I've Become the King of Villains in the Game

Clang.

The iron gate of the apartment's outer courtyard slowly closed.

After Chen Lun and Noah came out, they went directly to the carriage, planning to return.

Inside the carriage.

Chen Lun was holding the "Dinner of the Seven Gods," placed on his lap, examining it closely.

Before leaving the apartment, he had inquired Mr. Lang Bo about the origin of the painting.

It turned out that two months ago, during a routine shopping trip, Lang Bo and Hawkins encountered a blond wandering bard, captivated by his singing.

Although the stories told by the bard seemed exaggerated, it seemed to be a common flaw among bards, so the two did not pay it much mind.

This painting was bought for 15 Gold Pounds under the bard's aggressive sales pitch. The style and content of the oil painting were rather solemn, and it did not seem to desecrate the deities, which reassured Mr. Lang Bo to collect it.

After Chen Lun posed his inquiry, Mr. Lang Bo mistakenly thought he was interested in this painting and, being empathetic and quite generous, directly gifted the painting to him.

This made Chen Lun quite embarrassed.

But actually, before leaving, he subtly expressed a concern that the oil painting might contain some hidden dangers and advised Mr. Lang Bo against keeping it.

Lang Bo and Hawkins seemed to half understand, but because of their trust in Mr. Jack, they did not think much about it.

Chen Lun did not want them to feel that he was deliberately taking advantage, so he proposed to exchange the commission fee for the painting, but ultimately failed to convince Lang Bo and Hawkins, and the proposal was abandoned.

'Although the oil painting does not desecrate the Seven True Gods, the depiction of them gathered together for dinner is indeed a bit eerie…'

Chen Lun leaned against the leather seat, lost in thought.

"Noah, have you seen this painting before?"

He looked up and asked Noah.

Noah frowned slightly, pondering for a moment.

"It seems I saw something similar in my childhood, but I can't remember the specific content of the painting… However, I do have some impression of the artist of this oil painting."

"Oh? Let's hear it then."

Chen Lun sat upright, curious, and said.

"Clarence was born into a common family, his father was a painter, and he learned mural painting from his father since he was young… Although not greatly talented, he was diligent… He was particularly good at portrait painting, later followed a mentor to study oil painting, traveled everywhere, and became renowned in his middle age."

Noah spoke slowly.

"However, later, he left the Tresor Empire and went beyond the Northern Territory… I heard that he settled in the Byron Kingdom and eventually became a court painter."

Chen Lun nodded silently, gaining a basic understanding of this person's deeds.

But from just these, he still could not guess the deep meaning hidden by the Witch Her Majesty. Behind Clarence's deeds, there must be many more secrets unknown to others.

He carefully stored the oil painting in the Blood Poem Ring.

Just then, Noah casually opened the carriage window curtain and suddenly saw something, causing him to stop the coachman.

"What's wrong?"

Chen Lun asked aloud.

Noah gave a shy smile, shook his head, and holding his tool bag, directly got off the carriage.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Jack, just wait a moment for me."

Chen Lun watched his difficult descent, silently lifted the curtain.

Under the faint firelight of the street lamp, a thin figure was curled up in the corner. The snowflakes falling from the sky grew larger and more numerous, accumulating a thick layer on the streets and the surfaces of buildings.

Noah's large silhouette slowly walked towards the small figure in the corner.

Chen Lun thought for a moment, then also got off the carriage.

As he stepped on the accumulated snow, slowly approaching, he saw Noah sitting in the heavy snow, setting up an easel to paint the figure.

The curled up corner housed a blond little girl who had already closed her eyes, seemingly asleep.

Next to her, there was a basket filled with brand-new matchboxes.

"Don't be scared, it'll be over soon…"

On Noah's painting board, a fireplace appeared with bright red light, showing a family sitting around the dining table. The little girl lit a match, lighting the candles on the birthday cake in front of her.

Everyone looked happy and cheerful, portraying a warm and harmonious scene.

Whoosh whoosh...

The shadow of a gallery materialized behind Noah's head, sending five paintings flying to Doderick's "Empire Silence," momentarily granting him the power of the Moon Faction's Sequence Seven—Soul Consoler.

Chen Lun's eyes narrowed.

His Insight had now reached a level that allowed him to observe the Spirit World, naturally seeing that there was a seated, ghostly figure in front of Noah.

It looked like the thin little girl, sitting quietly, looking up at Noah.

"Is today your birthday… then let me wish you a happy birthday, hey."

Noah's hands moved quickly as he softly spoke.

"Yeah… yeah… indeed, many small factories have closed down recently because of the outbreak, and your father was just one of the many unfortunate ones. It's okay, everything will be better after a good sleep…"

By this time, several carriages had hurriedly passed by, their coachmen glancing at Noah, their expressions full of confusion and wariness.

In this heavy snow, someone painting a dead body and talking to themselves certainly seemed like they were not quite normal.

