Chapter 44: Communication

Seeing the scene before him, Ji Linmo found himself at a loss for words. All he could do was press his hand to his forehead and sigh helplessly.

“Tell me, Qin Feng, have you played too many games? Do you really think that just because you’re hiding in the closet, I can’t see you?”

The boy curled up in the wardrobe said nothing and refused to come out. He shrank in the narrow space like a wary little beast, his eyes fixed intently on Ji Linmo.

With a soft laugh, Ji Linmo turned his attention away from the boy. He pulled a parrot from his coat, poured some water into the cap of a mineral water bottle, and crumbled bread beside it.

“Zhang Lanlan, drink up, it’s safe now.”

“Water!” The parrot flapped its wings in excitement, its yellow beak plunging into the bottle cap for a long, eager drink.

Watching the cheerful bird, Ji Linmo returned to the wardrobe. This time, weary, he leaned his back against the closet and sat down.

The boy inside remained silent, simply watching Ji Linmo, and Ji Linmo kept his own counsel. Thus, separated by a thin panel, the two sat in silence, each leaning on the closet for support.

“Qin Feng… do you still remember you—”

Suddenly, a pair of arms shot out from the wardrobe, and in a flash, strong hands locked around Ji Linmo’s neck from behind.

“Die!” Qin Feng growled in a low, guttural voice, tightening his grip with all his might.

Yet, no matter how much force he used, the man remained unmoved.

Strange. Was he dead?

Qin Feng’s face twisted in confusion as he lowered his head to look at the man.

Their eyes met—Qin Feng saw only a calm, detached gaze staring back at him, utterly unperturbed.

In the next instant, he was yanked by the collar, his body lifted and spun, then flung aside by the man’s grasp.

With a cough, Qin Feng hit the ground hard, barely registering the impact before a black leather boot pressed lightly yet firmly onto his body, pinning him to the floor.

“Are you awake now?” Ji Linmo looked down at the boy, his tone even.

“In that case, you need to wake up a bit more. Don’t try to fight me again. Understood?”

Qin Feng glared up at him, teeth clenched, staring wordlessly and stubbornly at Ji Linmo.

Ah, children…

Thinking of the blood-soaked wedding scene in the videotape where Qin Feng had appeared, Ji Linmo sighed inwardly.

An eighteen-year-old student, thrust into a terrifying and uncanny world, witnessing players battle to the death, only to be forced into the role of an NPC and trapped in the game, muddled and lost—he must be terrified.

With that thought, Ji Linmo lifted his foot and crouched down, ruffling the boy’s soft, tousled hair with a rough hand.

“Sorry, I was a bit too harsh with you.”

“But I mean you no harm. You could say I’m a special agent sent to rescue you. My mission is to bring you safely back to the real world.”

At his touch, Qin Feng flinched, then raised a fist at Ji Linmo, baring his teeth.

Bang!

His fist landed hard on the man’s head.

Ji Linmo didn’t dodge, simply accepting the blow.

“Satisfied? I’ll allow you one more punch at most.”

He looked at the boy with a hint of a smile, tolerant of the outburst.

“You…”

Qin Feng raised his fist again, looking uncertainly at the man. When he realized Ji Linmo truly made no move to retaliate, only gently ruffled his hair, the boy stared at him in confusion.

“Why?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t hit you again—probably. In any case, I’m here to save you. I may be rough, but I won’t hurt you.”

Ji Linmo softened his voice, speaking slowly and deliberately.

But the boy only tilted his head like a puzzled puppy, as if he didn’t understand.

Well… this child might not be as skittish as before, but his memory and reason still hadn’t recovered much.

Ji Linmo studied the boy in his bloodstained, filthy school uniform and sighed softly.

“Qin Feng, what do you still remember?”

“For instance, your name, your life, or the game, or the scenario?”

He spoke gently, coaxing him.

“I know your memories must be a mess right now. We’re inside a game scenario, not the real world, and your memories are probably all mixed up.”

“But you’ve actually been trapped here for some time. And when you were an NPC, we’d already met.”

We’d met before?

Qin Feng was taken aback by this. He looked up, dazed, at Ji Linmo.

Gazing into those jet-black eyes, something seemed to spark in the boy’s mind. His beautiful, almond-shaped eyes suddenly curved in delight.

“It’s you! I remember you, I remember this!”

With that, Qin Feng suddenly reached out, grasped Ji Linmo’s waist, his fingers brushing up under his shirt, and grinned brightly.

“That’s enough remembering. You don’t need to remember any more,” Ji Linmo said, his body going rigid, his expression turning cold. He pulled the boy’s hand away and set it firmly back at his side.

“Why?”

“No reason… Don’t you have any other memories?”

Qin Feng looked puzzled, frowning. After a long pause, he pointed his finger at Ji Linmo.

“I remember now. You… you seemed to have hit me before.”

“Didn’t you whip me or something?”

Ji Linmo arched an eyebrow and shrugged at Qin Feng.

“You’ve got that backwards, kid. You were the one hitting me—and you broke my arm.”

“I don’t remember that.”

Qin Feng shook his head, then nodded vaguely, giving Ji Linmo a smile.

“I’ve seen you! In a book!”

“Our teacher told us about you. You look just like the picture in the textbook!”

Ji Linmo could only sigh in resignation.

Their conversation was completely at odds—nothing either said seemed to connect.

“All right, all right, I won’t expect you to give me a straight answer or chat like a normal person.”

He stood up, pulled another can of eight-treasure porridge from the shopping bag, opened it, and handed it to Qin Feng.

“If you’re hungry, drink this. Stay in the room and don’t make any more trouble.”

The boy eyed the can, puzzled by the little spoon inside. He didn’t seem to understand what it was and reached directly into the metal can.

“Not like that…”

Ji Linmo caught Qin Feng’s wrist and pressed the spoon into his hand.

“Like this—scoop it up and put it in your mouth. Got it?”

Qin Feng tried a spoonful and was immediately amazed, his eyes sparkling as if he’d discovered some rare treasure, and he laughed with delight.

Oh no. Is this child going to stay like this forever?

Ji Linmo eyed Qin Feng, a serious question suddenly coming to mind.

Would Qin Feng’s intelligence and behavior ever return to normal?