Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 2

Zhou Qian had a 70% clearance rate in “Apple Paradise”, so when Yu Xian bet 30,000 yuan, the probability of winning 1 million yuan was as high as 70%.

His principal of 30,000 yuan was actually a windfall.

This was equivalent to him not investing anything, so he wouldn’t lose in any way.

It was a simple calculation. After realizing it, Yu Xian was so excited that his hands started to tremble.

However, Zhu Qiang, who was by his side, became apprehensive. “It’s just 30,000 yuan, but now it’s 1 million yuan! When does such good fortune come? Who developed this game? Where did the players come from? Will they really die in the game?”

Yu Xian had an idea. “Baidu! Yes, let’s search for ‘Zhou Qian’ on Baidu and see if such a person really exists in reality!”

By comparing names and photos, they indeed found information about Zhou Qian.

There were many online reports about him.

Zhou Qian’s father, Zhou Chongshan, started out as a businessman. He owned many factories, had a lot of equipment, and owned a lot of land. However, this meant his assets weren’t very liquid.

Given this, Zhou Chongshan’s gambling addiction became a serious issue.

As a result, he eventually got into trouble because of gambling, lost all his money, the company’s funds dried up, and it ultimately went bankrupt.

But that wasn’t the most tragic part.

The most tragic event was when Zhou Chongshan decided to commit suicide with his wife and son by turning on the gas.

All three were rushed to the hospital.

In the end, both Zhou Chongshan and his wife died, and only Zhou Qian survived.

After being out of life-threatening danger and receiving treatment for some time, Zhou Qian was admitted to Spring Hill Mental Asylum.

Some say that after learning about the deaths of his parents, he couldn’t bear the psychological burden and went mad.

Others claim his brain was damaged due to inhaling too much gas.

After reading the news, Yu Xian and Zhu Qiang looked at each other in shock.

Yu Xian exclaimed, “Damn, so the player I bet on is a psycho?”

Zhu Qiang frowned. “Lao* Yu, something’s not right. Think about it, the initial tutorial was so easy? Most players could pass it, and we would easily get 30,000 yuan. We naturally felt that there was no cost to continue…”

*Old (老) When used in front of a name, it signifies closeness.

“But I think this feels like bait. Let’s not continue. Together, we have 60,000 yuan now, enough for half a year’s rent. Let’s start looking for jobs tomorrow…”

Little did Zhu Qiang know, just as he finished his sentence, his phone vibrated. The system sent him a message.

[The player you’re following, Lu Mengmeng, has chosen to enter the new instance “Ghost Eyes”. The game difficulty is level one, with a clearance rate of 70%… If Lu Mengmeng successfully clears it, you will receive a reward of one million yuan.]

Just moments ago, Zhu Qiang was advising Yu Xian sensibly.

But now, with the opportunity to gain one million yuan right before his eyes, and personally experiencing this temptation, Zhu Qiang realized he couldn’t resist.

Swallowing hard, Zhu Qiang quickly searched for “Lu Mengmeng” on Baidu.

A moment later, his expression changed.

“I found a news article about him. He’s a college student. One day he suddenly attacked his roommate with a knife. He was proven to be mentally unstable and is now… also in Spring Hill Mental Asylum.”

……

Early the next morning.

Spring Hill Mental Asylum. Zone 1.

Room 302, Bed 57.

Zhou Qian woke up from the bed. Recalling everything from the previous night, it felt like he had a dream.

He yawned and sat up, seeing a girl with braided hair standing beside his bed.

Soon, the girl turned her head, and her face still had the same braided hairstyle.

With a deadpan face, Zhou Qian commented, “Such a clichéd way to scare someone.”

Hearing this, the person removed the braided wig, revealing a handsome and indifferent face. He was wearing a white coat; it turned out to be a male doctor.

Contrasting his childish act of wearing a wig to scare was his stern, rigid expression.

This was Zhou Qian’s primary doctor, Li Xuehai.

“Heart rate shows no change.”

