Yan Shiyue’s appearance immediately struck back hard against some of the comments. Combined with Lin Cimian’s spotless behavior since he began streaming, the sarcastic remarks gradually decreased. But the controversy attached to Joyous Union itself remained, so the atmosphere in the stream was still not particularly harmonious.
Lin Cimian had prepared himself mentally beforehand and did not take it to heart. He minimized the streaming page and turned off the comments.
[Private Chat] Sleepless Tonight: This is a two-player dungeon with a time limit. Multiple teams run it simultaneously, but there’s only one boss.
[Private Chat] Good Day: So we have to be the first team to complete it in order to get the reward?
[Private Chat] Sleepless Tonight: Don’t worry. The dungeon isn’t very difficult, and I researched it beforehand. The two of us can definitely do it!
[Private Chat] Good Day: All right.
Five minutes later, they entered the dungeon.
The screen was pitch-black. Specks of light seemed to flicker in the distance. As they drew closer, white light filled the entire screen, and a village appeared before them.
The two controlled their characters into the village, the black-clothed swordsman and white-robed youth walking one behind the other. Villagers were gathered together with anxious expressions, and an elderly woman had collapsed to the ground crying.
Lin Cimian walked up to the village chief and clicked the dialogue button.
[Current] Village Chief (NPC): Young heroes, could you please save someone? Sigh, the wedding is tomorrow, and then something like this happens!
[Current] Sleepless Tonight: What happened?
[Current] Village Chief (NPC): In broad daylight, that black-bear spirit acted so brazenly and kidnapped someone!!
The elderly woman who had been crying on the ground rushed over too.
[Current] Elderly Woman (NPC): Please, you must save my daughter!
Lin Cimian accepted the quest but had no idea where to rescue the hostage. The game interface immediately displayed a hint:
e^t+3s=67. What is a?
Lin Cimian: “…”
The viewers: “…”
Game masters, do you seriously think a Western math problem appearing in an Eastern fantasy setting is harmonious?!
[Help. I’m playing a game and still have to do math. Just kill me instead!]
[There aren’t even enough conditions to calculate it. This university lecturer can’t solve it.]
[There are probably clues we haven’t found yet.]
[I think the village chief and old woman are suspicious. Maybe they’re ghosts serving a tiger, and the kidnapped bride doesn’t exist at all.]
While the comments discussed the mystery enthusiastically, Lin Cimian had already led Good Day away to search for the black-bear spirit. Every movement was certain, as though he already knew the correct answer.
The viewers stared in confusion and filled the screen with question marks. Seeing them, Lin Cimian explained:
[There are four English letters in the expression. Combined, they spell east, so we go east.]
The viewers: “…” Now all of us who seriously analyzed it look like idiots!
Another day of wanting to mail razor blades to the designers. Smile.jpg
Lin Cimian did not sense everyone’s speechlessness and fury. He seized the time to explain the game’s mechanics to Good Day and was absolutely certain there would be a fight once they found the black-bear spirit.
The two reached an open clearing. Sand and stones suddenly flew everywhere, the sound effects so realistic they resembled pebbles striking the screen.
After the whirlwind of grit passed, a massive creature appeared before them and blocked the light.
The black-bear spirit was enormously muscular. Every hair on its body stood like a steel needle. Its eyes were blood-red, hot breath snorted from its nostrils, and its sharp teeth gleamed coldly.
The black-bear spirit’s eyes rolled twice before suddenly fixing on Lin Cimian. An unusual gleam flashed through them, and it abruptly stretched out a paw toward him.
Lin Cimian’s nerves tightened. He prepared for battle and was about to throw a control skill when the interface suddenly vanished. Without any resistance, the black-bear spirit grabbed him.
[Current] Black-Bear Spirit (Boss): Where did this little beauty come from? Such tender skin and soft flesh. I’ve decided—you’ll be my wife!
Lin Cimian: ?????
Look carefully! I’m male!
