Jun Zhen's post was concise and to the point, capturing everyone's attention. She started from Jun Shujing's college entrance exam failure and continued writing until her coma and the changes in her family after her "recovery." The post was a mix of text and images, filled with both facts and speculations, keeping everyone in the gossip community engaged.
The expressions of the male leads kept changing, and several times they couldn't help but pause and exchange messages. When they saw the part about Jun Zhen encountering Jun Shujing in the mall, Shi Zhe was the first to pause, saying, "I know this part. I was with Shujing at the time. After that girl appeared, Shujing quickly left me and went with her. She later explained to me that her family found out about her opening a store and were bothering her for money."
"I know about this too," Tang Ye furrowed his brow slightly, his tone turning serious. "I even helped her with some of Mr. Jun's business. She said that would prevent her family from bothering her."
Sun Fanchen's face darkened as he kept turning the small dart in his hand. "I helped her get a more secure and confidential villa at a 40% discount and included three years of property management... Hmph, she turned out to be a scammer."
[Sun Fanchen's likelihood of falling in love with the protagonist has dropped to 50%. Please keep trying, Host.]
Tang Ye glanced at him with a less-than-pleased expression, absentmindedly snacking. Shi Zhe looked at the two of them, his thoughts racing. Finally, he shook his head and sighed, "We were all deceived."
[Tang Ye, Shi Zhe, and the protagonist's likelihood of falling in love has dropped to 60%. Please keep trying, Host.]
The other male leads, though unaware of this event at the time, had heard Jun Shujing mention it before. To some extent, they had all helped her, and now it seemed they had all been fooled together.
[Yu Jiangbo, He Nian, and the protagonist's likelihood of falling in love has dropped to 40%. Please keep trying, Host.]
Bao Yan'an had the calmest expression among the male leads. He glanced at the others, picked up a snack, and casually took a bite, looking like he was enjoying a movie night with friends. "What about the poison incident? I'm more interested in that."
Ye Zhizhou held back his affectionate partner, who was starting to emit cold air again, and flipped through the post. "It should be coming up."
The poisoning incident was the focal point of Jun Zhen's description, and she dedicated a substantial portion of her post to it. Written in the first person, it made readers empathize deeply with her. The male leads, who had been only mildly concerned, now had serious expressions as they leaned in to read.
"The drifting sense of comfort... the gradual change in scent... the brain starting to feel heavy..." Bao Yan'an repeated each detail slowly, his eyes narrowed. The unique golden aura that surrounded him as an MT began to shimmer, revealing his growing unease. "No wonder I've been feeling a bit mentally sluggish lately. I thought it was just fatigue. I've been avoiding surgery recently because of it."
Tang Ye's gaze turned frighteningly intense as he tightened his grip on the long knife at his waist. "No wonder I could smell that person's scent after eating those things... It was all an illusion."
"I've occasionally had trouble concentrating during surgeries recently, and I thought it was just fatigue. I've been avoiding the operating table for a while," Shi Zhe said with a realization, followed by anger. "I kindly helped her with her leg, and she did this to me."
[Tang Ye, Shi Zhe, and the protagonist's likelihood of falling in love has dropped to 30%. Please keep trying, Host.]
After a moment of silence, Yu Jiangbo spoke up. "Do you all remember when Shujing mentioned that there was something wrong with the food at Fuyuan? She reported it, hoping we could help... Then she invited us to Fuyuan to eat and test her claims. We went, and indeed, after the meal, we all felt varying degrees of discomfort, but it disappeared after a while. Could that incident have been not about Fuyuan's food but about her poisoning us?"
Hearing that they had suspected the food from her restaurant, Ge Lu reluctantly drew his knife again, but Ye Zhizhou quickly held him back and covered his mouth to prevent him from saying anything inappropriate. Ge Lu hesitated for a moment, then swiftly embraced him and kissed him, casting aside any anger and emotions.
Qian Xing, with a twisted expression, turned his gaze away and began explaining, "I was just about to mention this. A few days ago, when I took you all to Fuyuan to eat, didn't you all feel unwell afterward? That was normal because your bodies were detoxifying. Fuyuan discovered that the dishes from Junzige had issues, so they reported it and added an antidote to their own dishes. Those who weren't poisoned felt nothing after eating the antidote, but those who were poisoned experienced discomfort at first, but it made them healthier afterward."
Sun Fanchen sneered. "Jun Shujing is quite something, poisoning us."
"No wonder my appetite improved these days, and I couldn't stand Junzige's dishes anymore. Just the smell made me nauseous," He Nian suddenly realized, then lowered his head in shame. "Back then, we even oppressed the Fu family, turning their excellent cuisine into this... Qixing invited us to dinner, and we questioned it. Turns out, they saved our lives. We were..."
