Despite the trouble they caused, the robots yielded very little rewards for the duo. With the exception of so blueprints with high drop rate, there was nothing of value among the loot drops. Ye Ci and Fleeting Ti collected the blueprints, which would then be mailed to the Engineers of their respective guild through Nicky. The Goblin Lookout, however, yielded 2 energy cores.
Ye Ci stared at the energy cores. She was upset that she knew nothing about the uses of the energy cores.
Fleeting Ti knelf on the ground, and rummaged through the pile of scrap tals on the ground. He then turned around and spoke to Ye Ci, “This thing seems to be rather intact. Why don’t you get over here and see if we can activate it?”
Ye Ci cast a glance at Fleeting Ti’s direction and saw a robot that was almost intact beside the man. She then stared at the energy cores in her hands, walked up to him, and knelt beside him. The duo began a short discussion about the disabled machine.
“Are you saying that I can place an energy core on it?”
“Yup. It’s worth a shot.”
“Don’t you think that it’s too damaged by now? Smoke was coming out from that thing earlier! Will it fall apart...” said Ye Ci as she stared at the fallen robot.
“Who knows. Life is all about taking risks. We have 3 energy cores with us anyways. Why don’t we try one out on this thing since we can’t find a new machine?” there were tis when a male would be more adventurous than a female. What appeared as a necessary risk to Fleeting Ti was a waste to ye Ci.
“Alright then.” Even if it might be a waste, this is the only solution we have for now. But... thought Ye Ci as she studied the robot intently, “Where do I plug the energy core in?”
“About that...” Fleeting Ti scratched his head. He was not an Engineer, which ant that he did not have the answer to Ye Ci’s question.”
“Forget about it. I’ll just as the Engineers in my guild.” Ye Ci could tell from Fleeting Ti’s expression that he knew nothing about a topic like this. She then sent a private ssage to Pea Cake. She was infuriated by the response that ca imdiately, “The player is currently in a area with no reception and is not able to receive your ssage. Please try again later.”
F*ck! What do you think is this? China Mobile? What do you an by ‘the player is in an area with no reception’?
Ye Ci sighed and said to Fleeting Ti, “My call is restricted by the system. I’m sure that there’s a few Engineers in your guild. Can you get in touch with them?”
Fleeting Ti nodded, and began contacting the Engineers in his guild.
After the long ti spent by the duo in the dungeon, it was already 4am in the morning in real life. Most of the players in Genesis had already logged out of the ga, especially those who practice a healthy living habits. The few Engineers that Fleeting Ti have managed to contact knew nothing about Goblin Engineering.
“What is it? You can’t get hold of anyone?” observed Ye Ci. Even when she could not hear the conversation between Fleeting Ti and his guildmates, she could tell that things were not going well by his expression.
“Yup.” Fleeting Ti was still sifting through the mber list of his guild, “It’s already 4am in real life. Most of the life players are asleep. The ones that I managed to contact have not learnt Goblin Engineering yet.”
Goblin Engineering was one of the branches of Engineering available in Fate. Due to the quest that players were required to complete before they were able to learn Goblin Engineering, it was not sothing that could be learned by every Engineer. The Goblin Engineering that was available to players at the current stage of the ga was nothing compared to the marvels of true Goblin Engineering, but its product was still able to fetch a good price in the market.
An example of one such product was the Goblin Mobile Workbench that could be used to repair weapons and equipnt in a dungeon. The workbench could only be used for a total of five tis, but the price of one of the items could reach as high as millions in the market. It was apparent that the products of Goblin Engineering was very popular among players, and this led the the bloom in numbers of Engineers among the player population.
However, Life Skills in Fate was very hard to level up, and it was almost impossible for a player to reach the rank of Master in Goblin Engineering without the financial backing of large guilds.
Ye Ci finally realised that she had lost track of the ti in real life. Her heart imdiately sunk. Even if she was no longer in a restricted area, Pea Cake would have went to bed. He was a person with a very precise schedule who would log into the ga 8am in the morning, go offline for lunch at 12pm, and would log back into the ga an hour after lunch. Pea Cake would then log out from the ga at 6pm from dinner, log back in by 8pm, and would go to bed when 11pm at night. It was a daily routine that he would carry out without fail.
Bai Mo had once discussed the behavior of Pea Cake with Ye Ci, and they arrived at the conclusion that he was soone with OCD. Why else would he do that? It’s scary!
