Tang Ning lay in bed, finding it difficult to open his eyes for a moment. Even though he knew from the system's announcement that he had returned to the real world, Tang Ning instinctively wanted to close his eyes and go to sleep.
This state is very much like a person being half asleep and half awake. You can choose to force your eyes open, but you will definitely feel dizzy and uncomfortable after opening your eyes, or you can choose to continue sleeping and feel refreshed when you wake up.
Now that he was back in the real world and there was a shadow watching over him, Tang Ning did not force himself to wake up. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
After some time, Tangning finally woke up from the bed.
The warm thing next to the pillow is the cat nestling on top of his head, and the cool thing next to his hand is the shadow lying next to him.
When Tang Ning opened her eyes and touched her phone, her heart and shadow could sense that she had woken up. Her heart was purring on Tang Ning's head and her claws were occasionally stepping on the top of her head. Shadow then reached out and hugged Tang Ning's waist affectionately.
"Hmm... what time?" Tangning took out his phone and saw several missed calls. It looked like Shadow had put it into airplane mode for him.
It was already twelve o'clock in the evening. He had slept for seven or eight hours since leaving the dungeon. He seemed to have stopped sleeping on the last day of the dungeon. Tang Ning felt that he would be sleepy for a short period of time.
He clicked to check the game settlement.
Instance Name: Ghost Me
Copy risk factor: a
Mission difficulty coefficient: a
Complete the main mission: Survive! Survive safely for seven days! (300 survival points)
Complete the advanced task: Solve the curse of the castle! (Survival points 400)
Complete the hidden mission: Resolve obsession! (400 survival points)
Overall rating: S (S-level mission rating will grant lifetime use rights to the card "Magic Mirror Card" extracted from this dungeon!)
Dear player, your current survival points are 1300 points. The items you currently have are as follows: Princess and the Pea card, Sleeping Beauty card, Little Mermaid card, Mother's Story card, Farmer and Snake card, Woodcutter card, Lettuce Stealer card, Magic Mirror card, Mysterious Ring, Golden Light Mantra, Shangqing Pond Water, First Aid Bandage, Space Ring, Golden Wound Medicine, Monster Heart, Longevity Lock, Eaten Candy, Pen Fairy's Pen, Magic Mirror, Source of Light
Magic Mirror
Rarity: S
Function introduction: This is a magical mirror that can see through the real and the fake
System Notes: Use with Magic Mirror Card
"Source of Light"
Rarity: S
Function introduction: This is the original power left by a powerful player
System Note: It is light, life, and hope.
Has the castle curse been solved
Tang Ning clicked on the group chat, wanting to ask everyone what happened on the day he was unconscious.
There were 99 unread messages in the group chat. Originally, there were only four people in the group: Tang Ning, Lin Yun, Jiang Mianmian and Zhou Kang. This time, because they were entering the dungeon together, Li Haoyuan and Sitai were also pulled in, and the group of six was unusually active.
Tang Ning flipped through the unread messages and saw that most of them were expressing their fears about the contamination of the dungeon.
Group messages popped up:
Si Tai: "If my father sleeps for another ten days in a row, should I use these ten days to write?"
Li Haoyuan: "Your idea is too filial."
Tangning: “?”
"Sitae" withdrew a message.
Si Tai: "Dad, you finally woke up! I missed you so much!"
Lin Yun: "You finally woke up, how do you feel now? I wanted to come to see you today, but I can't get to know your family."
Tangning: "Okay, nothing special, just the feeling of being refreshed after a good night's sleep."
Jiang Mianmian: "Can you use that kind of white flame in the real world now?"
Tang Ning stretched out his hand and tried to warm it up. A cluster of pale flames emerged from his palm.
"Meow!" He cried out in fright, then Gu Shang stepped on Tang Ning's head and ran away like a rabbit.
Tang Ning quickly put out the fire and wanted to call Xin back to her heart's content, but the cat was terrified. Perhaps animals are particularly sensitive to danger, so it hid in the corner for a while and refused to come out.
Tangning: "Sure, once this fire is rubbed out it will scare my cat away."
Jiang Mianmian: "Congratulations, you got a great opportunity in the card game this time."
Li Haoyuan: "Congratulations, Mr. Tang."
Si Tai: "Fuck! That's cool! Can I play with fireballs?"
Lin Yun: "Too strong, Tangning, from today on, you are - my! God!!!"
Zhou Kang: "Besides being able to use this fire ability, Tangning, do you have any new abilities now?"
Tang Ning scratched his head. He didn't feel any other abilities for a moment. When he scratched his hair, a soft white hair fell down. Tang Ning thought it was cat hair at first, but when he pushed his bangs down with his hands, the hair that came into view was also white.