Glancing at the indicators on the nearby equipment, Li Xuehai shook his head, picked up his pen, and solemnly jotted down in the notebook. “The patient, Zhou Qian, still shows no fear reaction.”

Zhou Qian laughed. “It’s just that your scare tactics are outdated, not that I don’t feel fear.”

“Alright.” Li Xuehai put the pen back in his breast pocket, looked at Zhou Qian, and suddenly said, “The patient in the room across from you passed away yesterday.”

Zhou Qian looked surprised. “The patient across the room? The little girl?”

Li Xuehai stared into his eyes for a moment and nodded. “Yes, that little girl, who was admitted around the same time as you. You’ve lived together for eight months. You often helped her with building blocks in the recreation room. She liked you very much and always clung to you, calling you ‘brother’.”

Zhou Qian asked nonchalantly, “So?”

With a grave face, Li Xuehai asked, “So hearing this news, you don’t feel sad? Not even a little bit?”

Zhou Qian shrugged, his tone sounding slightly aggrieved. “So, Dr. Li, is there hope for me?”

Li Xuehai: “Stop pretending. I know that right now you can’t even perceive feelings of grievance.”

After his act was brutally exposed, Zhou Qian calmly replied, “Oh.”

After his illness, Zhou Qian could no longer feel happiness, sadness, sympathy, or fear.

He felt like he was an ascended immortal, devoid of emotions, but sudden bursts of rage would quickly bring him back to reality.

He wasn’t emotionless; his brain just locked away all emotions. When they broke free, the accumulated emotions would explode, driving him into madness.

In Zhou Qian’s eyes, he wasn’t an immortal but a monster.

The last time he had an episode, he not only slashed himself but also wrecked Dr. Li Xuehai’s office.

While being restrained and sedated, he even managed to start a fire, ruining Li Xuehai’s suit.

“I’ll pay for it, Dr. Li,” he said afterward.

Li Xuehai replied, “Okay, 3,000 yuan.”

“?” Zhou Qian was surprised. “So cheap? Are there even suits that cost 3,000 yuan?”

Li Xuehai: “……”

After a while, Li Xuehai bluntly reminded, “Your family is bankrupt. The hospital bill for this quarter is 25,000 yuan. Can you pay on time?”

Zhou Qian: “……”

Seeing Zhou Qian’s expression, Li Xuehai couldn’t help but shake his head.

After a pause, he said, “Zhou Qian, I’ll do my best to help you. I’ll accompany you for some emotional stimulation experiments. You need to cooperate.”

Zhou Qian smiled again. “Alright. I trust you. Look, I haven’t been restrained for a while. I think I’m getting better.”

Facing the seemingly well-behaved Zhou Qian, Li Xuehai frowned again and asked, “Have you seen the dragon recently?”

Dragon…

Zhou Qian’s gaze shifted from the doctor’s cold face to the window.

Spring Hill Asylum was built on a hillside.

Through the window, he could see the light of dawn gradually covering the dark base of the mountain.

At that moment, Zhou Qian’s expression became mysterious. “No. Not anymore.”

“Good. The hallucinations have decreased. That’s it for today’s round. Go wash up and eat. I’m leaving.” As Li Xuehai turned to leave, he noticed something and asked, “Where did you get the watch on your wrist?”

Zhou Qian looked down at the special watch that allowed him to enter the game, reminding him that everything that happened last night wasn’t just a dream.

“A friend visited me yesterday. He gave it to me.”

Hearing this, Li Xuehai scrutinized Zhou Qian for a moment but didn’t comment further and left.

……

The ward was temporarily empty.

Zhou Qian picked up the watch, trying to access the game panel, recalling how he joined the game.

Regarding the tragedy of his family, the consensus among police, reporters, and bystanders was the same—after going bankrupt, his father, in despair, wanted to drag his wife and son with him to death, so he drugged them with sleeping pills and then turned on the gas.

But Zhou Qian knew that wasn’t the truth.