It was not an easy task to get the right person at a ti like this. With the exception of people like Ye Ci and Fleeting Ti who were forced to stay online, most of the players were very conscious about the need to strike balance between work and rest. It had been years since VR gas were introduced to the world, and the players knew that even when the nutrient pack was able to provide the human body with the necessary nutrients, and the fact that the human body was allowed to rest in the gaming cabin, they were still not as good as real food and a natural sleep cycle. Many of the players would make the choice to log out of the ga for als and for sleep when they were free of any quests that required them to stay online for long periods of ti.
“Forget about it. Let’s just head down to the lower levels and continue our exploration. The answer can wait.” said Ye Ci despite the unwillingness in her heart. Then again, she had no other choice but to give up. A sudden thought flashed across Ye Ci mind, “Don’t you have to go offline and sleep?”
“Nope. I’ll keep you company.”
“It’s okay...”
“You have very limited ti, and we don’t know just how big this dungeon is. Having two person exploring the dungeon is better than doing it solo. I’ve already connected a nutrient pack to my gaming cabin when I went offline for dinner earlier on.” and he continued with a smile, “Of course, I’m not doing it because of you. I myself am curious about this dungeon. There’s no way I’m going to leave before we complete our exploration.”
A dumbfounded Ye Ci stared at Fleeting Ti.
Knowing that his words would cause discomfort to Ye Ci, Fleeting Ti imdiately shifted the conversation, “Actually... I think there’s sobody who knows about Goblin Engineering.”
“Oh?” Fleeting Ti’s words attracted the attention of Ye Ci, who imdiately focused all of her attention on him, “And you know that person?”
“I don’t really know him, but a player in my guild knows him, and she seems to be online. I’ll go ask her then.” Fleeting Ti replied calmly.
“It’s so late now. You shouldn’t trouble her.” Ye Ci was filled with hope when she heard Fleeting Ti’s words, but the rational side of her mind kicked suggested otherwise, “Let’s just wait until next morning.”
Fleeting Ti smiled when he heard Ye Ci’s words, “I have a feeling that you’ll be restless if you can’t obtain an answer today.”
“Well, maybe a little. But it’s alright. Patience is a virtue.” Ye Ci was shocked when Fleeting Ti was able to guess her thoughts correctly. She was not angry. It did not matter in a place and at a ti like this.
She would only have to get along with Fleeting Ti for a few days. They would then go on their separate ways when the quest was completed. They would never be able to cross paths like this in the future. They would once again beco rivals.
There might not be much of a change.
How lucky it is for a person to have the chance to turn his or her rival into a friend. It was a luck that Ye Ci would always cherish, and with that thought in mind, Ye Ci’s anger towards Fleeting Ti died down.
The reason behind the ability of Ye Ci and Fleeting Ti to see through each other’s thoughts was simple: Your rival is the one that knows you the best.
It was not easy for a person to have a rival that knows him or her so well in life.
Fleeting Ti was slightly shocked when he heard Ye Ci’s words. He could tell from Gongzi You’s appearance that she was very young. A player was allowed to change his or her appearance in Fate, but age was sothing that was fixed by the system. Gongzi You had the appearance of a 20 years old girl, but the words that she spoke were from a person who was way matured than her age, and maturity was sothing that could not be faked.
Fleeting Ti was always confused by the Gongzi You’s young appearance and the maturity displayed by the girl.
A smile ford on his lips as he notice the grin on Ye Ci’s face, “I don’t want to leave you with any regrets.”
It was a smile that Ye Ci would rember for a very long ti. Fleeting Ti’s smile was so charming and so enticing at the mont. A person would collect bits of pieces of good mories during the course of their life, and Fleeting Ti’s smile on that day was one of her most profound mories.
Fleeting Ti began contacting the player when Ye Ci was still in a daze. It was a person that he had always wanted to avoid, as he knew that getting into contact with that person was no different from inviting trouble upon himself. He hated dealing with such a troubleso person, and would normally avoid such a stupid act. However, it was all so different at that mont. Despite the short ti they spent with each other, Fleeting Ti felt a sense of familiarity with Gongzi You, and he could not bear to see even the slightest hint of sadness in her.
That was why he did not even hesitate to contact the person despite the troubles his action would bring. There was no other reason behind his action. He was doing it for the person in front of him. He was doing it for Gongzi You.
“Are you there?”
White Fairytale was sitting by the beach in the map Silvery Coast. It was her favourite map in the entire Western Continent. The beauty of the silvery beach, the soft sand, the calm sea and the glistening starlight... It felt like they belong to her and her alone.
