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Forces of Temptation - Chapter 92

Published at 27th of October 2023 08:31:42 AM


Chapter 92

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Ch92 - Brain Invasion

Translator-Rhapsodite

Editor-CherryApple, Proofreader-adjective 

Jiang Fang didn’t have to continue reading to know what happened next.

……

AD

 

 

Since he had once brought Nanji Star into [Eternal Day], bringing Nan Zhou out of [Eternal Day] went just as smoothly as Jiang Fang expected.

Later on, none of his team members were in support of releasing Nan Zhou from the warehouse, not that Jiang Fang hadn’t seen it coming. 

Their concerns were justified.

 

If he were the Nan Zhou of the manga, the young man who fought to protect his family, not as many people would be wary of him as they were now.

If these players, who were caught and trapped in this game against their will, didn’t have the possibility of dying, everyone would’ve been delighted to play a friendly game with such a big BOSS character and create a favorable impression.

But Nan Zhou’s world was strongly infested by another world.

 

The responses he received were all negative and malicious.

No one could be certain whether the Nan Zhou right now was putting up a front or was being his real self.

What’s more, among the players being led by Jiang Fang, there were two that had played [Eternal Day] before.

AD

 

One had his neck twisted by Nan Zhou himself, and the other was attacked by a group of light demons and bitten to death on the spot. 

Now, confined within the game in a condition where their consciousness couldn’t leave, no one wanted to hang in a life-or-death situation every day with an uncontrollable, unpredictable human-shaped weapon behind them.

No matter how beautiful this weapon was, there was Yin blood flowing within it.

Everyone had to fight against him to pass the instance.

So, why let him out? What reason was there to let him out? 

To consider the BOSS as a little brother? To be friends?

It must be some kind of a joke. How could it be true?

Jiang Fang knew that rationally speaking, his teammates’ judgments were conservative and correct.

But there were times when he was reluctant to do the right thing. 

Every time they completed an instance, the strange power that existed in this world would throw them back to a random resting point, providing them with a rest time ranging anywhere from half a day to three days.

Jiang Fang felt that the power seemed to be using them for some kind of test.

 

It’s just that at that time, in order to survive, they could only be reduced to a group of guinea pigs who were experimented on.

When they left [Eternal Day], the sky was already dark. 

In a hotel in [Rust City], an empty shell of the once lively city,, the “guinea pigs” lived in separate rooms, anxiously waiting for the next dangerous instance.

Jiang Fang chose a big bedroom and lived in it alone.

At dusk, he released Nan Zhou, who had been trapped for a whole day and night, from his warehouse.

When he was released, Nan Zhou was curled up sleeping. 

His forehead was slick with sweat, and a few locks of black hair were messily stuck to his forehead, which made his skin appear pale and his eyebrows sharp.

When he landed on the soft mattress, the slight rebounding sensation underneath him gradually awakened his trance-like spirit.

He sat up from the bed looking dazed, his eyelashes twitching with a mist of sweat.

——Wasn’t fully awake yet. 

Jiang Fang sat by the bed and smiled at him until Nan Zhou’s consciousness became a little more sober.

A short while later, Nan Zhou spoke, “You let me out?”

His clear, cold voice carried a bit of unconscious, sluggish tenderness.

Jiang Fang, “Mm.” 

Nan Zhou bowed his head and tugged at the quilt under his palm.

Jiang Fang, “Why don’t you say anything?”

 

 

So, unless they were truly determined to trap Nan Zhou in the warehouse for the rest of his life, the longer he was locked up, the crazier he would become.

This was not something Jiang Fang would like to see. 

Nan Zhou was now in his hands and should play a greater role.

Jiang Fang once wondered why he did not go up to him when he first saw Nan Zhou, talked to him, or hugged him.

When Nan Zhou was lonely, he gave him an apple tree and Nanji Star but refused to give him a bit of his warmth in person.

Later, he figured it out. 

Because he was Jiang Fang.

Jiang Fang was an egoist who refused and feared all intimate relationships.

The usual meaning of “human interaction” in his book was to get something from the other party.

The Nan Zhou in Jiang Fang’s memory was a pure land that belonged to a corner of his mind alone. 