The black-bear spirit gave him no chance to argue. The screen immediately went black, and Lin Cimian had no idea where he had been thrown.
He was completely speechless and could not resist rolling his eyes. He almost wanted to mail razor blades to the game masters.
The viewers recovered from their shock and laughed without the slightest concern for Lin Cimian’s survival.
[Joyous Union has tons of hidden mechanics. Could this be one of them?]
[Hahahahaha, I can feel the streamer’s collapse through the screen.]
[What now? Are we supposed to rely on that number-one patron whose level makes him look like he hasn’t left the beginner village—and who might not even understand his skills—to explore the dungeon and rescue Mianmian?]
[At that point, Mianmian might as well accept fate.]
[It’s fine. Maybe another team will clear it quickly and the streamer can get out too.]
Lin Cimian went numb. Gritting his teeth, he explored the darkness, but the surroundings seemed to have no boundaries. He walked for ages without reaching an end, and there was nothing around him.
With no alternative, he tried to ask Good Day for help, only to discover that every interface had disappeared when he searched for the chat box. He was trapped here and could do nothing.
Lin Cimian thought for a while and suddenly had an idea: he could message Good Day through the streaming platform. But the platform did not provide message alerts, so Good Day might not see it. He received no reply.
Every path was blocked now. With nothing to do and no way to contact Good Day, Lin Cimian could only browse the forums in boredom, trying to find information that might help him rescue himself.
The dungeon had only just opened, and players were busy working out strategies. Lin Cimian refreshed five or six times before seeing a new post.
[Being locked in a dark room is so boring. Everyone come chat.]
Floor 1: Front row selling sunflower seeds, watermelon, and bottled water.
Floor 2: Sisters, my boyfriend is stuck in the formation and can’t get out no matter what. Any solutions?
Floor 3: My sister tried to chop down a tree and got knocked unconscious by the rebound.
Floor 4: Your sister is fierce.
Floor 5: My sister is a bottom. Not fierce at all.
Floor 6: …A bottom. I think I’ve guessed something.
Floor 7: Please lock up the men next time. Zero gameplay experience. Eye-roll.jpg
Lin Cimian read this expressionlessly and thought, Who here has it worse than me? I’m playing a male character and still got locked up!
He kept scrolling and actually found someone even more miserable.
Floor 20: What’s going on? Does Joyous Union get locked up regardless of gender? We’re two male Joyous Union players teamed together. The black-bear spirit grabbed one in each hand and threw both of us into dark rooms. How are we supposed to clear this?!
Floor 21: …
Floor 22: …
Floor 23: I don’t even know what to complain about first.
Floor 24: Why were two male Joyous Union players teamed together in the first place?!
Floor 25: The developers are still the wildest. Joyous Union gets imprisoned regardless of gender. However many come, however many get caught. Catch them all in one net.
Lin Cimian instantly regained psychological balance. Looking relaxed, he exited the forum and continued waiting in the dark room.
Good Day never did daily quests. Other than running a dungeon with him each evening, he did not log in at other times, and Lin Cimian had never seen his mechanics.
Without preparation, the chance that Good Day could rescue him was minuscule. Lin Cimian could only grit his teeth and endure another two hours until the dungeon time limit expired, or pray another team cleared it early.
Lin Cimian sighed, slightly worried that doing nothing would make viewers gradually leave.
At that moment, a sinister laugh sounded in the game.
Lin Cimian instinctively straightened. Without wasting a second, he immediately opened the game interface and saw faint light around him. The black-bear spirit had returned and stood in front of him like a mountain.
[Current] Black-Bear Spirit (Boss): Little beauty, give up. Obediently become my wife! Even if your husband finds this place, as long as my barrier remains, he won’t be able to see you!
Lin Cimian immediately extracted useful information from that sentence.
Good Day had already explored the scenario but could not rescue him because the barrier made him invisible.
[Current] Black-Bear Spirit (Boss): Heh heh. My barrier is extremely strong. Even if you scream yourself hoarse, it’s useless. Neither sound nor light can penetrate it!
