58. Mint's Potion Recipe

During dinner, Zhong Zemo brought up the topic of his divorce.

After what could effectively be described as running away from home, Du Jingwen had made a huge fuss, trying to force Zhong Zemo to show his face through police reports and harassing phone calls, and had even attempted to break into his school.

However, after suffering setbacks one after another, she had bizarrely grown quiet.

Facing the lawyer sent by Jailer Bro, she appeared exceptionally cooperative.

A simple "Get a divorce if you want, who's afraid of whom?" allowed the divorce proceedings to progress smoothly.

Both sets of parents tried to intervene, but Zhong Zemo's attitude was resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.

Savoring salt-fried pork, braised pork knuckles, and soybean and winter melon pork rib soup, Jiang Heyi racked his brains but still could not understand why Du Jingwen was making such a big fuss.

Zhong Zemo had no bad habits and possessed the patience of a saint. Whether online or offline, he was the standard definition of a good guy, universally well-liked.

He simply wanted a few hobbies and a shred of private space, yet she refused to give him even that much.

"She's applying extreme pressure, gambling that you'll back down, gambling that you'll panic."

Jiang Heyi ate without raising his head; the food was simply too delicious.

He felt grateful for Du Jingwen's chaotic antics, which had led Zhong Zemo to temporarily stay at his place, cooking a different array of dishes every day. What an absolute paradise.

"I won't panic, and I won't back down," Zhong Zemo sighed deeply. "For over two years, it felt like only the first six months after getting married were normal life. The rest of the time, I was just serving a prison sentence."

"Do you think someone who just got out of prison would ever miss the feeling of being locked up?"

"Being able to allocate my time freely and log online with you guys right on schedule feels absolutely amazing."

Jiang Heyi took a sip of the soybean and winter melon pork rib soup to clear his palate.

The soup tasted fresh and sweet, mirroring Zhong Zemo's current state of mind as a man who had narrowly escaped death.

"Then let Jailer Bro's lawyer speed things up. By the way..." Jiang Heyi asked curiously, "Have you ever asked the lawyer what Jailer Bro is like in real life?"

"Refined, easygoing, and always laughing foolishly," Zhong Zemo couldn't help but chuckle.

It sounded somewhat different from the Jailer Bro they knew.

When this description was tossed to Jailer Bro in the chat, he perfectly demonstrated the "foolish laughter" the lawyer had mentioned.

"If you really want to know, why not set a date and gather together? Come to Guangzhou, I'll treat you to some really good local food."

"I think right after the guild wars end would be a great time. If we can get a good ranking and make it to the world championship, let's treat it as a pre-battle celebration."

In the chat group, Futon immediately chimed in: "You said you'd treat—are you serious?"

"Press 1, I'm paying," Jailer Bro made the final decision.

"11111111," Futon immediately followed suit.

"If we really get to go... what about my classes? I still have to attend university."

Orange Tea's comment made everyone burst into laughter.

"There are a hundred ways to make up for your missed classes, but the chance to represent the national server might only come this once," Zhong Zemo emphasized.

Futon immediately replied with a meme: ".jpg - I must consider whether this is the only chance I'll ever get in my life."

"You guys are so enviably optimistic. The tournament hasn't even started yet, and you're already thinking that far ahead," Jiang Heyi teased.

Having said that, it would be a lie to claim Jiang Heyi harbored no desire for the championship.

"Then... making it to the top four counts as success?"

"That might actually count as success," Original Flavored French Fries shared a link to the official website. "It's confirmed, the national server only gets four direct-invitation slots for the world championship. If you make the top four, you get to go."

The advancement criteria were out, but the specific tournament format was still nowhere to be found. It seemed the developers were determined to keep the suspense alive until the very last second before the opening whistle.

After logging in, everyone eagerly looked around, only to learn from Garlic Sprout that Mint still hadn't returned.

With Mint away, everyone in Reality-Friction felt as though they were sealed within the guild territory.

Recalling how Mint had previously gone out for a long time just to brew potions for them, they managed to ease their inner anxieties and headed to the arena to practice.

Yet...

As the time to log off approached, they still hadn't waited for Mint to appear.

"Relax, tomorrow when we log on, we'll see that lively little rascal pop up right in front of us, holding a bunch of crafting materials and cursing us out for being useless little good-for-nothings."

Jiang Heyi's words were vividly evocative, and everyone laughed heartily.

However, upon logging in again the next day, the anticipated scene did not materialize. Mint remained completely out of touch.

This time, Reality-Friction truly panicked.

Players could communicate with one another via private messages, but long-distance communication between players and NPCs required special items that were currently unavailable to players at this stage.

They had no way of knowing what had happened to Mint or where she was.

Considering that *Stellar Certificate* was a dynamically running game world...

Keywords like "trouble" and "accidents" began popping up in their minds unceasingly.

The group, who had previously been able to concentrate wholeheartedly on practicing PvP, gradually grew restless.

As this gaming session neared its end, Zhong Zemo could no longer hold back.

"It's been three days without a single word... Should we go look for her?"

Even Original Flavored French Fries cast his gaze over, his eyes conveying a sense of agreement.

Having long since accepted Mint as a member of the guild, everyone had reached the limit of their patience.

How could Jiang Heyi pretend to remain calm? He nodded: "If we still don't see Mint when we log on tomorrow, we're heading to the Anna Royal Capital."

Judging by the coordinates Mint had previously transmitted, her active range was roughly between Fragrant Wind City and the Royal Capital.