He knew of his father’s cruelty since childhood.

He believed that night, his father only wanted to kill him and his mother.

He didn’t know the details of what happened that night.

But he faintly remembered that a dragon had saved him.

He once thought that seeing the dragon was just a hallucination due to gas poisoning.

Until he saw it again in Spring Hill Mental Asylum.

Last night, under the guidance of the dragon, Zhou Qian found a watch.

[Player Zhou Qian, the gods have heard your inner voice—you’ve lost the most important thing in your life, harbored resentment towards those you shouldn’t, and now you feel life is unbearably dull. Everything you do seems meaningless.]

[Your life is filled with “nothingness”. Now, the gods have chosen you, inviting you to partake in a game.]

[By joining the game, you will have the opportunity to step into the realm of gods, rediscover the three thousand worlds*, and perhaps even obtain what you most desire.]

*Reference to the Buddhist concept “Three thousand realms in a single moment of life”, which refers to the (infinite) possibilities in each instant of our lives.

[The pursuit of immortality is not just a saying; where there’s a will, the living can die, and the dead can live*.]

*From Tang Xianzu’s “The Peony Pavilion”. See Kinky Thoughts for more details.

[You have ten minutes to decide whether to participate.]

Had the dragon that once saved him tried to convey something through this game?

The person he missed… could they really come back?

His life couldn’t get any worse.

Perhaps this mysterious game might bring the surprise he yearned for.

Guided by subtle intuition, Zhou Qian unhesitatingly chose to enter the game.

Before entering the tutorial stage, he found himself in the ward where he lived alone.

After leaving the game and returning to reality, he was still in the ward.

After a night’s sleep, the doctor made the routine rounds as usual, and Zhou Qian responded with his usual aloof attitude.

Every day in the mental ward seemed the same, as if nothing would ever change.

He knew he was trapped in an unbreakable prison.

Perhaps in that game, he could find the freedom he so craved.

…..

Two days later.

At night, the Spring Hill Mental Asylum was silent.

Zhou Qian closed the door to his room and re-entered the game using his watch.

[Loading Instance for Player Zhou Qian: “Apple Paradise”]

[Player count: 5—The 5 players will appear at random locations near Apple Paradise. Your first mission is: Find a way into the park.]

[The trading post is now open; players can buy and sell items here. Player Zhou Qian’s starting gold is 300.]

After reading the panel’s prompts, Zhou Qian found himself in a deep mountain.

Midway up the mountain, by the woods.

The sunset shone through the gaps in the leaves, and the babbling stream was dyed with the red-orange glow of the setting sun.

Several people were passing through the woods towards a grand building that looked like a palace—it must be Apple Paradise.

Despite having [Li Dafu’s Invitation] Zhou Qian didn’t rush to enter the park but instead hid in the woods by the roadside.

Leaning against a tree, he checked his stats on the system panel.

He saw two bars at the top left corner: a red one representing health and a blue one for mana, which depleted with each skill use.

But Zhou Qian hadn’t acquired any skills yet, so the blue bar was just for show.

Now, he was at the lowest rank, F, with a mere 300 points for both bars.

After checking his stats, Zhou Qian began observing from behind the tree.

It wasn’t long before he spotted the man he was looking for—a stout man with a fierce face.

This man must be Li Dafu.

With each step he took, the ground seemed to tremble under his weight.

Zhou Qian knew he was Li Dafu because the previous night, after opening the treasure chest in the game, he had seen a huge wedding photo in Li Dafu’s villa.

Now, lifting his watch towards the stout man outside the woods, Zhou Qian tried to access his data through the system.

[Name: Li Dafu]

[Rank: E]

[Specialty: Boxing; former national boxing champion]

[Note: He has a violent temper. Players, please avoid direct confrontation to prevent injury or even death.]

Indeed, this man is Li Dafu.

As a Rank E NPC, his red and blue bars were three times that of Zhou Qian’s.

Furthermore, he was a national boxing champion, while Zhou Qian had no skills at all.