Players could not see in the darkness, yet Lin Cimian could now see the black-bear spirit. That proved the barrier had already developed a flaw, meaning light and sound might pass through.
As though confirming his guess, the control interface that had completely vanished reappeared, though only the dialogue box was active.
He could finally get out. Excited, Lin Cimian hammered the keyboard rapidly.
[Current] Sleepless Tonight: I’m here!
He waited, but there was no response. Thinking he might have the wrong password, he continued trying.
[Current] Sleepless Tonight: Good Day, I’m here!
[Current] Sleepless Tonight: I’m in complete darkness. The black-bear spirit is in front of me.
[Current] Sleepless Tonight: Husband?
[Current] Sleepless Tonight: Husband!
“Husband” was the word that had appeared most often in the dialogue. Lin Cimian was almost certain it was the correct signal, yet the game interface showed no reaction at all. Just as he wondered whether he should remove the punctuation, he accidentally glanced at the stream comments.
[I’ve seen similar mechanics. The other player’s screen looks completely normal. They can’t find the barrier at all and can only locate it through sound.]
[Send voice! You two are moving so fast that you might still get first clear!]
[The hint is already obvious. Isn’t there a microphone icon beside the dialogue box?]
Dream Record of the Nine Heavens offered freeform gameplay and allowed voice chat inside the game, but Lin Cimian’s social anxiety made the function useless to him.
Good Day had never brought it up either. By silent agreement, the two pretended the feature did not exist and had never used voice.
For someone with social anxiety, voluntarily turning on the microphone had an extremely high difficulty coefficient. Lin Cimian instinctively twisted the hem of his shirt and pressed his lips together, looking deeply troubled.
He instinctively resisted the idea. His heartbeat accelerated from nervousness. But reason kept reminding him that only by using voice could Good Day find him. Otherwise, all Good Day’s effort searching would be wasted. Maybe they could even become the first team to clear the dungeon and obtain the reward.
But… merely imagining himself speaking over voice made all the blood rush to Lin Cimian’s head. His entire face burned, and the dark screen faintly reflected his embarrassed expression.
He took a deep breath, opened his mouth, closed it again, and swallowed uncontrollably. He barely managed one syllable before nearly biting his tongue.
His voice grew softer and softer. The ending trembled. It was a clean young voice, full of embarrassment and nervousness, the words blurred and soft.
“H-husband.”
The instant he said it, Lin Cimian jumped onto the bed and wrapped himself tightly in the blankets. In the stuffy warmth beneath them was his blazing-red face.
The comments went blank for one second, then erupted like a geyser.
[Voice-control fans are feasting!]
[AAAAAAAH, he sounds so soft and delicate! I love it! Mianmian, can you use voice more often from now on?!]
[Wifey, come into my arms. Husband will hold you while you sleep. Rose between teeth.jpg]
[Pant pant. Sent two fairy wands. Streamer, can you say it again?]
[Don’t call him husband. Call him hubby!]
Having too much dignity online was disrespectful to oneself. The viewers went wild with shameless flirting. Normally Lin Cimian would simply laugh it off and not care, but he was already drowning in embarrassment. Seeing the comments made his face even redder.
He burrowed beneath the blanket again, his eyes darting from humiliation. He felt unbearably stupid and wished he could travel back thirty seconds and clamp his own mouth shut.
AAAAAH, he was so stupid! He only needed to make some noise. Why did he say those two words?!
He must have frightened the other person. How were they supposed to keep playing together after this?!
Just as negative emotions piled high inside Lin Cimian’s heart, a low, magnetic voice sounded. The tone was calm, without deliberately soft emotion, yet it immediately soothed him.
“Mm. I’m here.”
Lin Cimian froze and stared foolishly at the screen. His cheeks still carried the remaining flush. His body did not move at all; only his lashes trembled twice in agitation, his beautiful eyes shining with moisture.
He… he was answering him.
