"Are we friends?" Xu Youyuan recognized the somewhat playful name; she seemed to have messaged it before but never met up.
"You're not very familiar with Dark Box," said Plasma Cream Cake, pointing to the nickname floating above her head, "Blue frame with white text means a stranger, red frame means a friend."
"What a coincidence." Xu Youyuan was far from unfamiliar. Even though she hadn't deeply engaged with Dark Box, having been a planner for over a decade and a producer for nine years, she was well aware of such minor details. She just hadn't been paying attention to the other person earlier. Let Plasma Cream Cake say whatever she wanted; Xu Youyuan wasn't in the mood to argue.
"Not so coincidental," Plasma Cream Cake said. "I've asked you out several times, always confirming right after you sent the invite, but none were ever finalized. I was quite frustrated and wanted to see who this 'Nothing' really was."
Xu Youyuan indeed remembered this person being very proactive: "How do you manage to confirm so quickly every time? Do you just never log off the app?"
"The first time I saw your invite was a coincidence. After confirming and getting no follow-up, I remembered you and added you to my special watch list. Any activity from you, and my phone alerts me."
"So you came here for revenge?"
"Not really, just curious. I've counted the invites you've sent out over the past two weeks—eighteen in total. It seems you're dating daily, sometimes even more than once a day isn't enough."
"Is that so strange?"
"I guess you haven't found the right date yet, someone who matches your heart and dares to take the plunge. I've also been looking for a dating partner, not to talk about anything else, just to experience more thrilling scenes together. There's just one high-difficulty duo mission left in the adventure theme that I haven't unlocked. I can set up the difficulty level myself, but I can't find the right partner."
"So you provoked me earlier just to make me accept your challenge in a fit of anger?"
"I was a bit rude earlier because it's not easy to get a face-to-face with you, and you seemed distracted. I was afraid you'd slip away again. So far, no Dark Box user has managed to complete a level 5.0 adventure theme. Either the imported movie plots aren't challenging enough, or the self-created difficulties are still lacking. Don't you want to be the first?"
"What have you been looking for? Maybe we're looking for the same thing." It was rare to see such sincerity from a vampire, "The world I build will definitely exceed a difficulty of 5.0. You have fun inside, and I unlock achievements. Don't think I'm being mercenary, but if you help me complete the achievement, I'm willing to pay you."
Hearing the word "payment," Xu Youyuan immediately perked up. Maintaining her composure, she casually asked, "There's a payment?"
"Yes."
With Xu Youyuan's experience, this was the moment the other party should mention the specific amount.
"Fifty thousand RMB," she said.
Xu Youyuan's heart exploded with fireworks in an instant—what incredible luck, she had stumbled upon a big spender!
Indeed, the friend she met today was dressed in a vampire costume that wasn't cheap, retailing at 3999 RMB in the store, definitely the look of a big spender.
Xu Youyuan, while lamenting that she had fallen to the point of selling herself for fifty thousand yuan, also scorned herself for any pretense of high-mindedness. High-mindedness couldn't pay the rent, yet she could quickly muster a face that said, "I'm not swayed by money, I need to think it over."
As the blind date session counted down to its final seconds, the system alerted that only ten seconds remained.
Some had already left their seats, searching the crowd for their next date. Others, having hit it off instantly, decided to choose each other and move on to the next step of their date.
Xu Youyuan hadn't answered yet when the vampire's pink tongue licked her sharp little fangs, just as the blind date was about to end in tragedy. She, having already chosen to continue dating with Nothing, crossed her hands and tapped her fingers uncertainly on the back of her hands, adorned with beautiful knuckles.
Just as the last second was about to tick by, the vampire said, "One hundred thousand!"
"Ding—Time's up. Please, those who 'feel affection' for each other, take each other's hands and enter into a private date!" announced the host NPC, who was the fiancé of the female protagonist from Titanic, loudly proclaiming with a microphone, organizing the next ten-minute blind date session.
The vampire stared at Xu Youyuan across from him, as if he would leap forward and bite her neck the next second.
"You really know how to scare someone," the vampire slowly revealed a sinister smile. "Was this a little pre-game surprise to prove you're indeed worth one hundred thousand yuan?"
Xu Youyuan threw the selector in her hand onto the table. The flat, round metal rolled twice on the table and finally faced up, spread out in front of the vampire.
The words "feel affection" were clear, surrounded by continuously popping hearts.
Xu Youyuan would of course agree; that was a year's worth of rent and living expenses.
But she realized there was room to raise the price. A seasoned mall fox wouldn't miss such an opportunity, adept at creating mystery.