The “Blessing of the Little Boy” buff that Zhou Qian possessed could only shield him from damage once when his health was almost gone, which made it practically useless.

Facing Li Dafu head-on would be equivalent to courting death.

Watching as Li Dafu slowly passed before him, Zhou Qian’s eyes grew more solemn.

If he wanted to successfully complete this side quest, it seemed he would have to think of a strategy.

……

10 minutes later.

Outside the game, inside the presidential suite of a five-star luxury hotel, Yu Xian and Zhu Qiang, with dark circles under their eyes, sat up abruptly. They immediately grabbed their phones from the bedside table and found that Zhou Qian had been in the game for a while.

The reason they could afford such a place was that two days ago, Lu Mengmeng, despite having only 1% HP left, barely cleared the “Ghost’s Eye” level, allowing Zhu Qiang to receive a million yuan. With Lu Mengmeng not entering a new dungeon for the time being, Yu Xian and Zhu Qiang took the opportunity to splurge with the money.

After partying all night, it was only the constant vibrating of their phones that reminded them that it was Zhou Qian’s turn to play.

Skipping meals, both of them glued their eyes to their phones and noticed that Zhou Qian had teamed up with another player.

He was a male player in his 30s, dressed in a plaid shirt. At first glance, he looked scholarly and refined, but there was an indescribable cunning air about him.

Yu Xian noticed an icon flashing above the player’s head.

He clicked on it and was able to view the player’s information.

[Player Name: Dong Xiang]

[Player Rank: E]

[Specialty: Stealth skills, such as assassination and theft]

They heard Dong Xiang ask Zhou Qian, “I just went to the entrance of the park. Only those invited can enter. We don’t have an invite, so we need to figure something out soon. The park closes at 8 tonight.”

Yu Xian felt anxious.

Over the past few days, he had looked up news about Zhou Qian.

The way he was described in the reports could be summarized with phrases like: “The rich second generation who wouldn’t eat minced meat”, “naively innocent”, “God spent all his intelligence on his looks”, “He’s just a pretty face but is actually dumb and crazy”…

“I’m so worried about Xiao* Qianqian.”

*Little (小) When used in front of a name, it generally signifies closeness. In this context, it’s like an affectionate way he’s referring to Zhou Qian.

“Me too. The other players might try to steal Zhou Qian’s invite.”

“If he reveals that he has an invitation, he’s doomed. The player in front of him is an E ranked player who excels at both theft and assassination…”

“Please, Xiao Qianqian, just don’t say anything!”

The two anxiously stared at the phone.

On the screen was Zhou Qian’s smiling face.

He had a beautiful, radiant look, extremely photogenic, with deep, shiny eyes. Given his rich second-generation background, he looked like a delicate flower of wealth.

But at that moment, his demeanor and smile were just too naive.

The elegant, proud, delicate flower suddenly became the foolish son of a landlord—

He carelessly took out [Li Dafu’s Invitation] and said to Dong Xiang, “An invite? I have one. So, I can go straight in! I’m so happy!”

Yu Xian and Zhu Qiang exclaimed, “Fuck!!!”

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The author has something to say:

“The living can die, and the dead can live” – from Tang Xianzu’s “The Peony Pavilion.”

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Kinky Thoughts:

The quote “The living can die, and the dead can live” is from Tang Xianzu’s “The Peony Pavilion“.

This play touches on themes of love, death, and resurrection. The play tells the story of a young woman named Du Liniang who falls in love with a scholar named Liu Mengmei in a dream. After waking, she is unable to forget him and, consumed by her unfulfilled love, she becomes ill and eventually dies. Later, her spirit encounters Liu Mengmei, and through a series of events, she is brought back to life, and the two are united in love.

The phrase reflects the cyclical nature of life and death presented in the story and suggests that the boundaries between life and death can be porous, especially when influenced by profound emotions like love. It speaks to the transformative power of love and the idea that even in death, love endures and can defy the natural order.

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