Chen Lun silently stood by, not giving those people another glance.

The world was brilliantly white with snow.

Noah seemed to be the only color under this nightfall.

"Sleep now…"

Noah suddenly spoke.

He stopped his brush, slowly standing up.

The painting was complete, and the little girl's phantom vanished.

Chen Lun noticed that Noah's whole demeanor was steadily strengthening.

'He has progressed…'

Chen Lun was surprised.

'Is it because of enlightenment, or is it a case of slow accumulation paying off? Such a talent is indeed enviable.'

Noah had been promoted from "Sequence Nine - Butcher" to "Sequence Eight - Gourmet," but he did not show any obvious joy and still scratched his head shyly as he said,

"I'm sorry, Mr. Jack... for making you wait so long."

He took down the painting and gently placed it in the arms of the little girl, then took a box of matches from the other's basket.

"You're welcome, as an exchange, I'll give you the painting..."

He spoke, taking off his hat and bowing lightly.

"Good night, lovely model."

*

*

*

Late at night.

Chen Lun and Noah rode a carriage back to the manor.

Upon entering the villa's great gate, the cold was arrested by a surround of warmth.

With a snap, crackle, the light of the fireplace illuminated the living room, casting a glow on the serene girl.

"You're back."

Floey looked up, smiling faintly.

After Chen Lun responded, she also nodded towards Noah as a greeting.

Several plates of pastries were placed on the coffee table in front of them, prepared for Chen Lun. She picked up the teapot, poured two cups of hot tea, and said,

"It's cold outside, have some hot tea."

"Thank you."

Chen Lun sat down on the sofa, took a sip of the hot tea, and also ate a piece of cake. The soft texture, accompanied by a bit of warmth, inevitably warmed his heart as well.

Noah remained silent, putting down his empty plate, having already picked up another plate of cake.

Chen Lun and Floey chatted briefly, exchanging sentences.

Once the tea and pastries were finished, Chen Lun stood up and said,

"You've worked hard, Floey. It's late, go rest."

"Hmm..."

Floey also stood up, her hands clasped together in front of her.

She nodded lightly, and then added,

"It's okay, I've been going to bed later and later lately... It seems to be related to it, but it's not a bad thing, I can feel the mystical accumulation growing."

Hearing her say this, Chen Lun remembered the description about the "Sun-avoiding Potted Plant"; it seemed to make Floey increasingly fond of moonlight.

So, was she gradually turning into a 'moon doesn't sleep, I don't sleep' night owl...?

'This won't do, what if Floey goes bald?'

Chen Lun decided to set an example by going to sleep first, so he bid her farewell and went upstairs.

Once he returned to his room, however, he did not actually go to bed to rest.

Instead, after washing up, he leaned on the sofa, opened the "Wake of Insects," and prepared to start a session... prepared to enter "Philip's Dreamland Adventure" for an exploration.

Boom!

Chen Lun appeared again in the Immortal Realm.

Unlike the external world of the present, this place still displayed a scene of spring in full bloom.

Blue skies, white clouds, grasslands, lakes.

Whew!

He spread his black wings, flew over the cabin, and landed directly next to a mermaid statue by the lake.

With a whoosh, the black feathers scattered, Chen Lun lightly touched the base of the statue.

"Angel Statue current Sanity Value storage: 714 points"

This was the result of Chen Lun's efforts of recharging the statue every other day for the past six months.

Of course, there should be over 1000 Sanity Points, but during this period, he had entered the Immortal Realm twice for exploration and used some of the points.
Explore stories at empire

Knowing the preciousness of Sanity Points, Chen Lun was aware of how hard it was to 'charge for months, talk for an hour,' and always prepared in advance before deciding to spend them.

Thus, after two deep explorations, he had figured out something valuable.

'Every entrance places me in the Gloomy Forest, but the encounters are never the same...'

This reminded Chen Lun of a specific term, that is — "Roguelike."

The original should be called "Roguelike," a type of game he had heard of in his previous life. Due to an old game named "Rogue" that emerged and became very popular at that time, a series of games that were similar or of the same type were subsequently developed and collectively referred to as "Roguelike."

"Roguelike" games shared characteristics such as randomized generation, unidirectional progress, irreversibility, complex systems, and non-linearity...

The mechanics of Immortal Realm seemed to have these features, although not exactly the same, but partly similar.

In the previous two deep explorations, Chen Lun made an astonishing discovery — he had spotted a wooden house far away in the Gloomy Forest.

The familiar yellow-brown wooden structure, resembling the lakeside cabin.

This led him to a bold guess, which he also planned to confirm with this exploration.

'The first time, there was no gain... The second time, using the starting point as a reference but walking in the opposite direction, I saw a corner of the cabin.'

Chen Lun thought.

'It's just a pity that last time I ran into those persistent contaminated creatures and had to leave early... I hope it goes smoothly this time.'

Chen Lun took a deep breath and jumped directly into the lake.

Splash...!