©NovelBuddy
Holding On to My Man-Chapter 42
Translated by Elestrea
TCLed by Divetus
Edited by Divetus, Evan
Gu Bai didn’t know how angry the man was but even if he did, he wouldn't take it to heart at all.
Although Qianmo Pei was a powerful character, he wasn't really important in the plot. He had very few scenes and wasn't categorized as a key figure in Gu Bai's task. Therefore, after Gu Bai went offline, he tossed it to the back of his mind.
Although it was just a game, and he wouldn't be addicted to it, he had to say that this kind of holographic, real-life simulation online game was very cool. Gu Bai's own world technology, the one he originally came from before he died, was not as developed, and he actually came to like it after playing for a while.
Therefore, after upgrading Shangguan Yu several times, Gu Bai made a side account to amuse himself with. These days, in order to help Song Xianxun get revenge, Ling Chen also issued a worldwide pursuit order for him, since he didn’t lack money either. Thus, it wasn’t very convenient for Gu Bai to use his original account. Although Gu Bai wasn’t afraid, he just felt that it was a waste of time.
Besides, this side account also had another purpose aside from him amusing himself.
He wasn’t planning on dealing with Tang Linyi before, but as he thought about the plot, he realized that, aside from marrying Tang Linyi in real life, Song Xianxun also became a well-regarded goddess in the game because of Tang Lingyi’s assistance.
So after thinking it through, Gu Bai felt that he still had to do something in order to ensure the completion of the task.
In the plot, Song Xianxun and Tang Linyi met because Song Xianxun accidentally saved one of his side accounts. Afterwards, the two got along with each other and felt a spark.
The reason why Song Xianxun could become a well-known goddess was because she leaned on the shoulders of many pursuers. Without these pursuers, Song Xianxun’s goddess status would naturally disappear.
After mulling over it for a while, Gu Bai was ready to destroy the meeting between the two. This way, Tang Linyi wouldn’t fall in love with Song Xianxun and also wouldn’t help her fight against Gu Bai.
If the two didn’t know each other, then the original host’s task about not letting Song Xianxun and Tang Linyi get married would be completed naturally.
Originally, Gu Bai wanted to create a male character, but when he was about to choose the gender, the emotion of the original host suddenly took over. His hand moved and it chose the female gender instead..
Record of Immortal Cultivation only allowed the player to change appearances when the character was created, so it couldn't be changed afterward. Gu Bai was speechless for a while, and in the end, only accept the fact.
Even if the original host didn’t ask him to get Tang Linyi’s love when Gu Bai was receiving the plot, the deep love for Tang Linyi in his heart had already grown for so many years. Not to mention, the original host’s main reason for entering the game was to be Tang Linyi’s online lover.
So Gu Bai guessed that his hand didn’t shake at all. It was probably due to the original host’s residual emotion in his body. Tang Zihao was still thinking about trying to have an online love with Tang Linyi. The original owner was indeed a hypocrite!
If the chosen character is female, then so be it, it's just a game after all — It’s not like he would actually become a woman. After Gu Bai got annoyed, he forgot about the happy beginnings and started to think of how to have the chance encounter with Tang Linyi’s side account while playing.
Although the school term had already started, the original host was only a freshman, so he had a lot of free time. The Tang family had money, so he didn’t have to live in school dorms. With nobody monitoring him at night, he could waste his youth away, so Gu Bai kept playing.
After spending a few days in the novice village to upgrade his level to Foundation Establishment, Gu Bai ran around picking up tasks. At this level, there were tasks that lead to hidden locations, which was way more fun.
Although the hidden location tasks were more fun, they weren’t easy to do. Once you died in a hidden location, you could instantly lose a level of cultivation, so it was very dangerous.
Most male players weren’t bad. Since boys were fundamentally more hot-blooded, they were naturally more talented than girls at games. In comparison, female players were relatively weaker.
Therefore, in order to not die in the hidden locations, most female players would find a male player to form a team with, while asking for the other party to carry them. Putting this bluntly, the male player would be their meat shield.
Although Gu Bai felt he was willing to stoop very low, he would not cheat another man with a female character, even as a last resort. That was too much.
He was embarrassed, so he chose to work alone in the end.
After entering the hidden location, Gu Bai began exploring the map. This time, his task was to find the Ice Lotus flowers.