In White Fairytale’s heart, the beauty of this scenery belonged to two person. She was one of the two, and the other one was definitely not Sour Apple who was sitting beside her at the mont.
She imdiately fell in love with the beach when she visited the place for the first ti for a quest. She had always dreamt of the day a certain soone would sit shoulder to shoulder beside her, enjoying the beauty of the scenery. But... But.. It’s all impossible at this point, isn’t it?
Sour Apple was not in the mood to appreciate the scenery. Why is the breeze so damned cold? Despite Absalom’s warnings, Sour Apple spoke up when she noticed the depressed look on White Fairytale’s face, “Fairytale, don’t mind Absalom. You know that he’s an idiot who never thought things through whenever he speaks.”
Screw it! We can handle whatever problems that may arise in the future, but she needs so comfort now.
It was a habit of Absalom and his wife to go offline and head to bed at 12am. But with Absalom busy with locating the Mithril ore vein, and Sour Apple occupied with consoling White Fairytale, the couple remained online way past their bedti.
Despite Sour Apple’s efforts, White Fairytale remained silent.
Sour Apple was tired. She no longer wanted to waste her ti on White Fairytale, who ignored her as she blabbered on for hours. Nobody could bear with such an attitude. If her heart was not filled with guilt, White Fairytale would have bursted in anger. She regretted her conversation with Absalom earlier on as she stared out at the sea. I should’ve listened to Absalom. It’s stupid of to try and play matchmaker. I’ve ended up placing myself in an awkward position.
White Fairytale finally spoke up after a long mont of silence, as if she was a phantom that suddenly appeared before Sour Apple.
“Apple, do you know why I love this map?”
“Because it’s beautiful?” replied Sour Apple with a bored tone. In her tired and sleepy state, she no longer had the patience for White Fairytale.
“Nope.” replied White Fairytale with a smile.
“Why do you like this map then?”
“Do you rember that ti we all filled in our alumni during our highschool days?”
“Yup, yup.” answered Sour Apple. It was a distant mory for her. The only thing she rembered during her high school days was when Absalom gave her a kissed in public.
“Do you know what he wrote in his alumni about his favourite place?”
“Who is he?” Sour Apple let out a yawn. She was sleepy and her thoughts were sluggish, “You an Fleeting Ti?”
“Yes! His alumni said that he loved beaches with white sand.”
“This is why you love this map so much?” Sour Apple was shocked.
“Yup.” White Fairytale smiled sweetly at Sour Apple.
Sour Apple imdiately rested her hand against White Fairytale’s forehead to make sure that her friend was not having a fever.
“Fairytale, he wrote that a long ti ago! He was still a wimpy kid back then! Do you think that the things he wrote back then still counts?” Sour Apple’s shrieked at White Fairytale. She could feel her sanity falling apart.
“Of course.” White Fairytale remained calm despite Sour Apple’s question, “As long as he was the one who said it.”
“That’s not the point! People change! You can’t just take the words of a 16 year old kid as so sort of holy edict! You’re saying that Fleeting Ti loves beaches? Funny, I can rember Absalom telling that Fleeting Ti likes lofty mountains and flowing waters! Your way is thinking is just not right!” Sour Apple could not comprehend the words of her friend. She had even begun to suspect that there was sothing wrong with White Fairytale. A normal person would never be so obsessed with sothing a little kid said more than ten years ago!
White Fairytale shook her head, and a serious expression ford on her face. She looked at Sour Apple and spoke with a firm voice, “People do change, but the innocence they have will not. Even if he likes the mountains and the rivers now, and the desert in the future, I believe that deep down, Fleeting Ti loved the beach. As long as I wait... As long as I don’t give up on him... He’ll definitely see the good within .”
“You...” Sour Apple pointed at White Fairytale. She was lost for words. She then tugged at White Fairytale’s hand and headed to the teleportation crystal that would bring them back to the guild encampnt, “That’s enough for today. You need so rest. Everything will be better after a good night’s sleep.”
“Apple, I know what you’re thinking, but this is how I feel. Even if you put to sleep for 10 years, I’ll still think the sa way when I wake up.” White Fairytale allowed her friend to drag her along without much of a stuggle.
“You’re crazy! You must be.” Sour Apple shook her head. If White Fairytale is not the one who’s being crazy right now, then I must be the one losing my mind! This is scary!