Compared to her previous date, who brought a plasma cream cake, this lady, despite her greasy and overly sweet name, seemed from her demeanor to be no younger than Xu Youyuan, in her early thirties, with a certain social status, at least not a 14-year-old girl. The fifty thousand yuan reward wasn't just talk; judging from her spendy appearance, she could afford it.
No matter what this lady did in real life, whether a rich first generation or second, she was probably the highest quality date so far. Unlocking achievements together, earning a generous reward, and perhaps even finding a romantic feeling again, couldn't be better.
The two stood up hand in hand, and Xu Youyuan noticed that the vampire's appearance was really tall, a good half-head taller than herself. A faint scent of blood lingered around her, with a hint of rust, but more of it was a sweet smell mixed with blood, like a newly launched perfume, very special and pleasant.
"Give me the account to transfer to," said the vampire.
Xu Youyuan immediately sent her the account details.
The vampire's entire being, including the nickname above her head, turned gray, lasting about a minute before the color brightened again.
"I just transferred fifty thousand to you as a deposit," the vampire said. "Help me unlock the achievement for couples, and I'll transfer the rest. Is that acceptable to you?"
"That's fine."
"What if you get scared and back out halfway?" the vampire glanced at her from the corner of her eye.
"I said it's a deposit, no refunds." Xu Youyuan didn't log off; she directly checked her account through the KEY account management system and indeed found an extra fifty thousand yuan, though the transfer details were kept confidential. It didn't matter to her; after all, Xu Youyuan didn't care who was beneath the vampire's disguise.
The vampire didn't care much either: "You're not my first partner, but I hope you'll be the last."
Xu Youyuan asked, "Should we exit this matchmaking scene and then enter your dating scene together?"
"No need, we can go directly into the scene from here," the vampire said. "You really aren't familiar with the dark box."
Xu Youyuan was happy to play the rookie, as it meant she could better hide herself: "Do I need to prepare anything?"
"Just prepare a very bold heart," the vampire led her to the edge of the deck, never letting go of Xu Youyuan's hand from start to finish.
The calm sea breeze gradually turned cold, causing goosebumps on their skin.
The originally clear blue sky also began to darken, and Xu Youyuan vaguely saw a sharp iceberg standing right in front of the Titanic.
In an instant, it was night, and the Titanic was hurtling towards the iceberg at an alarming speed.
"What do you need me to prepare for you?" The wind scattered the vampire's white hair, no longer meticulously arranged, and even her pupils had turned blood red at some point.
This was the wildness born from the storm.
A system announcement came from the sky:
[System Notification: You are about to enter an adventure-themed dating scene
Initiator: Plasma Cream Cake
Movie Imported: Not obtained
Difficulty: Not obtained]
The monstrous iceberg was now right in front of them, every hair on Xu Youyuan's body stood on end with excitement. Amid the thunderous noise, she raised her voice:
"You don't need to prepare anything! Just don't change your appearance!"
In the earth-shattering collision, chunks of ice fell like meteorites onto the deck, Xu Youyuan and the vampire screamed as they ran back.
Xu Youyuan was hit by a head full of ice shards, tears falling from the pain, but her feet were furiously fast.
Suddenly, a dizzying sense of weightlessness made Xu Youyuan's heart skip a beat, and before she knew it, the Titanic, now filled with heavy seawater in its rear, was being dragged to the ocean floor, gradually becoming vertical to the sea surface. As passengers appeared like ghosts around her, screaming as they fell, Xu Youyuan was about to fall when the vampire embraced her.
The vampire held Xu Youyuan tightly around the waist with one hand and grasped the railing with the other, as the entire ship was now completely vertical to the sea surface.
“How are you so strong?” Xu Youyuan had no other choice but to grasp the vampire’s shoulders, holding her tightly.
“Why does this outfit cost 3999? Besides looking good, shouldn’t it have some buffs?” The vampire’s white hair fell in strands across her face, their calmness stark against the backdrop of a piercing scream.
“Is this the scene you designed?”
“Not really, I just imported some plots from Titanic, we haven’t gotten to the part built around interests, or rather, quirks,” said the vampire. “I just wanted the transition to be more natural.”
Xu Youyuan couldn’t help but laugh: “You’re quite particular.”
“Of course, I have to be when I’m on a date with you. As an adventure enthusiast, what do you think we should do next?” the vampire asked. “Following the ship down into the deep sea in such a mundane rhythm is definitely not to your liking.”
That hit right at the heart of Xu Youyuan’s restlessness: “Exactly. I’ve already figured it out.”
The vampire smiled: “It’s time to test our understanding of each other.”
Taking a deep breath, Xu Youyuan let go of the vampire, and saw that the vampire had also let go of the railing.
Together, they plunged into the freezing winds, diving into the deep sea that had claimed the life of the male protagonist…