This level 3 herb wasn’t rare, but was very difficult to get, especially for the players at the Foundation Establishment stage. The place where this herb grew was guarded by powerful guardian beasts, so the task was relatively difficult.
Gu Bai looked for a while but couldn’t find it. As he was in between lowering his head to look at the map and looking around, he suddenly felt his body being electrified, and a notification sounded in his ears.
System: You have received an attack from Extremely Arrogant!
[Human] Bai: …
[Human] Extremely Arrogant: I’m sorry, I didn't mean it. I meant to attack that monster. I’m sorry, I’ll give you an herb as compensation.
All of a sudden, a male character in sturdy armor came running over. His expression was full of embarrassment as he apologized.
Gu Bai glanced at the small beast running past him and estimated that the man might have really made a mistake. Then he saw the other side handing over an herb to make amends. After taking the herb, Gu Bai was too lazy to continue looking for herbs, thinking that there were many idiots who would make such a mistake.
But before long, Gu Bai felt something again. In real life, his body was electrified once again, and then there was a notification in his ears.
System: You have received a second attack from Extremely Arrogant!
[Human] Bai: …
Gu Bai stood where he was, his face darkening.
[Human] Extremely Arrogant: Ah, I’m sorry I hit you again. I’m really sorry. I just started playing this game, and my controls are still rough. I’ll compensate you with another herb.
It was the same man just now. He looked really innocent and was embarrassed. He offered his hand, handing over a level 3 herb.
For players at the Foundation Establishment stage, this offer wasn’t small and was quite sincere. Gu Bai stared at his distressed and innocent look, took the herb again, but this time he couldn’t help saying some words.
[Human] Bai: Next time, if I see you doing this again, I'll attack you back!
Son of a bitch, how could that kind of person even reach the Foundation Establishment stage, his eyes are so bad!
With that, Gu Bai turned around and left, ignoring the idiot.
If his senses were as sensitive as in real life, he would surely realize the movement of the man behind him when he turned around to leave.
But now, in the game, everything was a simulation, so Gu Bai didn’t find that after turning around, the male player who had just attacked him gave an evil smile.
After leaving, Gu Bai wandered for a long time before finding some Ice Lotus flowers in full bloom in some hidden ice lake. It was the herb needed for his quest today.
On his end, Gu Bai didn’t go straight to them, because he knew the herbs were guarded by some guardian beasts, and he had to kill a few monsters before he could pick them.
Sure enough, he soon saw a Laipi Frog nearby. The simulation of this holographic online game was very real, and the monster looked very scary.
But for the well-informed Gu Bai, it was nothing at all. Without saying anything, he took up his sword and rushed to fight it.
When the monsters were defeated, Gu Bai put away his weapon, preparing to collect the herbs. Suddenly, his eyes turned dark, his field-of-view turned gray, and a system notification rang in his ears.
System: You have been killed by Extremely Arrogant!
Then, Gu Bai saw that the man with bad eyesight, the one who had attacked him several times before, ran over and looked at him apologetically.
[Human] Extremely Arrogant: I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I was going to fight that monster.
[Human] Bai: What the fuck, it’s you again! I should've known people wouldn't make this kind of low-level mistakes if they could reach Foundation Establishment stage. Finding someone to use as target practice is adventitious, ah! Your name is Extremely Arrogant, you're arrogant, your sister is also arrogant ah!
Gu Bai couldn't help being furious. He wasn't easy to anger, but he was hit again and again and finally killed by this arrogant dude. Now he just couldn’t help it.
Although it didn't really matter if his character died for a while, he was attacked by the same person every single time. And each time, the other person looked embarrassed and said it was a mistake, truly infuriating.
Moreover, the original host was an impulsive person. Gu Bai would be affected by his personality before completing the task.
Fortunately, this time, his death just dropped some of his equipment and didn't make him drop a level. Gu Bai drank a bottle of resurrection water and stood up.
Then he rushed over with a cold face, ready to beat this very arrogant person. He had been electrified several times in real life just now. His vengeance was well-deserved!
But Gu Bai soon found that this Extremely Arrogant could not be underestimated. Although the other side seemed to have some eye problems and attacked him by mistake every time, the other side’s fighting skills were very good.
Other than relying on the system's control settings, the control in this holographic online game Record of Immortal Cultivation also relied on the player's real-life skills for more flexible control.
So, it could be seen that this Extremely Arrogant person was a person with skills in reality.