“Apple, you must believe in ! Believe in my when I say that Fleeting Ti will return to in the end.” said White Fairytale with a smile.
Sour Apple stopped dead in her tracks. There was a volcano in her heart that was ready to erupt. Her last shred of rationality was rapidly burned away by the anger that was surging forward like a torrent of lava.
“Apple, please help , just like you’ve always been. Give the chance to get along with him. I know that I’m making things difficult for you, and that Absalom will never agree to it, but don’t you know what I’m thinking after so many years? Isn’t it great if I can end up as a couple with Fleeting Ti just like you and Absalom? Our love will be able to last as long as our friendship...” said White Fairytale as she walked up to Sour Apple and caressed her face. She was so soft and gentle with her demure voice and the smile on her face.
Sour Apple did not agree with her friend like how she always would, “Stop it, Fairytale.” she sighed as she looked away.
“What’s wrong? I’ve always been well. We all have our own goals, and being together Fleeting Ti is mine.”
“Fairytale, stop it!” shouted Sour Apple. She slapped White Fairytale’s hand away and took two steps back. Her anger had finally erupted, devouring all her rationality. “I did not help you for all these years because I think that you two are suitable for each other! I helped because I don’t want you to be sad! As a bystander, and I can tell that Fleeting Ti does not look at you the sa way you’re looking at him! Why have I always been helping you? Because I can’t stand to refuse you pleas for help after all the sad stories you’ve told ! Wake up! Do you really think that you can win him over like this? You wouldn’t even have to waste so many years if that’s the case!”
“Apple, you just don’t understand n. Fleeting Ti is like a child. He’s having fun out there right now, but he’ll eventually grow tired of it one day. When that day cos, he’ll return to .” White Fairytale shook her head.
“You’re telling that you’re willing to be his fallback girl? And that you’ll wait for him your entire life?” Sour Apple was shocked deeply by her words.
“As long as he’s willing, why not?”
“White Fairytale can you not sink so low? Please do not throw away your dignity as a woman! How could you say sothing like that? What happened to all the education you had?” Sour Apple’s eyes were two fiery orbs that were red with anger. She gripped down on White Fairtytale’s shoulders and shook her hard, “Wake up! Even if you’re willing, you have to know that he’s a bastard who doesn’t need sothing like that!”
“You’re talking nonsense!”
“I’m not! We’ve all known each other for years, and I can tell that Fleeting Ti is selfish! He’s a selfish bastard who does not care about sobody else! He doesn’t care about your feelings! They an nothing to him!”
“Stop it!” White Fairytale scread at the top of her lungs, “He knows what I did for him! He just haven’t made up his mind yet!”
“His mind was made the mont you confessed to him! He made his mind when he first rejected you! You’re not the one he wants! You don’t have to keep on waiting for you!”
“You’re lying!” White Fairytale scread once again as her vision blurred.
Sour Apple’s heart ache as she stared at her friend. The most cruel thing to do in this world was to build up hope for a person, and destroy that hope in front him or her. Sour Apple did just that. She was overwheld by guilt. I’m such an asshole! I kept her hopes up, but now I’m destroying it myself. Why am I doing this? Have I lost my mind?
Just when White Fairytale began to weep, a private ssage notification rang out in her ears. She might not pay it any heed if the it was just a normal notification. This call, however, was different.
Players in Fate had the option of customizing specialized ringtones for each of their friends, just like how people would assign a ringtone to a specific number in real life. Of course, such ringtone could only be assigned to a friend. Fleeting Ti was the first person who was added into White Fairytale’s friend list when she strated playing the ga. Fleeting Ti, however, did not return the gesture. While Fleeting Ti was displayed as a friend in the friend list of White Fairytale, her na did not even exist his friend list.
Despite knowing such a fact, White Fairytale assigned a special ringtone to Fleeting Ti so that she would be able to imdiately be notified when Fleeting Ti attempted to contact her.
Unfortunately for White Fairytale, Fleeting Ti had never made any attempts at contacting her from the first day of Fate, just like how his na would never light up the screen of her cellphone.
On this day, the special ringtone that White Fairytale did not expect to hear was ringing out in her ears. The flow of her tears imdiately stopped as she listened intently to the ringtone. Is it him? Is it really him? She opened her private ssage channel and saw the na that had always haunted her dreams. She could not believe her eyes, but the pain she felt when she pinched herself told her that it was real.
She fumbled with the console to connect to the voice call.
“Are you there?”
