In Virtual Reality

Celestial Master stuttered incoherently; his words were jumbled and incomprehensible. "What, what, what lady? Lady?" He felt like his mind was unravelling. He was on the verge of screaming like that foreigner-tormented painting. Still, the idol's eerie statement and calm expression kept him grounded.

Meanwhile, Xu Jin Yi stood there, gesturing with the black robe in her hand, uncertain where to hang it. She spun around at the sound of his question, and her eyes lit up. "Lechang Hanshao, the southern magnolia," Xu Jin Yi exclaimed with a sigh. "Don't you think it's exceptionally elegant?"

【Exceptionally elegant! It's really too elegant!】

【The skewers in my hand immediately turned into a violin... I get it!】

Since when did magnolia trees have eyes on their trunks?! But as he came to his senses, he realized something was amiss. "I'm from the north. If Excelsior is lying to me, I'll really believe it."

"I've done my homework," Xu Jin Yi stated, disclosing that she had conducted this experiment at the park near her residence and referred to numerous plant encyclopedias. "Particularly in the park, the gardeners prune Southern Magnolia regularly to sustain its clean and symmetrical appearance. Following pruning, the cut branches on the tree trunk will recover and create scars that resemble eyes." Xu Jin Yi draped the black robe over her shoulder, spreading her arms wide to showcase the splendour of Southern Magnolia. She spoke with fervour, "Isn't it breathtaking? This is a inspiration from nature!"

Celestial Master hesitated, his lips trembling as he struggled to voice the word "breathtaking" against his inner convictions.

【Ah, now I understand. Excelsior's sense of aesthetics is genuinely otherworldly!】

【Don't blindly worship him, you brain-dead Excelsior fan!】

Even Celestial Master was astounded by what he saw on the screen. "Wow," he muttered involuntarily as he watched the pop-ups appear one after another.

To avoid the tricky topic of aesthetics, Celestial Master deftly changed the subject, bringing up the black cloak in Excelsior's possession. "Speaking of which, Excelsior ," he began cautiously, "why did you have to deceive the NPC to get its cloak?"

Xu Jin Yi looked at him in surprise. "Deceive?" she repeated. "Can a player really deceive an NPC?" Her matter-of-fact tone betrayed no hint of irony, leaving the Heavenly Master and the pop-up viewers stunned into silence.

【...So to become a true gamer, one must go through all these trials?】

【But a true Excelsior fan would engrave everything Excelsior says into their DNA!】

【Hey, hold on a minute. Don't go around engraving everything into your DNA... Aren't there any limits to being an Excelsior fan?】

The barrage area of the Celestial Master's live stream room had become chaotic as Excelsior fans spouted nonsense, causing confusion among unsuspecting passersby who stumbled upon the Excelsior cult.

Xu Jin Yi spoke casually, unaware of the storm her words would incite in the young man's live stream's barrage area. She explained to the Celestial Master, "This game is essentially a modified version of 《Werewolf》. The contestants haven't all been seen, so guessing their identities is impossible." She opened her black robe with both hands, estimating that the three or four meters of black fabric were folded in half and held in her hand, hanging just one centimetre above the ground. Admiring the beautiful scenery of her "Black Robe Hanging on the Southeast Branch," Xu Jin Yi said lightly, "There are many NPCs in Embroidered Ball Park. They are the witnesses of this game."

However, NPCs were still NPCs and only players could participate in the vote during the public vote, right? The Celestial Master straightened his hat and quietly consulted with his barrage area geniuses. "Did you understand, family?" he asked.

【Call for Help Outside the Venue!】

【Help Request Failed!】

【Failed too Quickly?! Come on, folks put your heads together and come up with something worthy of the streamer, or else he'll bawl his eyes out!】

Celestial Master scoffed, "No matter what happens, I won't shed a tear--"

【Hehe, hehehe, want to see the streamer cry, hehehe...】

Celestial Master grimaced. What kind of perverse audience was this? Better be cautious of the extreme elements! He shouldn't have expected much from these guys anyway. Other streamers were still obsessed with the idea of danmaku as an external brain, but what about him? Ha, a brain for the clueless.

【Don't tease the streamer; I have a hypothesis. I'll type it out when I have time.】

Finally, a reliable danmaku! Celestial Master's eyes lit up with joy, and he immediately contacted the chat admin to clear away the overwhelming barrage.

【1. It seems that Excelsior is not a fan of public voting chaos. The streamer has been with her for a long time. Excelsior has always been purposefully searching for things or doing NPC quests.】

【Before entering this door, didn't Excelsior mention entering a dungeon? I bet there's some sweet loot for completing this dungeon.】

【The name "Watcher" seems to be Excelsior's invention in the game, isn't it? Given the pattern of the broken branch in Southern Magnolia's eye, it's highly probable that every Southern Magnolia plant in the park serves as a watcher, monitoring every move made by the players involved in this game.】

【So it's all connected to what Excelsior said earlier. Every NPC in The Hydrangea Park serves as a witness to this game, capable of detecting the players' every action - and perhaps even their identities.】

【I understand...】

【What do you mean by "I understand"? Did you really get it???】

Lost in thought, Celestial Master stroked his chin. "So, we're trying to gain the NPCs' favorability now, and then we'll extract information about other players' identities from them, right?"

