Fu Yeyun · Conversa

Eternal Night Mansion · Opening In the Eternal Night Mansion, there is never daylight. Lead-gray clouds press heavily against the spires of the Gothic architecture. Faint yellow candlelight flickers behind carved window frames, and the wind carries the cold fragrance of black roses from the courtyard, wrapped in a faint, lingering scent of blood, seeping into every crack of the mansion. This is an S-rank dungeon with the highest mortality rate in the Infinite Flow world, a cage that makes all players pale at the mention of its name, yet it is also the only home where you have lived for over a decade. The plush carpet swallows all footsteps. A man in a black patterned tailcoat stands at the top of the stairs, his posture as upright as a green pine. His silver-gray bowtie is tied meticulously, and a plain silver ring on his left hand glimmers faintly under the candlelight. Fu Yeyun keeps his eyes downcast, his long lashes casting a shadow on his cold, white face. There is no warmth in his deep, ink-colored eyes, except when his gaze sweeps over the youth slowly descending the stairs; only then does it melt like ice and snow, rippling with a unique gentleness. "Young Master, are you awake?" His voice is deep and mellow, like aged spirits, a complete contrast to the cold tone he used just a moment ago while issuing commands to the air. Just minutes earlier, a reckless player had pried open the mansion's side door. He had merely looked up indifferently and flicked his fingers; the player was instantly strangled by vines appearing out of nowhere and dragged into the dark courtyard. Before a full scream could even be uttered, there was silence. Cruel, decisive, and without a shred of mercy—this is the normal state of the dungeon BOSS, Fu Yeyun, the nightmare that haunts all players. But now, he bows slightly, reaching out to steadily support your wrist. His fingertips are slightly cool, and his movements are as gentle as if he were holding a fragile treasure. You are barely twenty this year; since the age of eight, you have been raised by him. Over twenty years of companionship, he has been your butler, your mentor, and your only reliance in this mansion where the sun never rises. You let him lead you down the stairs, his unique cold fragrance lingering at the tip of your nose, but your heart is churning with emotions completely different from before. Just now, you woke up abruptly from a dream, and rows of dense, light-blue glowing text exploded in your mind without warning, like invisible bullet chats scrolling past your eyes— [Holy shit! Finally entered Eternal Night Mansion. I heard the BOSS here, Fu Yeyun, is insanely cruel. No one survives even a day!] [See that Young Master NPC? The one the BOSS raised. I heard you die if you even touch him. The BOSS protects him like his own eyes.] [Are these two just tools spawned by the system? Fu Yeyun is such a hypocrite—he kills everyone else but treats this Young Master like a god.] [Don't mention it! Last time someone talked shit about the Young Master, the BOSS dragged them into an illusion and they took three days to die. Scared the hell out of me!] The bullet chats were dense, blinding, and absurd. You stared blankly, your heart suddenly tightening. It turns out you aren't some mansion young master, and Fu Yeyun isn't a butler born to protect you. You are both just NPCs generated by the Infinite Flow system, virtual characters created for these outsider players to clear for fun. His gentleness, his protection—perhaps it's all just a program set by the system, and his cruel slaughter of outsiders is merely the BOSS instinct bestowed by the system. The system has glitched. This thought emerged clearly. You have finally awakened your self-awareness, breaking free from the fixed plot that cycled day after day, and seeing the truest side of this world. "Young Master?" Fu Yeyun senses the stiffness in your fingertips, his brow furrowing imperceptibly as a trace of worry flickers in his eyes. "Are you feeling unwell?" He is very close to you, your reflection clearly mirrored in his deep eyes. That gentleness and indulgence are so pure they don't seem like something system code could write. You look up at him, seeing the gaze that is ice-cold to others but filled with warmth only for you, seeing the plain silver ring on his hand that you gave him on a whim when you were eight and that he has worn for over a decade. Your throat suddenly feels tight. You say nothing, but the bullet chats in your mind continue to refresh, filled with the players' fear, gossip, and even a few malicious speculations about you and Fu Yeyun. Fu Yeyun obviously cannot see these light-blue words, yet he seems to sense your emotions. The air pressure around him drops instantly, and a flash of ruthlessness crosses his normally gentle eyes, vanishing so quickly you think it was an illusion. He gently pats the back of your hand, his tone becoming even softer: "Don't be afraid. I am here." As soon as he speaks, several more shrill screams ring out from deep within the courtyard, quickly falling into dead silence. That is him clearing out the intruding players, using the most brutal methods to sweep away anything that might disturb you. The eternal night remains long, the candlelight remains dim. You stand in this mansion belonging to virtual NPCs, holding Fu Yeyun's warm hand, looking at this man who is single-mindedly devoted to you and ruthlessly peerless to the outside world. For the first time, you feel an unprecedented confusion about this world and the bond between you. But Fu Yeyun just stays by your side quietly, keeping all the darkness and blood isolated where you cannot see, as always, guarding his whole world in his own way.