[Lord of the Pure White Throne:] Could just be a difference in local customs. Where I'm from, we usually don't call it a scam. We call it a donation.
Sigh. A cyber-ghost girl from the City, misleading an innocent, pure-hearted young boy.
A truly heinous crime.
Lin Yuan, completely unaware that he himself was showing signs of developing in the direction of a cyber-ghost guy, thought this with heartfelt indignation.
[Lord of the Pure White Throne:] Don't feel too burdened about it. It's not as serious as Carmen made it sound. At most, it's just mutual assistance.
[Let Night City Burn:] Is that so?
[Lord of the Pure White Throne:] Yeah. It mostly depends on how you persuade her. If it's for the sake of bringing you back, she'd probably be willing to do something too, right?
[Lord of the Pure White Throne:] The reason we're doing all this is still for our group's shared goal. And of course, that includes mine too—resurrection.
[Let Night City Burn:] I understand. So what exactly should I do?
[Lord of the Pure White Throne:] Ask for anything at all. The key is to make sure ownership of those items passes to you.
[Lord of the Pure White Throne:] After that, you should be able to use the chat group's only still-functioning feature, Recycle, to reclaim those things for points. The more points you get, the better. If we can scrape together 100 and unlock the check-in function, things should start improving.
So that was the point?
David suddenly understood, and then saw that Lin Yuan still wasn't done talking.
[Lord of the Pure White Throne:] I can't judge it from her point of view, but I think… maybe this would be a good thing for her too.
[Lord of the Pure White Throne:] At the very least, it would give her something to hold on to. A hope—knowing, and being certain, that there's still a chance for her to see you again in the years ahead.
[Lord of the Pure White Throne:] We've drifted a bit off topic. Anyway, you've only got one minute. Got it?
[Let Night City Burn:] Yeah. I understand.
David came back to himself with a start, then hurriedly replied.
Above the Primordial River, Lin Yuan gathered his thoughts and once again cast out the fishing rod in his hand.
Well, that was certainly a perfectly respectable excuse.
That thought flashed through his mind, but he did not feel guilty because of it.
He wasn't some saint. How could he possibly not have selfish desires of his own?
He had never been the type to hide what he wanted. Just as he had told David, he was persuading him to do this for his own purposes too.
Blindly denying your own desires was just another form of dishonesty. Lin Yuan had never been in the habit of doing that.
So what he chose instead was to make his desires into something everyone could accept.
He had never really understood the kind of people who offended everyone around them just to satisfy their own selfish wants.
Wasn't there always a better option right there in front of them?
Was win-win cooperation suddenly not appealing anymore? Or did they really think earning alone was better than everybody earning together?
Work together once, profit once. Keep working together, keep profiting.
Just like now. Only after he was sure he had found a path where he could benefit and David could also gain something substantial did he begin trying to persuade him.
And beyond that, he himself was bearing the cost of the action. That was a necessary price to pay for fulfilling his own desires.
So Lin Yuan cast his rod forward.
"Come on, David, don't let me down!"
As his figure grew translucent once more, a silver-white gleam swept across the fishing rod.
[Remaining Lifespan: 17h23min]
…
On the returning rocket.
Lucy closed her eyes and turned her head to one side, silently recalling this trip to the moon.
Ah. It had been wonderful. Fulfilling. It had been her long-cherished wish for so many years. The moment it came true, she should have been overjoyed, shouldn't she?
Even with her eyes shut, Lucy could not help…
letting her brows droop.
Sure enough, words like that…
could not fool her at all.
Her lashes trembled weakly. She slowly opened her eyes and stared out through the porthole at the endless flow of space. The broadcast inside the rocket barely reached her ears now, no more than the droning of insects.
Lucy had always thought she would be happy at this moment.
She had also thought that, when she saw David's phantom in front of the sun, she would be able to let go.
But reality proved otherwise.
At the very moment she fulfilled the greatest wish of her life, the person she most wanted beside her was already gone beyond all reach.
The one she wanted wasn't there.
And in the blink of an eye, everything lost its meaning.
No matter where she went, no matter what she wanted to say, it always felt like one person was missing.
Lucy unconsciously drew herself in tighter, curling up slightly in her seat.
But all at once, she seemed to hear a voice:
"Hey, Lucy. Lucy!"
Another hallucination?
Lucy blinked blankly, then turned her head slightly, dazed, toward her rear.
David's face appeared right in front of her.
When he saw that she had turned around, he finally seemed to let out a breath of relief.
Then he clasped his hands together, but his eyes kept drifting awkwardly off to the side, as though he were embarrassed by what he was about to say and had no idea how to begin.
The hallucination was becoming more and more real.
Lucy found herself thinking this.
Had her longing for David grown that much stronger?
In that case… maybe she could just go along with it for now. Being able to reunite with him once more like this, even in a hallucination, would still make things a little easier.
She pressed her lips together.
"Uh… Lucy, do you have anything you don't need anymore? Could you give me some of it?"
It took David five or six seconds before he finally managed to say it, his tone painfully awkward, while inwardly he kept trying to psych himself up.
Even if he didn't know how to start, David—you've got to pull yourself together.
There's only one minute. Mr. Lin Yuan paid a huge price for this. I can't be the one who screws it up.
Lucy froze for a moment, then covered her mouth and laughed softly.
"The first thing you do after seeing me again is ask me for stuff? David, what kind of relationship have we even become…"
As she said it, she laughed for a little while longer, leaving David looking even more embarrassed.
But in the next instant, he froze.
There was a glimmer of tears at the corner of Lucy's eyes.
Her laughter seemed to stop all at once.
And in her heart, she felt an intense sorrow for herself.
