Heroes' Prison

Chapter 961 - 909: 1000 Years Later

But Huang Yi had never heard of a similar place in The Second World.

The Second World had been open for more than three years now, and players had mostly understood its worldview. Even Huang Yi’s Heroes’ Prison was well-known, and some ancient texts contained descriptions related to it.

However, no one had ever mentioned anything like the Emerald Dream, and if such a magical place really existed, it should be famous. Historically renowned masters, like the Ten Great Deity Sealers, would have explored it, but there was no such account in history.

At least, Huang Yi had a rough guess about Sharp Sword’s secret. But this guess had no factual basis, just as Mr. Huang Sha said, the trial hinted at Sharp Sword very subtly.

Before long, Li Qiang caught up with Huang Yi and Monkey, carrying a giant snakeskin bag with his luggage inside.

The three of them returned to the internet cafe, resumed their seats, and continued playing.

The night grew deeper, and the sound of cars on the road outside became more sparse.

The internet cafe was quiet, and some overnight players couldn’t hold on and slept against their chairs.

"So sleepy! I’m going to play on a private server to wake up." Li Qiang yawned, said a sentence, and logged onto the private server client.

"What’s a private server?" Huang Yi asked curiously. When he first saw Li Qiang, he was playing on a private server.

Li Qiang lit a cigarette and explained, "A private server can be understood as a private server where game data can be freely modified. For example, leveling is slow on the official server, but it’s very fast on private servers; you can level up dozens of levels in a day, and the gear is easier to get. In any case, private servers are a place for quick satisfaction; others may struggle for years to reach a height that you can achieve in just a few days. This is my last day playing Legendary; I didn’t accomplish much on the official server, but on the private server, I can have a blast."

This left Huang Yi idle. Whether it was Legendary or World of Warcraft, he just dabbled and wasn’t truly interested. Now, with Monkey and Li Qiang immersed in their own games, Huang Yi, with nothing to do, leaned against the chair and fell asleep.

The public speakers in the internet cafe continued playing music, and the beautiful melody entered Huang Yi’s dream like a lullaby.

"Countless summers and autumns have passed, not knowing how long I’ve been running like this. From birth, I was destined to search all my life, for the love and freedom of that Perfect World in the distance..."

Before long, Huang Yi fell into a deep sleep listening to the song.

He dreamed many years later that The Second World was deserted, without any players. He walked alone on paths he once traveled, from the city where the cat mother gave birth to him, to Bai Long Lake, to Thornbush City, to the Desolate Sands of Huang Sha, and to Dragon City in the desert... He watched those familiar sights alone, with no one beside him.

In a haze, seemingly after a long time, Huang Yi suddenly shivered and woke up from the dream.

At that moment, who knows what time it was outside, as the night had gradually faded and dawn was breaking.

He turned and saw that the entire internet cafe was empty, the people who stayed overnight had long gone, and Monkey was no longer at his place.

Only Li Qiang was left playing, but he was no longer in the private server; instead, he logged back into his official server account. He controlled his character, walking alone across empty maps, seemingly just to take one last look at various corners, leaving a final memory.

At this moment, his slightly hunched figure contrasted with the coarse game graphics, appearing a bit weathered.

"Where’s Monkey?" Huang Yi yawned, adjusted his sitting posture, and asked Li Qiang.

"You’re awake." Li Qiang glanced at Huang Yi and said, "Monkey went back to school; they’ll have morning exercises later. I’m about to leave too. Log into your Legendary account; I have something for you."

"Alright!" Huang Yi nodded and quickly logged into his Legendary account.

Soon, Li Qiang controlled his character to come over and traded Huang Yi a beautiful ring. He pursed his lips and reluctantly said, "I’ve played Legendary for many years, but I’m not an RMB player, and all my gear was earned through hard work. This ring is my best piece of equipment; it’s called the Teleportation Ring, one of the top-level pieces of jewelry in Legendary, on par with a warrior’s Paralysis Ring. Since I’m joining the army, I won’t be able to play Legendary anymore; this game will only be a memory for me. The Teleportation Ring is my most cherished piece of equipment, so I’m giving it to you."

