Little Pink Starfish

Long Yuanba had a deep impression of these two people.

After all, they had completely shattered his worldview, only to rebuild it from scratch. And later, it was thanks to them that he had obtained clues—how could he possibly forget?! But!

The fact that these two appeared here made him extremely wary! What the actual fuck! Why was this gay couple here to fight him for treasure?!

Gu Bai remained as cold and untouchable as an aloof flower on a high peak, while Qiguan Rui expressed mild surprise, calling out, “Long-xiong?”

…Long-xiong? Breast augmentation? Wait, what the hell was he even thinking?!

Gu Bai lit a candle for his own lost sense of dignity and silently watched the damned pervert put on his act.

Despite the gruelling effort of fending off the endless hidden weapons, Long Yuanba still managed to maintain a polite smile. “Qiguan-xiong, how did your distinguished couple end up here?”

Qiguan Rui casually bantered, “Shubai and I were travelling around when we noticed traces of people in this forest. Out of curiosity, we decided to investigate but accidentally fell into this tree hole and got caught in the mechanisms. That’s when we saw you, Long-xiong…”

Long Yuanba chuckled heartily. “Ah, I see. In that case, I must admit to holding a bit of a grudge against you and your distinguished couple.”

Qiguan Rui also laughed. “It truly must be fate…”

Meanwhile, Long Yuanba’s subordinates:

Boss! Now is not the time for small talk, boss!

The endless rain of hidden weapons is unbearable! Can we chat later?

Boss, I got hit in the ass! Stop socialising already!

And you two over there, since you’re here, at least lend a hand instead of just standing around, okay?!

After a solid half-hour of back-and-forth probing, Long Yuanba’s subordinates, who had been gritting their teeth through the ordeal, were mentally and physically drained. At first, when there was no hope of rescue, they endured without complaint. But now, with a potential saviour present who just wouldn’t save them, the frustration was a psychological torment. The moment they sensed the end of the conversation, they collectively sighed in relief.

And right on cue, several of them immediately got hit by the hidden weapons, crying out in pain.

Long Yuanba had no choice now. If he kept this up, his entire squad would be wiped out. That would be a huge morale hit. So, without hesitation, he finally asked for help.

Qiguan Rui, having complete control over the situation, also responded without hesitation. “No need to worry, Long-xiong. Let me see if there’s a mechanism here.”

With that, he started examining the walls.

Gu Bai let out a long sigh. Honestly, Long Yuanba’s group was kind of dumb.

They knew the chains ahead were treacherous, yet they all climbed onto them like a bunch of human wind chimes? Leaving a few people behind as lookouts would have been the smart move! That way, they wouldn’t have needed to wait for Gu Bai and Qiguan Rui—someone could have looked for the mechanism themselves!

Of course, Gu Bai refused to take responsibility for the -5 IQ side characters—he was the author, after all. Look at his pervert! That was one top-tier IQ, peak-level EQ! Clearly, this was the world’s fault.

After comforting himself, Gu Bai turned his attention back to the true protagonist—the genuine pervert—who had already found the mechanism.

In reality, as the now-official owner of the treasure trove, Qiguan Rui didn’t even need to look. The whole “searching for the mechanism” act was purely to fool the ‘wind chimes’ hanging from the chain bridge.

The next moment, Qiguan Rui put on a delighted expression, his voice filled with excitement. “I found it! Long-xiong, be ready—I’m going to deactivate the mechanism!”

Long Yuanba was overjoyed. “Many thanks to your distinguished couple! I will surely repay this favour generously!”

Satisfied with this promise, Qiguan Rui didn’t drag things out any longer. He promptly deactivated the mechanism. Then, turning back, his forehead was dotted with beads of sweat—evidently, he had been both anxious and exhausted by the effort.

Gu Bai: … What. Acting. Skills! Give this man an Oscar!

The reaction from Long Yuanba and his group was immediate.

The relentless downpour of hidden weapons ceased in an instant. Their relief was immeasurable. Without wasting any time, they quickly leapt off the chain bridge and rushed to the other side.

Only Long Yuanba, however, turned back—after all, he had just been saved; he had to at least show some gratitude.

With a proper heroic demeanour, he stepped forward and clasped his hands together. “Many thanks to your distinguished couple. If not for you, my men and I would have perished here today!”

Qiguan Rui responded with a gentle smile. “It was nothing, it was nothing…”

In just a short moment, the two of them were already acting like long-lost brothers.

Gu Bai was speechless. Can you stop calling us a ‘distinguished couple’ already?! This guy was too damn cunning!

He clearly saw how close Gu Bai and Qiguan Rui were and deliberately kept reminding them of their relationship. If their bond was stable, this reminder would reinforce it; if it wasn’t, it would secure it. Either way, it ensured that they wouldn’t fight him over the princess.

Was this necessary?! Just when Gu Bai had been thinking of Long Yuanba as an IQ-5 side character… the moment he stepped out of the original plot, his intelligence returned?! This is definitely not my fault!

And so, the two of them continued to exchange pleasantries.

Long Yuanba: “Many thanks for saving us. So… what do you plan to do now?”

Qiguan Rui: “Since fate has brought us together once more, why not travel together?”

Long Yuanba: “This place is full of traps… are you sure you want to come?”

Qiguan Rui: “Haha, I am fairly skilled at handling mechanisms…”

With no reasonable way to refuse, Long Yuanba could only accept his fate and lead both Qiguan Rui and Gu Bai forward. Honestly, he had already resigned himself to splitting the treasure the moment Qiguan Rui showed up.

Gu Bai glanced at the once mortal enemies from the original novel, then lightly leapt into the air. Like a drifting white cloud, he gracefully landed on the other side.

Qiguan Rui and Long Yuanba exchanged wary glances before jumping up as well, arriving swiftly at their destination.

The group proceeded forward, searching for the next passage.

Qiguan Rui, thinking quickly, pretended to search before subtly manipulating events so that one of Long Yuanba’s subordinates ‘accidentally’ found the mechanism. A deep, pitch-black cave suddenly appeared on the cliffside—the path forward was clear.

Long Yuanba gave a polite cough. “After you?”

Qiguan Rui chuckled. “After you.”

And so, Long Yuanba’s men sent scouts ahead, and the rest of the group followed. Naturally, they encountered many traps and mechanisms along the way.

Gu Bai walked behind, hands behind his back, not interfering. But internally—Fucking hell, you damned pervert! I didn’t write this many traps in my book! How many did you activate?! Wait… THESE WEREN’T EVEN HERE BEFORE! You absolute menace!

As the master of the treasure trove, Qiguan Rui gleefully ran them through every trap.

Meanwhile…

Long Yuanba: “As expected of a treasure trove, the mechanisms here are truly marvellous.”

His subordinates: “Holy fuck, do these traps ever end?!”

Qiguan Rui, smiling serenely, moved forward at a leisurely pace—utterly relaxed, in stark contrast to the struggling group behind him.

Long Yuanba, watching Qiguan Rui effortlessly disable countless traps, gradually went from wary to impressed. This guy… he’s incredible! Someone like this is not an enemy to make—better to befriend him. No matter what, that’s the smarter choice!

Gu Bai, observing this, silently turned his face away. No, mate, you’re mistaken. This isn’t ‘natural talent and extensive knowledge’… This is called ‘protagonist halo’!