Chapter 122

“Now, only the four of us are truly useful.”

The next morning, none of the four were in particularly good spirits as they gathered at Zhen Hu's house for breakfast.

Lilian, upon learning what they had experienced the previous day, had stayed up all night to make a chicken soup broth for their congee and noodles. The four of them showed their appreciation by thoroughly enjoying the breakfast.

“Mona will be back tomorrow.”

Thankfully, Lilian said this after they had all finished eating.

Hearing those words, the group simply exchanged glances without saying anything.

“Speaking of… why throw a birthday party? Are you planning to lower her guard and then ambush her?”

Zhen Hu, having pondered for a long time without understanding, was the first to speak, asking Lilian about the birthday party idea.

“Because…” Lilian's eyes were filled with disappointment as she brought up this matter. After thinking for a moment, she looked at Zhen Hu and said, “In the past, Mona's father and I were both very busy, so… we were never there for her birthdays.”

In the past, Lilian and her husband were doing well if they remembered Mona's birthday and gave her a gift. Often, Mona's birthday would pass by several days before they even remembered.

Then, they would put on embarrassed smiles and make up for the belated gift.

Later, as Mona grew older, she gradually stopped mentioning her birthday altogether, and she and her husband thought about it even less.

Besides no longer mentioning her birthday, they had fewer and fewer topics to discuss with each other, and Mona didn't want to have any other interactions with them.

In the game, although the planners changed much of Mona's past, Lilian remembered that in the original storyline, the sanctimonious scumbag that Zhen Hu was now playing had tricked Mona into being completely devoted to him simply by buying her a small cake on her birthday.

Even after Mona awakened her own consciousness, she still seemed to remember that cake and harbored unrealistic fantasies and illusions about Zhen Hu's character.

It was clear how much Mona longed for her parents' care, but it was exploited by a scumbag!

“I say… could you please stop staring at me with such a frightening look?”

Zhen Hu noticed that Lilian hadn't said anything for a while and was just staring at him.

Her gaze became more and more terrifying. In the end, Zhen Hu felt like she couldn't wait to kill him with one strike, prompting him to quickly wake Lilian from her reverie.

He wasn't a bad person!

“And then? You're just trying to make it up to Mona?”

Mingmei frowned, feeling that this seemed far from their intended goal.

“And then… after the birthday party, everything will go as you wish.” Lilian looked at Mingmei and the others, a smile playing on her lips. She didn't tell them why Mona eventually told them about the whereabouts of the Zerg, but she assured them that they would find out.

The group exchanged glances, a hint of vigilance flashing in their eyes.

Lilian's character was truly strange; they should be careful.

Outside the game.

“Will Lu Xiaoyao and the others be able to clear the game? It's been so long?”

Hu Yue and Li Yuan, who had left early, were forced by Lu Gui to stay outside the game pods. Bored, Hu Yue even ordered takeout from the cafeteria, bringing three hot dogs.

“Not as good as in the game.” Li Yuan was the one who suggested eating hot dogs, but he was also the first to find them unappetizing.

“Did you enter the game just to eat?”

Lu Gui, who hadn't managed to get a spot in the first round, was already in a bad mood, especially knowing that this game was open to all military academy students and was being so lazy, only running one game at a time.

The next game wouldn't start until the previous players failed. If the players succeeded, the game would be permanently sealed and might never be open to the public again.

What a bandit-like setup!

The group didn't know what was going on inside. On one hand, they hoped the players would fail so they could see for themselves. On the other hand, they didn't really want to go in and play.

After all, some people knew that this game had some tricks up its sleeve and could really mess with your mentality.

“You just had bad luck and didn't get in, so why are you being so fierce?” As soon as Hu Yue heard Lu Gui scolding Li Yuan, she immediately defended him, glaring at Lu Gui. “Blaming others? Even if you got in… hmph~”

Her disdain was undisguised.

“Then what can you do, going in and coming out like that? You still don't know anything.”

Lu Gui scoffed. Hu Yue and the others were stopped by him as soon as they came out. When he asked about the situation, including Qi Hai Kui, who had already returned to the dorm, none of the three had even touched the game's main storyline!

What did they spend all that time doing?

“Like you'd know anything if you went in.” Hu Yue rolled her eyes, speechless at the stark difference in personality between Lu Xiaoyao and her brother.

The three of them bickered back and forth outside the game pods. Li Yuan didn't know what to say. If he spoke up now, he would probably be targeted by both of them at once.

Just as he was worrying about what to say, a deep funeral bell suddenly rang outside the auditorium.

“That's…”

Suddenly, the sound of their argument subsided.

At this moment, everyone in the other schools looked towards the school assembly square, including the three of them, watching as the chimes continued to ring out.

“I heard that if an outstanding student who graduated from the First Military Academy sacrifices himself on the battlefield, the bells in the square will ring…”

Hu Yue muttered. This was the first time she had heard the bell since entering the school.

She only knew about this from a teacher mentioning it during a class on school rules and regulations when she first entered the school.

The teacher had proudly said that those who received the title of outstanding student from the school were all top-notch in strength. Barring any accidents, they would become renowned planetary guardians within ten years.

The teacher said that the bell hadn't rung in over ten years. That time, it was to send off the only son of Marshal Lu, and at the same time, the son of Prime Minister Sen also sacrificed himself in a targeted Zerg raid.

And this time, no one knew which class of outstanding students had died at the hands of the Zerg.

At this moment, all the teachers, students, and even staff members in the school, no matter what they were doing, stood up straight and saluted in the direction of the square bell tower.

The funeral bells rang out one after another, the deep chimes sounding both sorrowful and angry, as if venting the grief of the deceased. Finally, the rhythm of the bell-ringing gradually slowed down, like an old man's final reluctance and farewell, permeating every corner of the campus.

“Why…”

Li Yuan suddenly raised his hand and touched his face. Unbeknownst to him, tears had already formed strings on his face. An ominous premonition in his heart finally became a reality when his wrist computer lit up…