“Yes, I am. I’m always here.” White Fairytale answered with clear desperation in her voice, as if Fleeting Ti would disappear if she was slow with her reply.
Fleeting Ti furrowed his eyebrows when he heard the desperation in White Fairytale’s voice. He had even begun to regret his decision. I shouldn’t have contacted her! The urgency in her reply and the desperation he could hear in her voice gave him a feeling that he would be eaten alive by that woman. However, when Fleeting Ti laid his eyes on Gongzi You who was standing not far away, he forced himself to carry on with the conversation.
“Is your friend who learnt Goblin Engineering online?”
“Yes, he is!” White Fairytale was overjoyed. This is the first ti Fleeting Ti took the initiative to talk to her.
“Can you please ask him where is the power core usually installed in a Goblin Robot?” Fleeting Ti went straight to the point with the intention of ending the conversation as soon as possible.
“Alright, wait up, I’ll get to it.” White Fairytale imdiately contacted her friend with such haste that one might think that she was doing the most important thing to her in this world. She was, however, reluctant to imdiately pass the answer on to Fleeting Ti. She knew that he would imdiately end the call once he received the answer, “Fleeting Ti, he told that there are different types of robots, with varying design. Why don’t you take that robot over and I’ll take you to my friend.”
“Forget about it, I’ll ask soone else.” Fleeting Ti pursed his lips. He saw through White Fairytale like an open book. Even if I can’t find the answer, I’ll just ask around in the World Channel. I’m sure that many of the players would be very willing to provide with an answer.
“No, wait. Let ask my friend again...” said White Fairytale, fearing that Fleeting Ti would imdiately end the call.
“So where do I place the core?” asked Fleeting Ti after a slight pause.
“Why are you asking about this? I-is it for a quest? Are you in a dungeon?” asked White Fairytale with a voice full of concern, “Do you need to heal...”
Fleeting Ti ended the call before she could finish her sentence. White Fairytale was taken aback by his gesture, and tears started to flow down her cheeks. Just then, a ssage by Fleeting Ti appeared in the World Channel.
[Fleeting Ti]: Are there any Engineers who have learnt Goblin Engineering online? Can you tell where the power core is placed in a Goblin Robot? I’ll give you 10,000 gold coins if you can answer my question.”
“Wow! Am I dreaming? I just saw Fleeting Ti in the World Channel!”
“Fleeting Ti is so rich! 10,000 gold coins for an answer? My God...”
“Noooo!!! Why have I not learnt Goblin Engineering? That’s 10,000 gold coins!”
......
Fleeting Ti’s ssage would always cause an uproar among the Western Continent players. Many of the Engineer players among them squealed in delight when the saw the reward offered by Fleeting Ti.
“I have the answer, let slide you a DM.”
“I have the answer as well!”
“There’s a hidden notch at the middle of the robots throat. You can then open the casing with that notch and place the energy core into the slot within.”
......
Fleeting Ti walked up to the robot when he received the answer, and found the well-hidden notch at the back of its neck. “Hand the energy core.” Fleeting Ti extended a hand towards Gongzi You.
Ye Ci imdiately handed Fleeting Ti the energy core, which was then placed into the slot. Life imdiately returned to the inanimate machine and it began to stand up with shaky legs. Despite its rusting body, the machine was able to walk with firm steps.
The machine, which was significantly taller than Fleeting Ti, was surprisingly agile. Even with the screeching of rusted tal with each of its movent, the machine was still an awe-inspiring presence. Ye Ci discovered that the robot was renad to “Captured Goblin Robot”, and that its HP and damage values was 20% lower than the robots that they encountered earlier on. There was also a small tir that was displayed alongside the na of the machine, indicating that the energy core would last for 3 hours.
“Ah, it seems that we have to kill more Goblins for more energy cores.” observed Fleeting Ti.
“Yup, but it seems that the Goblin population in the Goblin Palace is sowhat scarce.”
Fleeting Ti then sent a friend request to the player who gave him the answer and told him that soone would deliver the promised 10,000 gold coins by the next day. The player was excited by the fact that he was able to earn 10,000 gold coins just by answering a very simple question.
Absalom then received a ssage from Fleeting Ti, who instructed him to hand a certain amount of money to a certain player. Despite his grumblings, Absalom was forced to comply with the request. After all, the presence of Gongzi You in the Western Continent was not known to many. With Fleeting Ti occupied with keeping and eye out on Gongzi You, he was forced to run errands for the man.
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