The male leads fell silent at these words.
[Yu Jiangbo, He Nian, Sun Fanchen, and the protagonist's likelihood of falling in love has dropped to 30%. Please keep trying, Host.]
Ye Zhizhou pushed away his clingy partner, who was emitting cold air again, and glanced at the system screen that had popped up. He nodded in satisfaction. Good, the likelihood of the six male leads falling in love has all dropped below the danger threshold. Once the remaining poison in their bodies clears and they are no longer affected by the venom's illusions, their mental disorders should also be cured. Then, he could remove the flags. Unfortunately, the elixirs brewed in the game didn't have the same effects as in reality. They could only help the male leads maintain their mental clarity, or else the toxins from the snacks they had just consumed would have already been cleared.
By now, it was already 8:30 PM, and the invited gaming experts began to arrive one after another. Since Ge Lu couldn't use his GM account to clear dungeons, he switched back to his alternate account and continued to stick close to Ye Zhizhou.
At exactly 9:00 PM, the female lead arrived punctually, followed by a group of female players. While they were discussing what rewards the system might give for defeating the Insect Queen, the gaming experts glanced over at them before quickly turning away, resuming their previous conversation as if she wasn't there.
Jun Shujing maintained a smile on her face, but inside, she seethed with anger. Her in-game business was now in shambles. Those who used to fawn over her had started making fun of her, ignoring her, and even resenting her. It had all changed after Ye Zhizhou triggered the Holy-level mission! If it weren't for wanting to give him a piece of her mind in this final challenge, she would never have come today!
The fanatic fan, Angel's Wings, followed the protagonist and also spoke up, unable to tolerate the experts' behavior. "How can you treat my dear Shujing so unfairly? If it weren't for her providing you with those enhancing foods, could you have become experts? Night-Tang, you're standing so far away, come closer. And Xing, you haven't visited dear Shujing lately, have you also fallen for those false rumors on the forums? Zhe, I..."
"Miss," Shi Zhe couldn't stand her calling him by those names and interrupted her, saying, "I don't know you, so please don't address me so casually."
Laughter rippled through the crowd, and Angel's Wings blushed, on the verge of tears. She looked at the few male leads standing together with a pout. "You, you... I didn't expect you to be like this! You're ungrateful! You're all wolves in sheep's clothing!"
Shi Zhe had no idea how to deal with such a girl's personality and helplessly said, "Miss, Jun Shujing and I are just ordinary friends. Please don't make misleading statements."
"No! You clearly love her! You even helped her with her leg! Are you abandoning her now that she's broke? You're too much! I never thought you were so materialistic!" Angel's Wings grew even angrier.
Shi Zhe was utterly at a loss for how to handle her character and said, "Miss, I am just friends with Shujing, and I hope you won't make baseless accusations."
"No! You clearly love her! You even helped her with her leg! Are you abandoning her now that she's broke? You're too much! I never thought you were so materialistic!" Angel's Wings became even more furious.
Wang Cai, my wife, can't stand this "Angel's Wings" character," he sneered and said, "Isn't Shi Zhe a doctor? Isn't it normal for a doctor to treat patients? Besides, does the young master of the Shi family need to bother with pocket money from Shujing? Can you use your brain and speak sensibly?"
"Exactly," another game goddess who secretly admired Shi Zhe couldn't help but chime in, her tone cold, "All those disgusting rumors outside about the seven men and one woman were spread by you brainwashed fans. We're all in the same circle, and everyone knows each other. Clearly, it's just a normal friendship, but you intentionally incited fans to spread rumors. Disgusting, isn't it? Oh, don't accuse me of ingratitude. I've never consumed those poisoned delicacies."
Angel's Wings was about to explode. Seeing this, Jun Shujing quickly grabbed her and retorted, "Angel's Wings, you're still young. Are you all happy teaming up to bully her like this?" She then looked at Ye Zhizhou with a smile that said, "Even though I'm being bullied, I'm strong," and continued, "Let's form our group now. My sisters and I will do our best in today's mission. Thank you for unlocking the enhancement effects of so many foods for us."
"Shujing, you're too kind," Ye Zhizhou replied with an even more forced smile, then hesitated. "I'm sorry, but there's only one spot left, and the people I invited are already set..."
Jun Shujing furrowed her brow and asked, "Can't we just add one more person? Although Angel's Wings is young, she's quite skilled at healing. I can see that you don't have many support players. Adding one more would make it safer. Everyone is here to help you, so being so picky..."
The goddess secretly admiring Shi Zhe huffed, "She has the right to be picky. When it comes to the final stage of the Holy-level mission, everyone is welcome. After all, it's an easy task for everyone."