"Thank you!" Huang Yi suddenly felt a bit sad, accepting this ring as a gift from Li Qiang, his recently met friend.

Li Qiang took one last look at the ring, wiped his nose, and closed Legendary.

When the Legendary game screen disappeared from the monitor, his eyes suddenly turned red, and he lamented, "That Teleportation Ring was obtained years ago by me and a girl named Little Ce Ce together. It allows you to teleport anywhere, and wherever you go using it, you’ll see traces of where I’ve been. Even though not many people play this game anymore, you won’t be alone. Any place beneath your feet is a place I’ve once loved, walked countless times. Though no one will remember me, I hope you’ll remember me, this fleeting friend."

Li Qiang took a deep breath, stood up, patted Huang Yi’s shoulder, and said, "Brother, I have to go to the train station, goodbye!" With that, he picked up his luggage and strode towards the door.

At this moment, the public speakers in the internet cafe were still playing a song. Li Qiang wiped his eyes with his hand and walked along, humming loudly to the song, his off-key singing slightly choked, filled with the reluctance of parting—

"Don’t wait a thousand years later, when everyone has forgotten me, who will unravel the loneliness enshrined in the red twilight desert of that time..."

Huang Yi didn’t know what to say; he just turned his head, watching Li Qiang’s silhouette recede until it disappeared at the doorway.

Suddenly, the entire internet cafe fell completely silent, leaving only Huang Yi. All the computers were off except his, casting colorful lights from the Legendary screen onto his thin figure, making him appear a bit lonely, as if abandoned by the whole world.

This morning, in this unfamiliar internet cafe, a friend Huang Yi had just met had left forever.

He turned to look outside, where the sky was lighting up, about to dawn.

He snapped back to his senses, looked at the Legendary screen, where the Teleportation Ring lay alone in the inventory. Many years ago, when Li Qiang and the girl named Little Ce Ce got this ring, they must have been very happy! That must have been Li Qiang’s most unforgettable gaming era! Now, only this cold ring remained.

Huang Yi sighed softly, turned off Legendary, and chose to log off, returning to Rose Prison.

At this moment, it was also morning in the real world, as the sky lightened outside.

At that moment, Huang Yi suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia, remembering that very morning when he spent the last night with Thunder God, and after dawn, Thunder God said goodbye and was taken away by the prison guards.

This morning, after you left, turned into dusk.

...

"Ah-Yi, how’s your trial going?" In the cafeteria, as Huang Yi was having breakfast, Wang Jin suddenly came over with a tray.

Huang Yi shook his head and said, "I still don’t have any clues. This trial is quite strange and unrelated to The Second World. All my methods are useless. This trial is SSS-level, higher than any trial I’ve done before, and it probably requires some luck to complete! I don’t know if I’ll have that kind of luck."

"We’re always on edge now," Wang Jin shook his head, "We don’t know when those experts from the Demon Clan will come for revenge, and the Seven Archdemons haven’t acted personally yet. If they come to deal with us, I really don’t know what we’ll do. Without you on Sun Island, we never feel safe."

Huang Yi took a sip of porridge and comforted, "I’ll try to figure out this trial as soon as possible. If I really can’t, I’ll just give up and do a regular trial to quickly complete the Third Tier."

"If Sun Island were north of Hero’s Continent, it would be within your Hero Empire’s domain. That way, the experts from your Heroes’ Prison could act as Guardians to protect our territory."

Huang Yi suddenly smiled and said, "The things you’re talking about will come true soon. Sun Island will be brought into the Hero Empire domain, and then it’ll be completely safe. With my current strength, I should be able to get the keys to the top 100 criminals of Heroes’ Prison. They were the most powerful group of experts in The Second World history. If they agree to become Guardians, the Hero Empire would be much stronger. As long as the Seven Archdemons don’t personally come, it should be fine."