I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 383

Chapter 383: The Long Road to the Wild River

Xiao Mo and I didn’t make our gaming sessions public or tell anyone around us. The main reason is that our growing fame would make such a thing quite troublesome if it got out.

With Ouyang Xue’s excellent promotion, Shangjing Cat Café has become extremely popular, making Xiao Mo and me famous as well.

Xiao Mo usually keeps a low profile, but I have to serve as the café’s “mascot” and “signature maid,” which means Ouyang Xue gives me special attention.

I appear in many videos, often in close-up shots, and in fan groups and Q&A sessions, Ouyang Xue deliberately portrays me as a “naive, harmless little cat maid.” This has led to my novel fan groups and personal QQ and WeChat accounts being flooded with all sorts of strange messages every day.

I’ve had to emphasize repeatedly in my book fan groups: don’t post the group number anywhere outside. The group number is mentioned in the novel, so real readers who are interested will add themselves.

If it’s posted outside, those who don’t read the book but are attracted by ads might join, look through the comment section to find the group number, and then pretend to be readers to cause trouble or scam the author.

Some clever people even disguise themselves as readers, posting comments like, “This book is really good, does anyone know the group number?” Then, a kind reader might reply with the group number, allowing outsiders to join under false pretenses.

People who join an author’s fan group usually feel a deep resonance with the community or enjoy the atmosphere. It’s easy for everyone to treat the group like a family, with a very low level of vigilance.

It feels like a big family or a small circle where, even if they didn’t know each other a moment ago, they feel very close once they join the group. This is because “we all like this book, so we are all friends,” and they unconsciously think “we are kindred spirits.”

The author is the same. If someone joins the group and then privately chats with the author, the author has almost no defense. When I was still an unknown author, I encountered similar situations. Someone joined the group, became active for a few days, and then privately messaged me for a “heart-to-heart,” saying they had no money for food, their parents were going through a divorce, and they didn’t know what to do.

They also said they really liked my books and shared their miserable situation. At that time, my own living conditions weren’t great either, so I sent them 100 yuan to help them through their difficulties. Unexpectedly, a few days later, this person left the group. I was puzzled and tried to console them a few times but got no reply.

Later, when playing games with Jiang Wei, Pipi, and Su Yunjin, we talked about this incident. Pipi mentioned that the same person had approached them, claiming to love their books and lamenting their inability to carry on, planning to drop out of school and work.

Pipi was busy writing at the time and, since it was a reader, didn’t think much of it, so sent them 500 yuan, telling them to use it to live well for now and repay whenever possible. Jiang Wei also mentioned encountering such situations, but being more aware after a few chapters, understanding that this person was a professional scammer, Jiang Wei didn’t send any money. Pipi and I were genuinely fooled and teased by Jiang Wei for quite some time.

In “Age of Aquarius,” Xiao Mo and I are named “Jialan Nuo’er” and “Jialan Xiamo”. Although we didn’t use the names “Yin Nuo’er” and “Yin Xiamo”, the game allows duplicate names. From the game database alone, the “Orca” server has three players named “Yin Nuo’er”, showing how popular my name has become.

If we were to publicly announce that we also play this game, just managing friend requests every day would take quite a while.

“At the beginning, this game was criticized for not having teleportation portals like most fast-food online games, but after experiencing its charm, everyone really appreciated it.”

Returning to their home with Jiang Wei and Ye Zi, they took the “Express Tram” at the entrance and joked on their way to “Shangjing Cat Café” in Orca City.

“It’s fate that we could meet like this.”

“I found Ye Zi’s familiar voice when I first heard her speak.”

I felt a bit embarrassed. “But since both of you are using voice changers, I didn’t think much about it. By the way, how much did you spend on this whole setup? Between the body modifications, clothes, and voice changers, it must be over ten thousand yuan?”

“Eight thousand plus. We each got a set, so it averages a little over four thousand each,” Jiang Wei replied.

“These days, artists who help with character creation are in high demand, so their prices are high. Maybe the prices will come down once more people realize there’s money to be made here, but I couldn’t wait. This has been a dream of mine for who knows how many years—to play as a married couple in a game. It’s just… well, it might be a bit unfair to my wife, as I use a voice changer in the game and appear as a woman…”

“What nonsense are you talking about? I don’t feel unfairly treated at all,” Ye Zi interjected.