But before Gu Bai could speak, the man over there spoke again.
[Human] Extremely Arrogant: You don’t fight using the system's control. Have you learned Kung Fu in real life? Yes, even better than those black belt masters!
In the face of such arrogant-sounding praise, Gu Bai was extremely pissed. He, of course, was skilled, but he didn't expect that this Extremely Arrogant dude could match his pace.
He couldn't use his cultivation skills in the game world, and after fighting for so long, he didn't gain any advantages over him. This bastard must be his natural enemy!
Gu Bai glared at the other person. Since he knew he couldn't win, he didn’t want to waste his time here. Today, he was unlucky and met a bad luck star.
Seeing that he had picked up the herb and was ready to go, Extremely Arrogant rushed up to him.
[Human] Extremely Arrogant: I’m really sorry just now. As compensation, I’ll take you to find some treasure. I just got a treasure map. I heard that there are many good things there. I’ll take you with me.
[Human] Bai: No!
Gu Bai refused with a cold face. He wouldn't play a game with some bastard who attacked him. And according to the other person's bad eyes, he must be a pig teammate.
But, no matter how much Gu Bai didn't want to, Extremely Arrogant very much wanted to be with him. When Extremely Arrogant realized he couldn’t convince him and that Gu Bai wanted to run instead, he directly used his magical abilities to trap Gu Bai.
[Human] Bai: You have a mental defect. Let me go!
[Human] Extremely Arrogant: I won't let go unless you promise to go with me.
Shit, this person was really out of his mind! He even went so far as to promise to share the treasure with him.
Gu Bai was speechless for a while and already ascertained that he ended up playing the game today without looking at the almanac, thus he met with such bad luck star.
[Human] Bai: OK, let me go. I’ll go with you.
Gu Bai was not ready to tangle himself with this unlucky star. He was ready to go offline immediately after the other party released him, so he spoke rather slowly.
Who knew the other side didn’t immediately let go of him, but pondered for a while and shook his head instead.
[Human] Extremely Arrogant: No, you have to add me as a friend first, and then I'll let you go. Otherwise, what can I do if you don’t mean what you say?
As long as a player added someone as a friend, even if the other party went offline, the other could still find them as soon as they entered the game world in the future. Otherwise, if the two strangers went offline and then got back online, it would be hard to meet each other again without an arranged location.
Gu Bai made a face and roared 100 times in his heart, thinking about what kind of bad luck was dropped on him today. Alas, the situation was already like this, so he took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.
[Human] Bai: Extremely Arrogant gege~ I will of course keep my word. Would you please remove the spell first? This person is in great pain.
After saying that, Gu Bai immediately got goosebumps. He kept saying it didn't matter in his heart. It was just a game. No one would know it was him. Even if someone did know, it was not his original body, and it was to do the task anyway!
After going back and forth a few times, he had the courage to wink at the man in front of him.
Extremely Arrogant stared at his appearance for a while, seeming like he was holding back a laugh. He still didn't release his trapping spell and sent Gu Bai a friend request as he spoke.
[Human] Extremely Arrogant: No, I don't think your words can be trusted.
Shit! Once again, Gu Bai's face couldn't help but crack. He recovered his cold facade and didn't waste any more time. He accepted the friend request.
[Human] Bai: OK, it's done, you can let me go!
After they became friends, Gu Bai was angry, yet Extremely Arrogant, on the other hand, was in a very good mood. He lifted the spell that trapped Gu Bai and handed him a good magical weapon.
[Human] Extremely Arrogant: I attacked you accidentally just now. This magic weapon is to make amends with you. At 7:00 p.m. on the day after tomorrow, wait for me in the mission hall. Let’s go find the treasure. I have something to do now. I’ll go offline first.
With that, the other person's figure disappeared from the game world.
Gu Bai looked at the place where the other party had disappeared, and then at the magic weapon he was just given as compensation. It actually made him feel better. Somehow, that bastard was very tactful.
However, considering that this Extremely Arrogant's personality clashed with his own, it wasn't good to meet each other every day. Gu Bai hesitated for a while but then simply deleted the friend he just added.
Extremely Arrogant was just his bad luck star. It was the kind of star that was customized to restrain him. To form a team with such a bad luck star, he'd have to be simply out of his mind!
So… wild guess on who this Extremely Arrogant dude? Anyone?