Tangning was stunned for a moment. He confusedly clicked on the camera and selected the front camera. He saw his white-haired self staring at the camera in a daze.
Tang Ning ran her hands through her hair, which was snow-white from the tips to the roots.
Compared to her original black hair, the lighter color suited Tang Ning better, making her look lighter and more ethereal.
Tangning: "A head of white hair is included."
Jiang Mianmian: "Wrong, I like your white hair."
Lin Yun: “!!!”
Lin Yun: “I like it too!”
Lin Yun and Jiang Mianmian had both seen Tang Ning with white hair in the River God's copy. The stunning look at that time left a deep impression on everyone. After Tang Ning said that her hair had turned white, those who had seen it screamed, and those who had not seen it also screamed and wanted to see it.
Tangning casually sent out a selfie.
Si Tai: "Dad! You are so rude!"
Tangning: “?”
Si Tai: "How did you get into my heart without even saying hello!"
Tangning: “…”
Tang Ning: "What happened on the last day of my coma? I saw on the settlement page that the curse of the castle was lifted."
Jiang Mianmian: "On the last day, almost all of us were severely polluted and lost ourselves, except for Jikong who was able to maintain his sanity because of the nature of the card."
Jiang Mianmian: "Jikong said that he saw a huge demon-like black shadow coming in front of him and telling him to take good care of Tang Ning. After the black shadow left, the people in the castle, including the players and NPCs, gradually regained their sanity."
Lin Yun: "Yes, we guessed that the black shadow should be your prince, and the curse seemed to be brought by him. We were all fine at first, but on the fifth night, a very powerful force suddenly appeared, and then everyone was basically contaminated."
Jiang Mianmian: "After I regained my sanity, I went to see you and found that you were going through a similar process of power transformation. I could feel that you were getting stronger little by little. Now it seems that you have indeed gained a lot of power to be able to use that kind of white flame in the real world."
Jiang Mianmian: "You probably know more than we do."
Indeed, Tang Ning found that his teammates only had a vague idea of what was going on. On the last day, everyone won without any effort, and the one who led them was the mysterious prince.
The prince was a mystery to Tang Ning. She knew why he said, "The person I like has always been you," and why he finally lifted the curse of the castle and saved everyone.
He had a premonition that the answer to the mystery would soon be revealed to him.
Tang Ning: "I do know a lot of information in this instance, and I realize I am a newbie."
Si Tai: "Compared to me, Dad is indeed newer."
Tangning: "Years ago, I participated in a card game."
The group was silent for a few seconds.
Lin Yun: "Is this some new internet meme? I feel like I understand it a little bit."
Jiang Mianmian: "I never said that any card player has lived for more than a year. If the players before the New Year can survive now, they can only pass the A-level dungeon every day."
Zhou Kang: "Tangning, are you kidding me?"
Tangning: "To be more precise, I successfully completed the card game before the New Year."
The group remained silent for a longer period of time.
Si Tai: "Dad, I dare to write like this."
Jiang Mianmian: "Could it be that in this copy of Ghost Wo, the one who first used the white flame was you years ago? You didn't pick up any opportunity this time, but recovered your true strength years ago?"
Tangning thought about it and praised sincerely, "You are smart, Jiang Mianmian."
Jiang Mianmian: "I feel like my brain is going to short-circuit right now. I just made a bold assumption just now. Don't tell me this is all true."
Tangning: "Yes."
Lin Yun: "After I calmed down after smoking, I felt like Tangning's team was like winning an S-level card."
Zhou Kang: "Tangning seems to be someone who likes to joke around, so I suspect the person chatting now is Tangning. Is someone hacking her account?"
Tangning: "I know a lot of things too well, but that's all I know..." Tangning explained everything she knew to everyone in the group.
Some people were skeptical at first, but when Tangning finished speaking, the group fell into a long silence again.
Tang Ning felt that this reaction was normal. If Li Haoyuan or Si Tai suddenly appeared and told him that they were newcomers and that they had completed the card game years ago, Tang Ning would also be questioning his life now.
Lin Yun: “I can’t calm down.”
Lin Yun: "I'm going to go smoke another cigarette."
Si Tai: "Dad, you make me feel so safe now."
Jiang Mianmian: "If all of this is true, then Tangning, you were undoubtedly a top player in the card game before. You said that the system cleared your memory of your second participation in the game for the fairness of the game, and also cleared other players' memories of you. The system should have cleared other players' memories of that prince. That prince was most likely a top player at the same time as you."
Zhou Kang: "We can basically find information from before the New Year. Three years ago, card games were just beginning to develop. At that time, there were no organizations, whether private or official."
