Shen Ying looked at the uniform expressions of the group and smiled, setting down her glass of red wine.
"The question now is, even though you’ve all fought like this, not one of you has mentioned stepping out to settle things. Why?"
"Is there still something you want from me?"
Seeing the four remain silent, Shen Ying pointed at Lien first. "Officer Lien, tell me—what makes you feel it’s still necessary to stay here?"
Lien scoffed. "The initiative isn’t in our hands right now."
"Don’t be ungrateful. If we leave, your mental state will be completely at the mercy of His Majesty here."
"By then, you won’t even have a place to beg for help." As he spoke, Lien recalled the time he’d asked her to add him as a friend in the game, using a similar line of reasoning.
Feeling somewhat defeated, he added, "Honestly, I’d love to leave your ungrateful ass to fend for yourself."
"But since you let me off once, I can’t walk away without returning the favor. It’d weigh on my conscience."
Shen Ying didn’t spare him an ounce of dignity. "Oh? Or is it that my amnesiac state gave you hope of taking the upper hand?"
"A notorious crime lord like you, trained into such an obedient body—you must be seething with resentment, right?"
"You want to turn the tables? But you already tried in the car earlier. Even without my memories, you still obeyed my orders."
"Why keep pushing? Could it be that you actually enjoy it? Just using rebellion as an excuse?"
Lien’s face flushed crimson with humiliation, his toes curling in his shoes. His eyes burned red as he glared at Shen Ying, filled with fury yet tinged with a silent plea—How could you say this in front of everyone?
The look was equal parts pitiable and tempting to tease.
The others, however, reacted more strongly.
Niu Xi chimed in eagerly, "Yeah, yeah! He’s always pulling this crap—whining about losing out while secretly angling to take it all."
"If anyone dares to outplay him, he acts like they dug up his ancestors’ graves."
Just as Lien was about to unleash a torrent of curses at the idiot, His Majesty’s voice cut through, icy and sharp. "What did you say?"
"You tried something in the car earlier?"
"What exactly did you try?"
Before Lien could answer, Lu Yu interjected in a placating tone, "Your Majesty, at this point, perhaps it’s time to step out of character."
"You’re not really her husband—no need to act like you’re catching her cheating."
His Majesty’s cold gaze shifted to Lu Yu, clearly unwilling to accept reality.
He’d only just been summoned, with plans to soak in the hot springs together. The couple’s night might have been salvageable.
But everything was ruined by the three adulterers hiding in the closet.
Furious, His Majesty prepared to unleash a lethal strike. He could destroy this world, preserving only his and Shen Ying’s consciousness.
Kick the three intruders out and rebuild everything.
Before, he couldn’t—the disruption would be too obvious, and even an amnesiac Shen Ying would realize this wasn’t reality.
But now that she’d figured it all out, what did it matter?
Yet the moment this thought crossed his mind, Shen Ying seemed to sense it. "No cheating."
"Officer Lien and the others are quite entertaining. Unless we leave together, you’ll have to live with the mess you created through your own carelessness."
His Majesty fumed. "What’s so worth cherishing about these trash who traveled miles just to humiliate themselves for you?"
"Aren’t they all just garbage that comes crawling at your beck and call?"
Lien raised an eyebrow. "Did I hear that right? Is His Majesty the Emperor referring to himself?"
Lu Yu and Niu Xi exchanged meaningful glances.
"Your Majesty, that’s quite the self-summary."
His Majesty was livid, itching to retort—but when he reflected on his own actions, each memory was enough to wipe the smile off his face. And right now, his expression was already dark enough.
The truth was, he’d spent all this time gaining nothing, only handing out freebies.
At least Lien had his 800 credits. At least Niu Xi got food and fun.
The realization left His Majesty visibly deflated.
Lien smirked triumphantly at his defeat. "Acting all high and mighty with me."
"If you had any shame left, you’d exit the simulation pod and pretend you were never here."
"Then tomorrow, arrange for her to leave the palace and never see her again."
"Don’t misunderstand—I’m just worried that if you summon her, you’ll be too embarrassed to govern the empire properly afterward."
