytail girl just gave him a quick glance and let out a soft snort.
...No matter how he looked at it, every one of them seemed like his Liguang!
That little yandere who would leave teeth marks on his neck!
They were all just wearing different clothes, making different expressions, talking to him in different voices!
Fang Qi slowly closed his eyes.
He decided to trust his gut!
All the girls in front of him...
Were his Wife!
He suddenly opened his eyes!
"Liguang!" he shouted, glaring at the four girls.
"You've been naughty!"
"You lied to your Master, didn't you!"
He raised his finger and pointed it at each girl's nose, from left to right.
"You, you, you, and you!"
"You're all Liguang!"
He waved his hand grandly, took a deep breath... and spoke the words straight from his heart.
"I want all of you!"
"You're all my Wives!"