“I know about Touhou, I’ve played plenty of games with Marisa and Reimu. Besides, I’m delighted that my husband has become such a cute girl in the game. I’d love it if you could change like that in real life too. Do you know that all girls potentially have a bit of bisexuality in them? In the game, I love you just as much.”

“I think I get it now,” I said.

I took a deep breath. “You two are really showing off your affection.”

“Cough, cough…” Jiang Wei cleared his throat, seeming to alleviate the awkwardness. “Nuo’er, why did you choose the Orca server?”

“It was random,” I gestured to Xiao Mo. “We were busy with work before, and we chose this server because its name is a transliteration of ‘orca’.”

“Wow, you actually know about Orca, that’s impressive. I also chose this server because its transliteration is Orca. A long time ago, I played a game called Dungeon & Fighter, and around the same time, there was another game called MapleStory Online. However, I felt the translation was off, that game’s literal translation should be ‘Maple Valley’.”

Jiang Wei continued confidently, “Later on, the Chinese server of MapleStory completely deteriorated. The developers did nothing, hacking was rampant, they cut back on benefits and pushed for spending. So I switched to another server. Unexpectedly, over there they translated Orca as ‘Killer Whale’, which felt quite awkward. When I came to this game, seeing Orca, I didn’t hesitate to choose it. It’s my childhood server.”

As they chatted, the high-speed train swiftly passed through the city, soon arriving at a bustling downtown area near the city center.

“Actually, earlier Su Yunjin also considered calling you about this matter, to establish a café ecosystem in the game to increase popularity. But Ouyang Xue strongly opposed it, saying she’s not the kind of boss who would bother employees after work hours. She told Su Yunjin solemnly, mentioning to her that Nuo’er and Xiamo were on their honeymoon, and no matter what happens, they are on vacation right now and shouldn’t be disturbed. So, in the end, they didn’t tell you about this.”

After getting off the train, Jiang Wei sighed, “Sometimes I really think Ouyang Xue is a good boss. By the way, Nuo’er, where have you two been playing these days? Could you share?”

“Me… me?”

I hesitated for a moment. “Uh… just something simple, randomly picked a city and… just casually played around.”

Actually, it wasn’t that simple.

These past few days… how should I put it…

On July 1st, in the morning, Xiao Mo and I woke up by the lake, went to the local town for breakfast, dealt with some local troublemakers, booked a hotel in the afternoon, had a lot of fun, and Xiao Mo got me quite tipsy in the evening.

On July 2nd, in the morning, I attempted to settle yesterday’s scores but got tipsy again thanks to Xiao Mo. I didn’t wake up until noon and drank lots of water. Xiao Mo also thoughtfully bought fruits and brought them back. We went out to play in the afternoon, got bullied again in the evening, took a dizzy shower, and went to bed.

On July 3rd, in the morning, I tried to counterattack, got defeated, surrendered, but Xiao Mo didn’t accept my surrender when she saw me acting cute with hands raised in bed. Got bullied again, forced to switch to a catgirl state, and in the afternoon, walked hand in hand with someone, playing the role of a cat for a day, with a requirement to end sentences with “Meow.”

These things… I definitely won’t talk about them.

“In the game, Orca City is considered the flagship store of the Shenzhen Cat Cafe. It almost perfectly replicates the appearance of the real cafe. Miss Sikong Yue is in charge here. She even went to the wild to catch more than sixty cats that look exactly like the ones in reality.”

Leading us to a familiar signboard shop in the city center, Jiang Wei walked into the shop first, and Xiao Mo and I followed by operating the keyboard to enter.

“Welcome, this is the Orca branch of the Shenzhen Shangjing Cat Cafe. I’m the manager, Sikong Yue.”

Just as we entered the store, similar to Jiang Wei, Sikong Yue, who had created an avatar exactly like her real-world appearance in the game, greeted us. Dressed in a maid outfit, she looked like a princess experiencing life under the sunlight.

“May I offer you some coffee?”

“……”

……