Tangning: "One thing, the next instance I'm in should be an S-level instance, because the system did say that when my strength is close to that of an S-level instance, I will encounter the memory power left behind."
S-level copies are a nightmare for every card game player. The older the players are, the more they fear S-level copies. Especially for players who have experienced A-level copies, after knowing the horror of A-level copies, no one can imagine or dare to think about how terrible S-level copies above A-level copies are.
Although everyone in the group is prepared to face the S-level copy sooner or later, this sooner or later is more like the ordinary people's understanding of the inevitable death of mankind.
When someone tells you that you will die in ten days, the fear in that moment can easily break down the psychological defenses that have been built up over so long.
Tangning was in a very calm mood.
He calmly sent a message: "If anyone wants me to form a team, you can private message me. You can come and see me any day in the next ten days."
After saying that, he turned off his phone without even checking the messages in the group, and leaned lazily on Shadow's shoulder.
Twelve o'clock in the middle of the night means a lot of crises in the dungeon world, but in the real world it is a quiet time suitable for thinking.
Tang Ning thought for a while and felt a little hungry.
He got up from the bed, put on his slippers and went to feed the cat. In the past, he fed Xin cat food when he was nursing her. Recently, he started to feed Xin raw meat. Raw meat has very high requirements on the source of meat, so he put a large freezer at home, and the freezer was filled with meat that had been cut for Xin in advance.
Xin, who was curled up in the corner, saw Tang Ning's actions and knew that he was begging for food, so he temporarily forgot his previous fear of the pale flame and walked out carefully.
Tang Ning squatted down and handed pieces of meat to Xin's mouth, feeding Xin carefully. Xin was not so pampered before, but after Tang Ning had some free time to feed the cat like this in recent times, Xin became pampered. Every meal must be fed to her mouth, otherwise she would not eat.
Tangning muttered, "Why are you so squeamish, kitty?"
At the same time, he said to Shadow: "I'm hungry. I want to eat something delicious. Please hurry up and make it."
Ever since Shadow learned how to cook, Tang Ning wanted to eat the food Shadow made in the real world.
Yingzi put on an apron and cooked in the kitchen. Tangning cleared his mind and fed the cat. After he had satisfied his heart, Tangning washed his hands and walked into the kitchen. He said to Yingzi, "I'm going to cook a dish today, too."
He made a bowl of delicious fish soup.
After all the dishes were served, Xin Da rushed to the table and put his head next to the fish soup, as if he wanted to taste it very much.
Tangning pushed the cat's head and taught it, "You should drink this. Cats are probably curious about everything they eat."
Shadow also leaned over, looking eager to try Tangning's cooking. Tangning said seriously, "You can also have the fish soup tonight."
Shadow felt a little lost and aggrieved.
"I made something delicious especially for you." Tang Ning smacked Shadow's lips, instantly cheering him up.
After serving the family members who were eager to try the fish soup, Tang Ning carefully scooped a bowl of steaming hot fish soup for himself.
This is the fish soup he made specially for "him".
Even though "he" was already there, Tangning tried her best to sit up straight and imitate "his" manners. She drank the entire bowl of fish soup sip by sip, elegantly, and then imitated "his" tone and said calmly, "It tastes great."
While he was doing this, Xinyi, who usually liked to sniff around at the table, remained quiet and sat obediently in a corner of the table, pretending to be a lucky cat. Shadow, who liked to pick up food for Tangning, also sat quietly in his seat, staring at Tangning's every move.
Putting down the bowl and spoon, Tangning smiled, "It's time to eat!"
This sentence seemed to break some strange atmosphere, and the shadows in my heart started to move again. In an instant, the whole restaurant became lively again.
After dinner, Tang Ning put on a mask and went out for a walk with Shadow.
This time they didn't jump out of the window, but took a serious walk.
On the road, Tang Ning met a man walking his dog, which was a very beautiful big golden retriever.
The golden retriever looked very friendly. It would wag its tail whenever it saw Tang Ning from a distance, and even wanted to come up to Tang Ning for a closer look. If the owner had been pulling the leash, Tang Ning suspected that the big dog would have followed them and run away.
"If we can successfully exit the game, we can get a dog." Tangning held Shadow's hand, and Shadow suggested, "Xin is cute, but she's too small. A dog is big and can be hugged."
Shadow immediately hugged Tang Ning tightly.
"You are Fluffy." Tangning reached out and ruffled Shadow's hair. "You are so jealous of a dog, right?"
Shadow hugged Tangning tighter.
Wrong, it seems that being able to accommodate his heart is already his limit.