T/N-Pure Land, Chinese vocabulary. Pinyin: jìng tǔ Interpretation: Buddhism refers to a clean world without vulgarity

Because he did not want to stain that part of himself, he would subconsciously stay away from Nan Zhou.

Now, due to the collapse of the game’s structure and logic, he had to establish a new relationship with Nan Zhou.

Therefore, Jiang Fang fought against his habitual thinking. 

——To use and be used, to control and to be controlled.

Only in this way Jiang Fang could feel a little safe.

When his mindset changed, Jiang Fang’s smile also adjusted to what he was best at.

With the most comfortable and perfect smile, yet filled with a false sense of warmth, “My teammates are a little too cautious. But I still need them, so please don’t take it to heart.” 

Nan Zhou stated the truth, “They don’t trust me.”

Jiang Fang, “They need time, you need to give them a chance, and they will like you. No one will dislike you.”

 

Nan Zhou looked straight into his eyes, “What about you?”

Jiang Fang was stunned, “I…” 

Fortunately, his control over his expressions were first-class, and he soon followed suit with a smile, “Of course.”

Nan Zhou, “I thought you didn’t like me, so you wanted to lock me up.”

Jiang Fang gently changed his concept, “Sometimes, if you like a person, you have to lock them up.”

Nan Zhou blinked and directly expressed his confusion, “I don’t understand.” 

Jiang Fang was not used to discussing the topic of “like” with other people.

It reminded him of his own mother who was once full of love, so much that it drove her crazy once she lost it.

He vaguely said, “You will understand later.”

Jiang Fang explained to Nan Zhou his plan on how to get people to like him. 

The plan was simple.

In a dangerous instance, Jiang Fang would release Nan Zhou at the right time, so that he had a chance to save everyone’s life.

Of course, there was a part of the plan that Jiang Fang did not share with Nan Zhou.

Human trust and empathy were merely chips that could be used and traded for. 

When the trust value accumulated to a certain degree, Nan Zhou naturally would have the opportunity to be free.

After all, Nan Zhou had a human figure and everyone would get along with him if they stayed together for a long time, blurring the boundaries of the dimension. Eventually, everyone would empathize with him.

After briefly describing his plan, Nan Zhou agreed.

He thought it was a reasonable exchange. 

He just needed to stay in Jiang Fang’s backpack until he gained the trust of his teammates.

Jiang Fang promised him that when it was just the two of them, he would let Nan Zhou out.

 

Nan Zhou nodded good-naturedly, “Mm.”

Seeing that he agreed so easily, Jiang Fang almost wanted to knock him on his head. 

He said, half-jokingly and half-seriously, “You trust me just like that?”

Nan Zhou, “Well, you are a friend.”

Jiang Fang, “None of the players from before ever said they wanted to be your friend?”

Nan Zhou, “Yes.” 

Nan Zhou, “But you were the first one to bring me out.”

Nan Zhou, “None of them did, but you did.”

Nan Zhou, “So, you are different. I like you a lot.”

Jiang Fang, “……” 

He felt that Nan Zhou was an extraordinarily strange creature.

He had walked a long road, seen all sorts of things and met all sorts of characters that most people would never meet in their lives.

When most people claimed to be mature, they liked to wrap themselves in polite and euphemistic appearances and arm themselves with words.

When expressing love and hate, they were restrained. 

Even for those who were passionate like fire, when they talked about “love”, they were mostly spontaneous.

Love is a strong emotion, but many people lack sincerity.

But the tone of Nan Zhou’s statement was as if he was holding out his heart to him and saying, “This is my heart, do you want it?”

Faced with such sincerity, Jiang Fang handled it with ease, but at the same time, he constantly felt as if he was on the verge of losing control. 

This wonderful sense of dislocation made him inexplicably uncomfortable.

So he decided to talk less to Nan Zhou.

 

The streets of [Rust City] were cold and dull, with little light.

The setting sun was like a small cooked duck egg yolk, that would burst out with oily sticky sauce when you touch it. 

Nan Zhou was lying on the hotel window, looking at the sun, almost dumbfounded.

He stared at the sun that resembled a duck egg yolk with a singular focus and said to Jiang Fang, “… The sun.”