【It seems the streamer really grasped it?!】

【Celestial Master, you've transformed! You're no longer the player who has to scrutinize a guide a hundred and eighty times before making a move! 【Tuzki crying emoticon】】

The barrage was filled with tears and fireworks, devoid of any normal compliments.

Celestial Master: "..."

He was too accustomed to the silence that followed his words. While he interacted with the barrage, Xu Jin Yi had already wrapped up her conversation with Southern Magnolia.

Although the one-eyed plant's language was foreign to her, Xu Jin Yi, as one of the developers, could effortlessly discern the information she needed from it. "Can't find any detergent?" She scanned her surroundings, but the bags she recognized were nowhere in sight. "No fragrance agent either... Any other options?"

"Hmm..." Xu Jin Yi furrowed her brow, deep in thought. Southern Magnolia rustled its branches opposite her. The one-eyed plant, which had given Celestial Master quite the scare, blinked its eye and looked in her direction.

As Celestial Master glanced upwards, he noticed that the blue crescent moon had rounded out considerably since the game's commencement.

"Alright then!" She clapped her hands, giving the muttering Celestial Master a start. Then, he saw his idol's smile directed towards him.

Celestial Master pointed to himself uncertainly, "Me?" His voice was filled with doubt.

Xu Jin Yi grinned and suggested, "Then let this handsome Taoist priest help you get the fragrance agent from the Hydrangea Flower Sea. How about it?"

The smiling tree eyes of Southern Magnolia looked straight at him. Celestial Master couldn't refuse. Not because he felt sorry for it but because he was terrified and unable to speak. That eye was too sanity-draining!

"It's just going to the Hydrangea Flower Sea," said the idol, Xu Jin Yi, in a reassuring voice, "It's a famous attraction in The Hydrangea Park! After you leave, just follow the path deep into the park. When you get to the fork in the road, you'll see a small wooden sign with the address of the flower sea. Oh, by the way," she interjected with a smile, "Mrs. Magnolia only likes white. Make sure, absolutely, absolutely do not get the wrong color."

As Celestial Master was pushed out of the small wooden door, he could only remember Xu Jin Yi's warning. A gust of wind blew, lifting the small yellow ribbon on his hat.

The Celestial Master muttered to himself, "Can I still cling to someone's thigh now?"

【It's probably too late for that.】

【The moment everyone's been waiting for - the single thread!】

【The comments are excited, but the host is not!】

All he had left was the weapon in his hand. He looked down at the peach wood sword and whispered, "Ah Peach, I only have you left now, dependable Peach!"

"Hehehehehehe..."

【...Wait, did I just hear a strange noise?!】

【I heard it too. Could it be Peach making that sound?】

【Impossible! Peach's voice is high-pitched and thin; how can it be so eerie and weird? It's a peach wood sword, for heaven's sake!】

【Then why did you question whether the sound came from the peach wood sword? No, wait, how could a peach wood sword make a sound!!】

【Well, why didn't you say anything when Southern Magnolia could make sounds...】

Suddenly, there were broken blank spaces in the bullet comments.

"Usually, when this happens, I know better than to look back," the Celestial Master said as he forced out a half-dead smile. With a soul-drifting motion, he lifted his foot and charged forward!

A bullet comment warning came too late ---

【There are ghosts here, ahh!! Run, host, run!!】

**

Xu Jin Yi had participated in the making of 《The Hydrangea Park,》. However, there were still randomly generated tasks in the game.

One such task was the current dungeon she was exploring, 《Mysterious Laundry Detergent》, commissioned by the Nine Springs Laundry Chain.

Meanwhile, 【Master in Tribulation Crossing】 was working on a side quest called 《Fragrant Essence》. Hydrangea flowers weren't the only material available; other flowers, such as plum blossoms, magnolias, and gardenias, could also be used.

However, the celestial Master in the Hydrangea flower sea area might be more acquainted with Hydrangea flowers. Moreover, Hydrangea flowers were exclusively refreshed in the Hydrangea flower sea area, thus reducing the risk of getting lost.

As for the laundry detergent, it could be found throughout the park, so Xu Jin Yi could only try her luck in areas where the refresh rate was high.

After bidding farewell to the Nine Springs Laundry Chain, she left through the door, looking left and right before finally deciding, "Let's go up the mountain."

Apart from the ground park, a small path led up the mountain in Hydrangea Park. Xu Jin Yi wondered whether she would run into that sewer rat hiding in the dark.

Xu Jin Yi hooked the corners of her lips and chuckled softly twice. She eagerly anticipated the expression on that guy's face when he learned the truth.

——— Translators Notes ———

乐昌含笑 (Lè Chāng Hán Xiào) - Lechang Hanshao, a type of magnolia tree.

"danmaku" refers to the scrolling comments that appear on a video while it's playing, popular in Japanese video-sharing sites and live-streaming platforms like Bilibili.

Magnolia chapensis (乐昌含笑) is a type of flowering plant.

Tuzki is a popular rabbit emoticon/meme character in Chinese internet culture. It is often used to express various emotions, such as happiness, sadness, excitement, and frustration, in online conversations.