C16 A Special Guest

"I'm not really feeling this exhibition," Xie Yu remarked as he and Soong Mu took a breather on a bench in the corner after touring half of the exhibition hall.

"With all these pretty girls around, isn't that enough for you?" Soong Mu quipped, taking a swig of water.

Xie Yu was a lost cause, spending his days holed up at home, engrossed in who-knows-what research, never sharing a word about it. And now, out of the house at last to visit the exhibition, he seemed to only have eyes for a beginner's game gift box.

Soong Mu gave Xie Yu a perplexed look. How could such a catch not be interested in him?

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've got a special event for you today! All attendees are welcome to join in. The victor will walk away with a prize!"

Out of nowhere, a man's voice boomed over the loudspeakers. Xie Yu perked up at the mention of gifts; he was all in for any chance to snag a gift box, especially one with experience potions.

"Let's check it out," Xie Yu said, rising to his feet and tugging Soong Mu in the direction of the announcement.

The area was teeming with players, mostly young folks, many of whom were about the same age as Xie Yu and Soong Mu. Xie Yu had been prepping for a while but had only recently dived into the game.

A man in a sharp black suit and tie stood at the center stage, microphone in hand, and announced, "This time, we're introducing a special guest as our judge. Take a guess—who could it be?"

"A special person?" Xie Yu wasn't too intrigued, but Soong Mu's curiosity was piqued.

"If they're asking us to guess, it's got to be someone we all know. It's probably an NPC from the game," Xie Yu reasoned.

"You're onto something!" Soong Mu exclaimed, his mind racing.

Given that the game was based on Instance Dungeons, each player encountered unique NPCs. Even if NPCs were the same, players likely wouldn't recognize each other's. It had to be a common NPC.

After much thought, Soong Mu's eyes suddenly sparkled with realization, his fist clenched in excitement.

"If I'm not mistaken, it's got to be the 'whale' that players kill every night at midnight," Xie Yu's voice suddenly echoed in his ear.

Soong Mu's eyes, which had just sparkled with excitement, suddenly dimmed, leaving him with a vacant stare reminiscent of dead fish.

"Can't you just let me have this one?" he pleaded.

Xie Yu paid no mind to Soong Mu's deflated expression. "You know, 'Whale' gets snapped up in less than a second every early morning. Most players have never even caught a glimpse of this NPC's true face. In that fleeting moment, they probably can't even make out his outfit."

Seizing the moment, they made "Whale" appear before everyone. It would not only quench the players' curiosity but also ignite their passion perfectly.

People are naturally drawn to the mysterious. If "Whale" turned out to be the guest, the organizers would be nothing short of brilliant.

"Has anyone guessed it? The first player to guess right gets a little gift from us!" announced the host, a pleased grin spreading across his face as he watched the crowd buzz with speculation.

A gift?

Xie Yu's eyes sparkled at the prospect.

"I know!"

Before Xie Yu could even raise his hand, Soong Mu bellowed out his answer.

"You!" Xie Yu shot Soong Mu a look of annoyance.

"Oh? Do tell, who's your guess?" The host in the black suit extended the microphone towards Soong Mu.

"After giving it some serious thought, I believe it's..." Soong Mu's voice lowered, drawing in the crowd's attention.

"I think it's 'Whale'!"

Xie Yu facepalmed. He couldn't bear to acknowledge that he was acquainted with Soong Mu.

It was just a correct guess of a name, after all. What was there to boast about?

Besides, didn't he figure it out first?

The host, momentarily taken aback, quickly recovered with a smile. He turned and picked up a small box from the table behind him, saying into the microphone, "Congratulations! As the first to guess correctly, this little gift is yours."

"Thank you, thank you. It was just a wild guess—I can't believe I got it right."

Soong Mu gleefully accepted the gift box, basking in the attention of those around him.

Sometimes Xie Yu marveled at life's peculiarities. How had he, a person who shunned the spotlight and disliked commotion, become friends with Soong Mu, who thrived on excitement?

Maybe that's what they call complementarity...

Xie Yu had to convince himself of that.

"Hey, want this?" Soong Mu called out, returning to his original spot and holding up a small gift to Xie Yu with a grin.

"Hand it over," Xie Yu replied without any pretense, taking it straight from him.

Soong Mu just chuckled. The item was of no use to him; it was better suited for Xie Yu.

He was new to Reveler World, his account barren of resources. These trinkets might be trivial, but they were better than nothing.

He looked forward to the day Xie Yu's level would climb, envisioning them tackling dungeons together.

In his past dungeon runs, he'd been spooked countless times and stumped by puzzles he couldn't crack. With Xie Yu by his side, breezing through levels would be a piece of cake.

Soong Mu knew his friend well. His force value might not be impressive—two of him might not even match Soong Mu—but his quick thinking was his edge.

In a game where suspense and thrills reigned, a sharp mind trumped brute strength.

Mid-conversation, the venue lights dimmed and then flared back to life, revealing a white silhouette that had appeared on stage as if by magic.

Where there had been only a host on the central platform, now stood a woman, eyes closed, at center stage.

"That's 'Whale,'" Soong Mu said, his gaze fixed on her.

She was a girl with long black hair cascading down to her feet, wearing a plain white dress adorned only with moon patterns at the cuffs.

Xie Yu's eyes were also drawn to Whale. For some reason, he felt an inexplicable familiarity with the girl who appeared to be no more than seventeen.

It was a fleeting sense of recognition, elusive when he tried to grasp it.

It was like the strange familiarity one feels with certain places or objects—Xie Yu was experiencing that very sensation.

Yet he was certain he had never met her before.

He had been in the game for only a day and had never encountered Whale, only hearing of her through the system's text and voice announcements.

Therefore, the familiarity he felt was strangely disconcerting.