"Though I don’t consider myself part of the empire, I’d still prefer its trillion citizens to have a leader who maintains some dignity."
His Majesty nearly laughed at the audacity. These three bandits thought they could evict him, the emperor, from his own simulated world?
"Wouldn’t killing you three be the dignified solution?"
Niu Xi immediately feigned terror. "Warden! I request witness protection—send me back to prison!"
Shen Ying ignored his antics, suddenly smiling with intrigue.
To Lu Yu and Niu Xi, she said, "So your goal was the prison all along?"
"Or was it to seize control and monitor the prison’s movements?"
Neither showed guilt at being exposed. Niu Xi even argued earnestly, "Because only the Warden can summon me, but I can’t see you whenever I want. That’s unfair!"
"Plus, I’m tired of grazing in the simulation. I want to play more realistic farm games with the Warden."
"The housewife-and-milkman scenario isn’t bad either—thanks to His Majesty’s inspiration. Suddenly, his possessiveness doesn’t seem so annoying."
"After all, without the thrill of betrayal, the housewife-and-milkman story gets boring."
His Majesty slashed at him with a blade-hand strike, which Niu Xi dodged.
Lu Yu finally spoke up. "Lien was right earlier. Instead of questioning our motives, your priority should be escaping His Majesty’s control."
"I bear you no ill will. Though we’ve schemed against each other in prison, we’re now at a point where we can talk peacefully."
"Except for His Majesty. He isn’t as grateful as the Warden might believe."
Shen Ying smiled at Lu Yu. "Oh? But your eyes tell a different story."
"When you look at me, it’s like being watched by a mermaid from the ocean depths—waiting to drag me down and force a mating ritual."
"Behind that harmless demeanor, you’re poised to cast your net over me at any moment."
Niu Xi shot Lu Yu a disapproving glare.
After a pause, out of respect for his boss, he simply muttered, "Fine, net the Warden if you must. Just make sure I’m in the net too."
Lu Yu’s smile stiffened. He wanted to murder Niu Xi.
Yet he remained the most composed of the group, still trying to redirect Shen Ying’s attention toward the threat of His Majesty.
He believed Shen Ying was brilliant but shouldn’t underestimate an opponent who held every advantage.
So he said, "Whether my intentions are exposed or not doesn't matter at all."
"After all, if the Warden regains her memories, she’d see right through me the moment she lays eyes on me."
"Though if the Warden feels like playing games with His Majesty, she might want to consider the prison she left parked outside."
"I heard there’s even a pregnant inmate waiting for her care in there."
The Emperor’s expression twisted for a moment. "Wait, I’m pretty sure the Sky Prison is a male facility."
"Even if some of them underwent body modifications for reproductive functions, how is an inmate’s reckless behavior her—"
He couldn’t finish the sentence. Given Lu Yu’s understanding of Shen Ying, if she wasn’t involved, why would he bring it up?
Through gritted teeth, the Emperor demanded, "Who?"
Lu Yu replied, "A rabbit. Lien’s intel isn’t exactly reliable."
At this, not just the Emperor, but even Shen Ying looked stunned. By all logic, there was no way she could’ve gotten someone pregnant.
The Emperor glared at her, seething. "Just how much mischief did you get up to in that prison while we were away?"
Lu Yu was about to put in a few "kind" words for the Warden when his expression suddenly shifted.
The smile vanished from his face as he hurried over to scrutinize her from head to toe.
Then he blurted out, "She’s gone."
The other three paled—especially the Emperor, who immediately grabbed Shen Ying’s arm and pinched her cheek.
She didn’t resist. In fact, she met his skepticism with that same infuriatingly knowing look of hers.
But Lu Yu insisted, "Someone with no memories, in this era, hearing she got someone pregnant—and she doesn’t even react with shock?"
The Emperor agreed, but Lien was furious. "Seriously? You ditched me again?"
He slapped Shen Ying’s cheek lightly. "Wake up. Is it true? Or do you want the four of us to take turns on you?"