It sounded easy enough, but if one were to pull up a map of the Anna Empire and draw circles around those two vast regions, they would realize just how enormous it was. Trying to find a single person there would be no different from finding a needle in a haystack.

And yet...

They had to look!

"Sigh... We've managed to grow attached to an electronic pet."

"Analyzing it that way doesn't make you feel any better."

Jiang Heyi pierced through Jailer Bro's little attempt to lighten the mood.

Yet, he genuinely experienced what it felt like to fully immerse oneself in the world of stars. As the boundary between reality and illusion grew increasingly blurred, whose heart could remain resilient enough to be completely unaffected?

Reality-Friction, a guild that usually generated headline-making news every single day, had suddenly gone quiet over the past two days, arousing the curiosity of many.

A Drunken Dream sent a private message to Jailer Bro: "Are you guys stuck on the sixth floor?"

Jailer Bro replied somewhat despondently: "We're not raiding the sixth floor; we're just practicing PvP inside the guild."

A Drunken Dream was stunned.

So the sudden silence of Reality-Friction over the past two days really was in preparation for the guild wars, to the extent that they had even put the temple raid on hold.

Not everyone was enthusiastic about the guild wars, and realizing they had no competitive chance at a world championship slot, some guilds simply chose to give up.

This cohort of hardcore PvE players was now entirely focused on breaking through the fourth floor of the Underground Temple, hoping to surpass Reality-Friction's achievements.

Reality-Friction was at the height of its power. If other guilds could overtake them—even if it was just taking advantage of the window where Reality-Friction was distracted by the guild wars—they could still make a massive name for themselves.

"Does Reality-Friction want it all?" members of the Comedic Tree guild were baffled. "They want to lead in PvE and also shine in the guild wars? That's way too arrogant."

"Special extra training sessions—they've clearly set their sights on a world championship slot."

Past midnight marked September 10th, the deadline for guild war registration.

On September 11th, the guild wars officially kicked off.

At this juncture, the every move of each guild drew intense scrutiny.

As soon as news of Reality-Friction's preparation spread, it immediately captured everyone's attention.

Discussion threads in the community popped up one after another, and even casual onlookers who didn't even own a gaming qualification joined in the frenzy of discussion.

No one knew that at this tense moment, every single member of Reality-Friction was not spending their final day adjusting their mindset to secure a strong opening win in the guild wars, but rather searching for an NPC.

Checking the guild war registration page once more to confirm that all members had passed verification, Jiang Heyi entered dreamland with a fluttering heart.

Today, the unlucky Four Elementals reported in the group chat that he wouldn't be able to log in until at least 1:00 PM, but the rest of the group couldn't wait for him.

Because upon logging in, that lively figure was still nowhere to be found in the guild hall.

Pulling materials out of the guild warehouse to begin channeling energy, Reality-Friction set its sights straight on Fragrant Wind City.

"Whoosh~~~~"

A blinding white light blossomed, and a stumbling figure appeared within the guild lobby.

She looked as though she had rolled around in a mud pit, covered in dirt from head to toe. Even her most treasured large hat was stained with mud spots, leaving only her sea-blue, gem-like eyes still bright, though her brows and eyes were filled with endless weariness.

She was dragging two massive burlap sacks, with another wrapped tightly around her slender waist. Exerting all her strength, she had returned, laden with a full load of crafting materials.

"Children, I'm back."

After panting heavily and finishing her sentence, she untied the cloth bag wrapped around her waist and collapsed limply onto the floor.

She was simply too exhausted. Jiang Heyi arranged for the puppets to give her a bath, yet through such a tumultuous process, she only dazedly woke up once during her hair wash to mumble, "So itchy."

It made sense that she was itchy; according to Garlic Sprout's description, her arms and legs were covered in numerous tiny scratches. As the water washed over them, it caused her to occasionally shudder in her sleep.

Now lying in a comfortable, soft bed, she still tossed and turned, rubbing gently against the quilt due to the itchiness of those minor wounds.

The hanging heart finally dropped back into place. Seeing that Mint had returned to the guild, everyone felt a wave of relief wash over their entire bodies.

This sleep lasted from daylight until nightfall.

At Garlic Sprout's prompt, everyone crammed into her room.

Everyone had countless questions they wanted to ask, but...

"Gurgle~~~~~"

Mint's face flushed red, and she shyly touched the back of her head.

Zhong Zemo's culinary skills made her ravenous. Wolfing down a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes and three large bowls of rice, she finally slumped back comfortably onto the bed, looking entirely satisfied.

That expression made her look like her soul had finally returned to her body.

"Hehe, look at you guys—what's wrong? Weren't you worried sick while I was away?" she asked cheerfully the moment she spoke.

"Of course we were worried! You were gone for so long without a single word; we thought something happened to you."

Mint widened her eyes, and seeing everyone staring intently at her, she immediately shrank her neck back.

"Re... Really? Were you guys really that worried?"

"Hmph, it was probably just because of the potions."

"No joke, everyone was genuinely worried about you," Jiang Heyi emphasized.

"..."

"..."

Her face looked as though it were burning up, and she hurriedly changed the subject: "I brought back a lot of materials for you guys. I traded them using the materials I pre-vibe... uh, saved up."

"Let me rest a little longer, and I'll brew the potions for you. Don't worry, they'll definitely be the best ones."

"Oh right, do your puppets want to learn some new recipes? I can teach them."

*More to come...*