Chapter 115: Trap
Liu Ye already expected Queen Luna to try to take advantage of him many times in the future but something felt different about her. Her seductive gaze was on another level compared to before, as if this time she really wanted him and didn't just play around.
'What did those engineers feed to this AI?' Liu Ye wondered as he stared at Queen Luna's eyes. She acted completely like a human who could flirt, feel emotions and even adapt them depending on what happened.
She was so real that Liu Ye couldn't help but have doubts again. Questioning her was out of the question and leaving it as it was would only make him even more confused. The only solution was to find out the truth and Liu Ye happened to know such a method.
"Are you thinking about it?" Queen Luna asked playfully as he was thinking of his options and grasped onto his waist to pull him closer. "Say one word and I will fulfill your wish."
Liu Ye suddenly pulled down his mask and responded with the same intensity. He leaned over and uncovered Queen Luna's face to gently coil his palm around her cheek, "I think I have an idea what we can do together."
Queen Luna's eyes brightened at his bold approach and she drew closer against his fingers. "Tell me."
Liu Ye only pursed his lips and replied, "It's something that two adults like us can do together and we will have a lot of fun."
He paused while lifting her chin up and finally revealed, "How about we focus on our mission and prepare the trap as we should? Sounds fun, right?"
Liu Ye watched Queen Luna's excitement disappear with each following second until she finally rolled her eyes and pushed his hand away in disappointment. She squinted her eyes at him and showed her tongue, "Just you wait. I will tease you so hard you will be begging to have more of me."
Liu Ye's actions were just a quick way to stress test Queen Luna and even further understand her but it quickly backfired at him.
[Ding! Your affinity with Queen Luna has increased by 10.]
Just as Queen Luna turned around to focus on the mission, Liu Ye saw another increase in their affinity which came out of nowhere. It looked like he unconsciously made Queen Luna even more determined to get him. There was nothing he could do to stop her actions so he focused on the job.
"We need to figure out where is their base and prepare a trap to finish them in a clean sweep," Liu Ye reminded as he pointed at the adjusting roads. "I'm guessing they came from the forests since they are aiming their cart in that direction. What do you think?"
Liu Ye thought Queen Luna was already good but she remained silent. When he peeked to look at her face, she swiftly looked away while pouting. "Humph, don't talk to me."
"How else are we going to work together if I don't talk to you?" Liu Ye asked as he spotted the thieves start to withdraw. "Look, they are already moving. We need to hurry."
"Because of you, I lost my motivation to fight," Queen Luna replied while spreading her arms and demanded, "I need a hug."
Liu Ye couldn't help but roll his eyes, not expecting she would be this silly. "Can you stop playing around? They are going to escape."
The thieves were indeed walking away from the main road and headed towards the forest yet they still remained on the hill. If they wanted to intercept them and collect the goods, they had to move fast.
"I guess we will let them go then. What a shame," Queen Luna replied stubbornly. "I think only a back hug can light up my fire again."
Liu Ye breathed out while rubbing his temples. Thinking of all the goods and money that would be lost, he wasn't willing to give up on it. He stepped forward and hugged her waist hurriedly. "Is that enough?"
Blackmail was almost always useless against Liu Ye but she was just an NPC. Despite her tricks, he was still benefiting from this exchange so Liu Ye wasn't troubled. At least until she started to push the line.
"I want you to hug me like you mean it," Queen Luna commanded while grasping onto his arms. "You don't need to be shy when you have already felt my breasts before."
"Is that how a Queen should act?" Liu Ye asked speechlessly, but Queen Luna only shrugged.
"I don't care. It feels nice to be touched by you," Queen Luna replied in bliss as he tightened his hug. "Since you don't want to do it by yourself, I need to trick you into being obedient."
"If that's your plan then you are doing the opposite. I would never like someone who forces me into anything," Liu Ye replied casually and released her. "I'm going. Do whatever you want."
Liu Ye didn't give her a chance to respond and started running down the hill in hopes to circle around it. He didn't look back at Queen Luna who remained in her spot and watched his back become distant.
"He is so interesting..." Queen Luna muttered as she bit on her lips and her black eyes lit up with red light. "He might be the human I was looking for..."
Liu Ye's firmness worked perfectly as Queen Luna quickly caught up to him and behaved normally. She no longer pouted and instead grabbed his hand cheerfully before pulling him through the dry wood forest. He couldn't figure out what she planned but he didn't complain as long as she was doing her job.
"Here, let's set up a trap on this road," Liu Ye announced as he looked around the opening in the forest. "It's wide enough for the cart to pass through and you can still see many fresh footsteps. I'm guessing this forest road leads to their base so we can catch them off guard here."
Normally just the footsteps weren't enough for such deduction but Liu Ye happened to have a map. The forest road connected directly to the spot where the caravan was raided and the thieves would appear any minute.
"We should hide within the trees and ambush them," Queen Luna suggested. "I can kill at least five before they realize what is going on."
"No, I have a better plan," Liu Ye replied as he began pouring out water all over the ground. "Use as much as you need to create Ice Spears. Once I immobilize them, just shoot them down like ducks."
It was no other than an NPC test that would finally reveal if Queen Luna was real or fake. If she was a player like Avi, he would only get 80% experience after damaging the thieves first. On the other hand, if she was an NPC, he would get the full 100%.
"Won't they realize it's a trap after seeing so much water?" Queen Luna questioned with a face of doubt but Liu Ye didn't have the mind to explain everything. He was focused on moving the water deeper underground before freezing it right below the surface.
"Just trust me and prepare," Liu Ye assured while pointing at the thick tree that was tall enough to climb on. "You can hide there and attack from above when you see your chance. Also, let me know when you sense someone approaching."
Liu Ye no longer paid attention to her and drank a Mana Potion to keep him going. Even though he could generate water endlessly, it was a slow and draining process. He didn't overdo it though and stopped right when his mind couldn't control more water before hiding at the opposite side of the road.
Queen Luna threw a rock at Liu Ye's side to signal the enemy was coming and he waited patiently with a Mana Potion in hand. Sure enough, about thirty seconds later he saw a cart being pulled by a large lizard stolen from the caravan. It walked on two feet like a dinosaur but it wasn't in Liu Ye's attention.
It was the red-skinned bald man who sat on the goods and laughed while chatting with his subordinates.
[Red Nightmare - Lvl. 55]
[HP: 15,550/15,550]
[MP: 2,600/2,600]
A named NPC! Liu Ye only needed one look at his HP to know he would need Queen Luna's help on that one. He finally gulped down his Mana Potion and walked out from behind the tree just when the thieves stepped on his trap.
"This is a robbery! Throw all the gold on the ground, now!"