Jun Shujing's face soured, and she lowered her voice, saying to Ye Zhizhou, "I may have worded it poorly, but I'm doing it for everyone's good. Can't we really add one more person?"
Ye Zhizhou shook his head and gestured to the elite gamers already assembled behind him, spreading his hands.
Angel's Wings pouted and tugged on Jun Shujing's sleeve, saying, "I heard there's a special reward for the final mission..."
She scanned the circle of elite gamers and then fixed her gaze on a plain-looking stranger. She raised her voice and said, "That person has such poor equipment and isn't a famous expert. Why is she in the team? Just kick her out and add me instead!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhizhou turned around and saw Jun Zhenzhen, who was using a disguise provided by Ge Lu, coldly looking back at them. Then, she swiftly displayed a gleaming top-tier weapon.
The elite gamers burst into laughter once again.
"Do you even want to participate?" Ge Lu scanned Jun Shujing coldly and then pointed to Jun Zhenzhen. He looked at the onlookers around them and said loudly, "I have more than ten accounts like that. Who wants to substitute? As long as your skills are up to par."
The players began to stir, surprised that there were more than ten Purple Martial accounts. This person must be really rich! Maybe I should give it a try!
Seeing the situation getting out of hand, Jun Shujing quickly held back Angel's Wings and said with a smile, "This child is a bit lively. Don't mind her. Let's get into the dungeon and take down the Queen. Thank you for helping us unlock the enhancement effects of so many foods."
The elite gamers who didn't like Jun Shujing couldn't help but sneer, while Angel's Wings glared at them repeatedly.
With the team assembled, the golden mission prompt in the sky changed once again. Ye Zhizhou nodded virtually and teleported everyone to the final dungeon. After a brief distortion in the air, the scene changed to a dim cave. The mission indicated that the Queen was deep inside the cave and that they needed to clear out the small monsters first. With everyone being experts, the process of clearing the small monsters was quick and smooth. Fifteen minutes later, they stood in front of the Queen.
Suddenly, a small fireball shot straight towards the sleeping Queen from an unexpected angle. The others were shocked. The task had not been divided, there had been no specific discussion on how to fight, and someone had directly pulled the boss. Were they out of their minds?
Knowing that the protagonist might cause trouble, Ye Zhizhou directly used a rare wide-range silence spell, instantly muting the fireball. He turned to the protagonist and smiled, "Goddess Shujing, as the healer, please stay calm and don't use your skills recklessly."
Everyone glared at her, and Jun Shujing maintained a calm expression on her face while feeling embarrassed. She said, "I was a bit nervous, my hand shook, sorry."
"Shook? Only a fool would believe that," Wang Cai's brother scoffed, clearly not understanding why Ye Zhizhou invited this untrustworthy woman.
Jun Shujing put on a pitiful expression as if she was being bullied and didn't refute. Out of habit, she leaned slightly toward Tang Ye, hoping he would speak up for her. However, at this moment, Tang Ye was filled with disgust and anger towards her. He took a few steps away from her with a darkened face.
The golden text in the sky suddenly changed, and after describing the Queen's attack patterns in detail, a prompt appeared: [Server-wide live broadcast begins, players, let's do our best.]
A curious elite gamer asked, "Live broadcast? How does it work?"
Ge Lu opened the team-sharing feature and accessed the world channel. "Once the live broadcast starts, a temporary broadcast panel will appear on the world channel. Players can watch the process of us defeating the Queen clearly from the panel. Watching the live broadcast requires a certain amount of gold coins, and after completing the mission, the system will distribute the gold coins to everyone." In other words, those who slacked off wouldn't earn much, but those who worked hard could make a fortune.
Thinking about the number of online players in Dreamland at night and the popularity of this Holy-level mission, becoming rich overnight was not just a dream!
The elite gamers were excited, while Jun Shujing's face turned dark. It was actually a server-wide live broadcast, so how could she cause chaos now? If she had known, she would have strongly insisted on adding Angel's Wings to the team. Then she could have shifted the blame onto her... It was all because of that plain-looking female player from before. Why did she waste so many gold coins when she had the money?
With these thoughts in mind, she turned her unfriendly gaze toward the player who had been standing at the back of the team the whole time. However, she found that the player was also looking at her. She was startled and quickly concealed her emotions, giving the player a friendly smile.
Jun Zhenzhen's eyes flickered, and she returned the smile, then pointed to the shared live broadcast panel above the team and made a mouth gesture silently. Jun Shujing, you're done for.
Due to the dim lighting, Jun Shujing didn't catch her mouth gesture and thought she was just greeting her. So, she smiled back and then turned her head.