"Okay, okay, I'll just tell you." Tangning smiled helplessly.
They continued to stroll outside, without any destination in mind, just walking and strolling. The content of their conversation was also based on Tangning's random thoughts. He said, "Let's go back to my hometown someday. I plan to arrange a place for my grave."
Shadow covered Tang Ning's mouth.
Tang Ning's eyes widened as he tried to move Shadow's hand away, but Shadow was like a big clingy dog and hugged Tang Ning tightly again. This time he hugged Tang Ning more tightly than the previous times, which made Tang Ning breathe a little more.
Tangning said helplessly, "Oh my, why are you reacting so strongly? I will definitely use the cemetery soon. Maybe I will use it in a few decades."
Shadow took off Tang Ning's mask and covered her mouth with his lips.
He kissed her deeply.
Tangning closed his eyes and gradually immersed himself in the kiss. After the kiss, Tangning's face was already red from being kissed in a daze. The soft white hair made the blush on his face look even more beautiful. He said softly to Shadow, "Then let's book a flight for tomorrow afternoon."
Shadow was so angry that he kissed him.
…
After the walk, Tangning Yingzi returned home.
Tang Ning went into the bathroom and took a long shower, washing herself thoroughly, then came out wrapped in a bathrobe.
Logically speaking, it wasn't time for Tang Ning to feel sleepy yet, but she sat on the bed without playing with her phone or computer.
Yingzi looked at Tangning's reaction and guessed that she might be going to sleep, so he considerately turned off the light.
Tang Ning sat on the bed in a deep voice.
The cat strolled into the bedroom, jumped onto the bed, and meowed to Tang Ning, "Come and play!"
Tangning rejected Xin's invitation in an uncharacteristic way and said to Yingzi, "Take Xin out and lock the door. You can let him in."
You have to know that in the past, Tang Ning always slept with his heart, and he almost never took the approach of isolating his heart from the door.
Shadow did as Tangning asked.
The heart that was thrown out felt extremely aggrieved, and it kept scratching the door and making coquettish meows.
Tang Ning, who had never been willing to endure such humiliation, sat on the bed in deep thought this time.
The shadow walked towards Tang Ning quietly. As the shadow got closer, Tang Ning finally moved. He fell on the bed, thought for a moment, reached out and pulled down the bathrobe on one shoulder a little, revealing his snow-white shoulder.
shadow:"?"
Tang Ning was full of a mysterious aura of "I don't care about life or death, I'll just do it", "If I die as a virgin, it seems to be a pity."
shadow:"??"
Tang Ning's ears turned red as he spoke, so he simply covered his head with a pillow.
The lower left corner of the bed sank slightly, probably because a shadow was climbing up.
Tang Ning's heart was beating rapidly. He had been thinking about this matter for a long time. He was thinking that he might die in the S-level copy, which would leave regrets for himself and others. So when Tang Ning came up with this action, he felt it was very reasonable.
But now he felt his heart was retreating.
Perhaps, it would be better for him to watch some videos on that subject in advance so that he could understand the specific process between homosexuals.
"Ding-ling-ling~!" The sound of the ringing bells instantly brought Tang Ning, who was already extremely nervous, to his knees. He sat up in shock from his dying state and took out his cell phone. It was a call from Jiang Mianmian.
"Hello?" Tangning answered the phone and felt sweat on her forehead.
The snow-white hair stuck to the white and rosy skin. He avoided his eyes and dared to look at the shadow beside him.
"Tangning, do you remember the light priest who looked like a player in the ghost my copy? I just asked someone to find the information left by a player years ago. The information records some of his understanding of the player. I wonder if it can be helpful to you." Jiang Mianmian said, "I'll send the information to you privately."
Tangning quickly said, "Oh, OK, thank you very much."
Jiang Mianmian: "Okay, then I'll bother you."
The call ended, and the light from the screen illuminated Tangning's face, which had turned as red as a tomato.
Shadow sat next to Tang Ning. He reached out and pulled the bathrobe that had slipped off Tang Ning's shoulders back up, then pressed Tang Ning's red face into his arms.
He didn't do anything to Tang Ning.
Instead, he gently stroked Tang Ning's back, as if he was soothing a frightened cat.
Tangning held onto the phone, feeling Shadow's patient pats and caresses.
Gradually, the deep-seated fear of the S-level copy in An seemed to be driven away by the shadow.
Tangning hugged Shadow tightly. This time, it was not his cheeks but his eyes that were red. He said, "What should I do? I really want to pretend that I have become a very good player and can be as good as my past self..."
"But I'm so scared."
"I'm afraid I'll never come back and see you all again..."
Shadow hugged Tang Ning gently.