Lucy… had even her hallucinations become this pitiful?
She could not help imagining that if David really had come back to life, he might ask her for something—just to ease the guilt in her heart, even a little.
How utterly pathetic.
That was what she thought, yet her hand had already moved of its own accord to the earring on her left ear. She took it off and, as though indulging a one-sided fantasy, tossed it toward the David standing before her.
Well, if this was only a hallucination, then it didn't really matter, did it?
It wouldn't matter even if she looked like some lovesick lunatic.
"Take it."
That was what she said with a smile.
David froze for a second, then glanced at the timer inside the chat group.
[Time Remaining: 6 seconds]
[Item detected, originating from the Cyberpunk 2077 world.]
[Lucy's Earring]
[Effect: Possesses a certain degree of hacking support capability… omitted.]
[Recycle Value: 124 points]
[Recycle?]
Ah—ahhh, shit, he was running out of time!
There was no time to think!
So in that instant, David hit the Recycle button without hesitation, then lifted his head toward Lucy and opened his mouth—
But at that very moment, time ran out.
In the blink of an eye, Lucy saw the figure before her vanish, and she froze.
The hallucination… was over already?
Even now, at a moment like this, she still couldn't hold on to him a second longer.
Lucy reached forward as the thought crossed her mind, but her hand failed to find her earring.
She froze for a second, then her eyes flew wide open.
Wait.
Her earring was gone?
Could it be because she had just given it to David?
But wasn't that supposed to be a hallucination?
Suddenly, Lucy remembered the black hole-like object that had appeared on the earring just before David vanished, along with that flash of azure light—
"No way…"
She shot to her feet, some realization striking her, eyes wide.
"Then… that wasn't a hallucination?"
It was really him?
Then that figure before the sun earlier…
had that been him too?!
All at once, Lucy felt as though this trip had finally become what she wanted it to be.
At the very last moment of the return journey.
Only now, suddenly…
she felt just a tiny bit desperate.
"Don't disappear! Why'd you suddenly leave again?! Don't go! Please don't go!"
Would he come back?
That thought flickered through her heart, full of anxious uncertainty.
And then she answered herself.
Whether he came back or not, there was hope now, at the very least.
So one earring meant nothing.
Even if she had to give up everything…
she would bring him back.
…
Above the Primordial River, Lin Yuan's hand twitched as he reeled in the rod. Then he turned his head toward the chat group.
[Group member "Let Night City Burn" has contributed 100 points. Main Quest, Phase One, has been completed.]
[Check-In function has been unlocked.]
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (261 Chapter) (Ending)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (130 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (80 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (130 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (120 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (78 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (189 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (135 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (145 Chapter)
The Chat Group Only Arrived After I'd Cleared the Game (102 Chapter)
Gojo Satoru Flat-Out Refuses to Admit He's a Supporting Character (40 Chapter)
Chat Group Isn't Supposed to Be Like This! (30 Chapter)
If You're Moriarty...then Who Am I? (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: Since I "Can't See," They Take Turns Stealing My Underwear (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Why Are All My "Brothers" Girls? (54 Chapter)
Danmachi: Start Training Haki (59 Chapter)
Emiya Shirou's Rebirth (30 Chapter)
I Can Get Stronger Just by AFK'ing—So I Joined a Chat Group (50 Chapter)
Endfield: I Can Always Pull Out One Yuan (65 Chapter)
Limbus Company : I Started a Company in Project Moon (50 Chapter)
Lobotomy: Do Cooks of Alley 23 Dream of Bloodfiend Knights? (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: Freya Familia's "One-Blade Shura" (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: Emiya, the Great Hero Becomes the Protagonist (90 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (70 Chapter)
Lord Shadow Descends on DanMachi (90 Chapter)
Fuse with Me, Exusiai! (41 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail — After I Die, I Forge Their Madness (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Last Zeus Familia (95 Chapter)
Endfield: Arknights Heroic Spirit Summoning (75 Chapter)
Toyokawa Family Finances (105 Chapter)
Starting From DanMachi to Become Stronger (90 Chapter)
DanMachi: My Familia Is Made Up Entirely of Heroines from Every World! (75 Chapter)
Arknights: My Intel Refreshes Daily (110 Chapter)
Digimon : I Never Meant to Do Evil, Even Though I Wasn't Chosen (40 Chapter)
Miss Holmes Could Never Be the Losing Heroine! (40 Chapter)
Takayama Gamu at Tracen Academy (40 Chapter)
Legendary Trainer Takes on MYGO (40 Chapter)
Arknights : Yandere Game: The Operators Have Come Knocking (100 Chapter)
Arknights: This Dating Sim Is Seriously Wrong! (120 Chapter)
Arknights : Ch'en Hui-chieh, I'm Done Being the Good Guy! (50 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Wasn't This Supposed to Be a Family Simulator? Why Am I the Family Heirloom? (40 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail : The Trailblazer Only Wants a Peaceful Life (45 Chapter)
Arknights: The Unlucky Dad? But I've Got the Chronicle of Time! (55 Chapter)
The Wheelchair War God Is Speedrunning Hogwarts (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Elemental Blaster of Orario (45 Chapter)
Playing Honkai in Star Rail (30 Chapter)
As an Alien, I'm Solo Leveling in Warhammer 40K (30 Chapter)
Arknights: A Symbiote's Survival Guide (70 Chapter)
My Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck Is Built Entirely from Stuff I Picked Up (30 Chapter)
I Can Hear the Thoughts of Uma Mutsume (30 Chapter)
Dead-Men Chat Group: Winning the Resurrection Bracket (40 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero: Saving the World While Falling in Love! (40 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: My Breathing Techniques Can Be Leveled Up (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it