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Chapter 220: - A Deadly Lesson Learned

"Uh-huh," Hazel answered, her smile still bright and enthusiastic as she nodded.

"I want to know... about Lily, at school," he continued.

"Yes, I know. you\'re worried, right? Lily told me about what she went through at her previous school."

"She did?" Leon asked, surprised.

Hazel nodded again. "But, you don\'t need to worry... Lily is so cute. You\'d be shocked at how many boys like and idolize her," she said.

"Really?" Leon looked even more concerned. "That actually makes me more worried."

Hazel chuckled at his words. "You really are protective of Lily, aren\'t you? Just like she\'s so protective of you."

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. They stepped out and walked into the lobby.

"No, it\'s not like that," Leon continued. "I just want to make sure whoever might be interested in her treats her well."

Hazel giggled, and they stopped in front of the glass doors leading outside the hotel. "I\'ll do my best to protect her!" she said. "You can count on me."

She then nodded confidently. "I might look soft and feminine, but I won\'t hesitate to punch and kick any guy who mistreats Lily. You have my word," she assured him with a determined expression.

"Thanks, Hazel."

"But..." she added.

"But what?"

"You\'ll have to pay for my services."

"Pay?" Leon raised an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh..." Hazel replied, "Hang out with me, go to the movies, have dinner, visit amusement parks."

Leon furrowed his brows. "I guess going out with you and Lily isn\'t a problem."

"No, just the two of us," she said.

At that moment, a black car pulled up, and the driver got out to open the door, clearly there to pick up Hazel.

Hazel walked backward, still smiling. "Don\'t worry, I\'ll be eighteen soon." She got into the car, waved, and then the vehicle drove away.

Leon sighed and shook his head. "What\'s with all these women?" he muttered, reflecting on his intense conversations with Laura and now Hazel.

He turned around and was startled to see a woman blocking his path. Looking up, he found Freya standing in front of him.

"Oh, so the playboy is hunting for new prey, huh?" she remarked.

"Freya? Why are you here all of a sudden?"

"Oh, so you\'re too busy with a teenage girl to notice my arrival."

"You snuck up behind me; that\'s not my fault."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

They both walked towards the elevator.

"I have something I want to show you," Freya said as they made their way back to the room where Lily was waiting.

"Freya, so you saw Leon walking with Hazel, right?" Lily said to her.

"Yes..." Freya replied quietly.

"He also met with the woman who gave him the cake," Lily continued. "So my advice is you need to be more aggressive because your competition seems really fierce," she added with a giggle.

Freya looked at Leon and then back at Lily. "You set me up... you\'re teasing me, Lily. You\'re leaving me tongue-tied, you know."

Lily just giggled at her words.

Afterward, they settled in the living room, and Freya switched the channel to a serious interview and discussion about Immortal Legacy. The program\'s panelists were delving into a hot topic that many people were demanding: the removal of the time limit for logging into Immortal Legacy.

"Why restrict login time? Isn\'t this extraordinary technology? We can even sleep while our minds explore the game. We have more time to learn, to adventure, to develop our wisdom. I think this rule is ridiculous, with many players suffering from the game-time limits. If the Golden Age Company truly cares about its players, it shouldn\'t create such absurd restrictions. Imagine needing to solve a quest with limited time, being forced to log in for the whole day of Yunatea Time, expending the chances, resources, and effort this is so stupid," one panelist explained at length.

Another added, "Golden Age Company once allowed unrestricted logins during the early release of the game, but that changed when someone was found dead in their capsule device."

"That\'s not a valid reason. Just one casualty, and they imposed this burden on all players? This is stupid," another panelist responded.

Leon, watching the program, decided to join the discussion with Freya and Lily.

"I think this is an interesting topic. Being able to log in all day and choose when to log out, or

at least giving more freedom to players, sounds appealing," he said, turning to Freya. "So many people are demanding this?"

"Yes," Freya replied. "While it\'s true that we can rest and sleep while diving into the Immortal Legacy game, there are still many who oppose this theory because no valid research

supports it yet."

"So, it\'s just a claim by the Golden Age company?" Lily added.

Freya nodded. "Yes, and the development team behind this game is actually very secretive. Not many people know what\'s really behind that advanced AI."

Leon also nodded, taking in Freya\'s explanation. "It seems like they\'re hiding something big,

huh?"

"The person they mentioned..." Lily continued, grabbing both Leon and Freya\'s attention.

"The player who was found dead in the capsule device."

Freya nodded, understanding what Lily was referring to.

"It was... Hazel\'s father, right?" Lily continued.

"What? Are you sure, Lily? Hazel\'s father?" Leon responded, shocked.

Freya then spoke up. "This was a widely discussed topic in the past, Leon. I think you hadn\'t entered the game world at that time. And yes, what Lily said is true. The person found dead in the capsule device was the father of Lily\'s friend, the girl you escorted to the lobby earlier." Leon fell silent, grappling with the story of a father\'s death, having heard similar stories from both Laura and Hazel.

"Hazel told me that he was not her real father," Lily continued.

Leon furrowed his brow in confusion. "Wait? Not the real father?"

"This is something that\'s not a secret; it was a big deal in the past. I think it\'s okay for me to tell you about it," Lily added.

"Hazel\'s mother and her father originally lived together," Lily began narrating. "One day, her father discovered that her mother had been unfaithful, and Hazel wasn\'t his biological daughter. That revelation shattered their family. They got divorced, and Hazel\'s mother took her to live with her biological father. This all happened when she was just around five years

old."

Leon listened intently, visibly moved by the unfolding story.

"The man we\'re discussing now is Hazel\'s first father, or \'fake father\' as some might call him. After the divorce, he couldn\'t cope with the betrayal and the loss. His life got worse after that. Even when Immortal Legacy was released, he spent almost 24 hours a day in the game, withdrew from the outside world, locked himself away, and abandoned the successful career

he once had," Lily continued.

Freya nodded in agreement, adding, "He spiraled into obsession, losing himself in the game world. Even his friends couldn\'t bring him back from that dark place."

Leon shook his head. "I imagine that was a heavy blow for him to end up like that."

The room fell silent for a moment as Lily gathered herself to continue. "Hazel stayed in touch with him. She still saw him as her real father, despite everything. She planned to visit him one day after a phone call... but when she arrived, she found the police there."

Leon raised his eyebrows, urging her to go on.

"The game capsule had sent a distress signal to the server, alerting the authorities. They

arrived as Hazel was just getting there. She witnessed them pulling his lifeless body out of the capsule device," Lily said, her voice softer now. "Hazel told me about it in tears. She\'s never been able to forget that day."

Leon felt a lump form in his throat. "She hides that dark past behind her cheerful smile."

Lily nodded. "Hazel might look happy on the surface, but she\'s carrying such a heavy

burden." Hearing two stories about the death of someone close to the people around him, Leon finally decided to try to set it aside for now.

Everyone really is fighting their own battles, he thought, showing that no matter how heavy the problems we face, we can\'t compare them to others\'. Take Hazel, for instance-she seemed perfect on the outside, with her looks and successful career at such a young age. She appeared cheerful and fine on the surface, but no one knew what was happening behind the

scenes.

The same could be said if someone judged Laura solely by her outward appearance.

Leon needed to focus on completing the dungeon exploration. With these unsettling thoughts still lingering, he logged back into the game.