For Nan Zhou, this should be a sight he saw every day.

Hence, Jiang Fang could not quite understand his interest. 

He couldn’t help but be curious and responded, “Yes. It’s the sun.”

Nan Zhou tilted his head and said, “I’ve never seen a sun of this color.”

In the comic world of Never Town, the extreme color contrast was a major feature.

Therefore, the never-ending sun was either white-as-snow enough to make people blind, or red enough to shed blood. 

Nan Zhou had never seen such a different sun.

Nan Zhou stared at the sun, engrossed on seeing it gradually sink in the west.

It wasn’t until a crescent moon climbed high in the sky, with Nan Zhou raising his face, continuing to watch it, that Jiang Fang realized if he didn’t stop him, Nan Zhou would look at the moon and see the dawn without moving.

He led the curious cat back with a laugh. 

Nan Zhou went to wash up first.

However, if Jiang Fang hadn’t brought him out of the bathroom, he would have studied the hair dryer for another half hour.

When Jiang Fang finished washing up and was ready to go to bed, Nan Zhou was already buried under the quilt.

There was only one quilt in the king-size bedroom. 

Jiang Fang naturally lifted a corner and prepared to climb in.

However, illuminated by the warm apricot light in the room, Jiang Fang found that Nan Zhou had taken off all his outer clothes and pants. He was only wearing the white shirt he had borrowed from Jiang Fang, which was just slightly larger for his body shape.

 

The white shirt could only cover half of the snow-white round sight behind him.

Nan Zhou laid shamelessly in his quilt, tilting his head to look at the moon hanging in the sky. At the same time, he spoke to him, “I haven’t seen the moon hanging in the sky for so long.” 

Jiang Fang, “…”

He let out a sigh, pretending not to notice it, and got in.

… Deliberately keeping a distance from him.

After lying down, Nan Zhou still curiously asked him, “Friends… do they all sleep together like us?” 

Afraid that he would go out and act wildly, teasing his teammates with average psychological qualities, Jiang Fang coaxed him, “Yeah.”

Nan Zhou nodded and wrote down this new knowledge, “Hmm.”

Nan Zhou’s hand reached under the pillow, but it happened to lightly graze Jiang Fang’s fingertips under the pillow.

Jiang Fang cautiously curled back his fingers for a moment. 

Nan Zhou asked, “Do you also not like nightmares?”

Jiang Fang whispered, “Yes.”

Nan Zhou reassured him in turn, “Don’t worry, put your hand under the pillow, not pressed against your stomach, and you will not have as many nightmares.”

Jiang Fang gently smiled: “… Thanks.” 

The two looked at each other for a while under the covers but didn’t speak much.

Jiang Fang didn’t have another pair of eyes to look at himself.

So he had no idea how gentle he looked at the moment.

It was only when Nan Zhou had completely closed his eyes that Jiang Fang moved his hand slightly backward. 

He grabbed the sharp ice pick he had previously hidden under the pillow and moved it towards himself.

Both out of fear of Nan Zhou finding out, and fear of hurting him.

 

…………..

  

When Jiang Fang came back to his senses, Nan Zhou had already brought Li Yinhang out of the bookcase maze.

After confirming that Nan Zhou was safe and sound, Li Yinhang, who had been frantically using guerilla warfare with the one-legged tin soldier in the bookshelf jungle, finally came out.

Even though this instance was full of dangers, the three of them cooperated perfectly, stepping out of the crisis and rushing towards the light.

Therefore, although Li Yinhang was exhausted, her expression was quite cheerful. 

In contrast, behind her, the tin soldier who had been forced to exercise with her for fifteen minutes pulled an impatient face. Leaning on the musket, he hopped step by step, and stood beside the open doorway.

The phrase “Please Get Out Of Here” was written all over his face.

Nan Zhou greeted Jiang Fang, “I’ve brought her back.”

Jiang Fang crumpled the blank pages of the book that had recorded his secrets in the palm of his hand and hid them behind his back. 

It was like hiding the sharp blade that once represented wariness.

He smiled, “Welcome back.”

 

—————— 

 

The author has something to say:

Brother Fang: I tried to abduct Nan Zhou, but ended up having my heart stolen. His theft value is only 5.





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