Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

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Chapter 43

The gentle breeze rustled, causing the tree shadows to sway.

After noticing Zhou Qian remaining still for a long while, Qi Liuxing played with his phone for a bit, then asked him, “By the way, I accompanied you to meet someone at noon. Will you accompany me to meet someone tonight?”

“Who?” asked Zhou Qian.

“The one who is in my group,” Qi Liuxing replied. “His name is Ke Yuxiao.”

“Which ‘Yu’?” Zhou Qian questioned.

Qi Liuxing responded, “The ‘Yu’ from the universe*.”

*Clarity: [Yu] (宇) from universe [Yuzhou] (宇宙).

Zhou Qian pondered for a moment and said, “Hmm. Nice name. ‘The heavens and earth were mysterious and yellow, and the universe was vast and primitive.'”

“You memorized the ‘Thousand Character Classic*’?” Qi Liuxing asked. “So, will you meet him? I want to introduce you to him. If you think it’s fine, we three can team up for the next instance. He’s a really good person. When you guys were looking for me for the [Tick Tock Clock], I was almost beaten to unconsciousness by a monster. If he hadn’t risked his life to save me, I’d have died!”

*A Chinese poem that has been used as a primer for teaching Chinese characters to children from the sixth century onward. It contains exactly one thousand characters, each used only once, arranged into 250 lines of four characters apiece and grouped into four line rhyming stanzas to make it easy to memorize. || What Zhou Qian said is the first two lines from it.

“Alright, I’ll meet him. But—” Seeing the person in the room in Zone X not moving and not receiving any system notifications, Zhou Qian jumped off the tree, squinted, and stepped closer, locking eyes with Qi Liuxing. “Why do I feel like you’ve turned so quickly? You miss one instance, and you’re already swayed by someone else?”

Qi Liuxing: “……”

Zhou Qian continued, “If I go to one instance and him to another, who would you team up with in the end?”

Qi Liuxing paused for a moment, then retorted, “You’re so childish. Why not ask, if Ke Yuxiao and you both fell into the water at the same time, who would I save?”

“Oh. So if both of us fell into the water at the same time, who would you save?” Zhou Qian pressed on.

Qi Liuxing blinked several times and finally responded sternly, “Boring!”

That afternoon, Zhou Qian and Qi Liuxing didn’t manage to leave the hospital.

Ke Yuxiao came to visit them, posing as a visitor, and brought a bouquet of fresh flowers.

He also brought a lot of exquisite snacks.

These treats were from a famous local handmade pastry shop known for their limited daily inventory and high prices. Recognizing the quality of the treats, Zhou Qian looked at Ke Yuxiao with a pleasant expression.

Ke Yuxiao looked about 25, much older than Qi Liuxing.

Ke Yuxiao’s flute was for long-range attacks. According to Qi Liuxing, one was melee and the other ranged—a perfect combination.

Moreover, Ke Yuxiao’s skills were very unique, having a buffing effect. For instance, if Qi Liuxing’s sword move could only scratch, Ke Yuxiao’s flute could enhance its power, causing real damage.

Ke Yuxiao had a gentle demeanor, appearing very approachable, radiating a homely vibe.

But he was definitely not weak; he seemed innately strong. He gave off the impression of someone who might cook meals and water plants in his daily life, but when the situation called for it, he’d immediately take up arms and head into battle.

While Zhou Qian was snacking, Ke Yuxiao and Qi Liuxing chatted on a bench.

Zhou Qian noticed that Qi Liuxing, who always acted cool in front of him, was talkative around Ke Yuxiao. In contrast, Ke Yuxiao seemed like an older brother, always ready to listen.

Overhearing their conversation, Zhou Qian chimed in, “Ke Yuxiao, so you’re a veteran player? Do you have mental health issues?”

“Yes, I was discharged not long ago. I was a bit depressed due to family and work issues,” Ke Yuxiao replied.

“How long have you been playing?” Zhou Qian inquired.

Ke Yuxiao said, ” Two months. But I’ve not been to many instances, and my achievements are average. I focus on instances that can enhance skill values. I’ve never been to the ones with hidden achievements like you guys.”

“Oh, then you can join me next time. I’ve unlocked an instance with hidden achievements. As long as you team up with me, you can enter. Also, you mentioned earlier—” Zhou Qian looked at him, “the Rank God player? What’s that about?”

“There are two types of players in this game: Rank God players and regular players. Their training methods are completely different,” Ke Yuxiao explained. “We, the regular players, might end up as shepherds in the end.”

“I know that. But you mentioned that Rank God players… can become NPCs? How does that work?” Zhou Qian inquired.

“Players below Rank S typically engage in regular instances with difficulty levels around four or below. Rank God players can’t just become NPCs in any instance; they can only make guest appearances in instances of level four or below by channeling their consciousness into an NPC,” Ke Yuxiao explained. “Moreover, once they’re in an NPC, they can’t betray the NPC’s established character or reduce the instance’s difficulty. Often, they might even increase the game’s challenge, as they aim to select and guide players.”

After a short pause, he continued, “However, I’ve heard that few Rank God players do this. Firstly, it takes time away from their own progression and leveling in the game. Secondly, many NPCs have quite challenging roles. Why would they put themselves through that? The game instances are already designed by the system, so it’s better to let the system screen the players directly.”

Zhou Qian’s eyes lit up. “So… if a Rank God player becomes an NPC, we can’t contact them in the system. Meaning, they would be in an [offline] state?”

Ke Yuxiao replied, “Perhaps. But I’ve never witnessed it. Most of what I know about it is from hearsay.”

Every time [137] “came online” was when Jiang Yuqing was conscious.

[137] says that due to the rules, he couldn’t disclose anything.

So… the so-called [offline] was when their consciousness entered an NPC?

Moreover…

When the dragon appeared, Jiang Yuqing “fainted”. In He Xiaowei’s words, he looked as if he had died. In a way, could it be interpreted that Jiang Yuqing’s spirit left his body? Something similar to astral projection?

And also, why did the dragon appear?

Or to rephrase, why was there a creature, clearly not in line with the instance’s supposed difficulty and design logic, made up of S Army corpses?

After leaving “Last Wish”, Zhou Qian naturally contacted He Xiaowei to ask about what happened after he fainted. According to him, Situ Qing uncharacteristically charged at the creature, which only angered it more…

At this moment, Qi Liuxing continued chatting with Ke Yuxiao.

Zhou Qian stepped out onto the balcony and contacted Situ Qing. “What do you know about that creature?”

“I can only speculate,” Situ Qing replied. “My brother Mu Sheng mentioned he could adjust the difficulty of the instances. He once joked…”

Situ Qing chuckled wryly, “He told me to confidently attempt any instance and if I ran into a section I couldn’t pass, he’d use a rare item to directly change the settings and lower the difficulty. Now it seems he never spoke a truthful word.”

“Where is your brother now?” Zhou Qian inquired. “Can you talk about it?”

“I don’t know. He left the game. When I returned to the rental, he was gone,” Situ Qing said. “Maybe… seeing everything in the game, he thought I betrayed him. He might think I’ve sided with you.”

Zhou Qian caught on to something. “Rental? You weren’t hospitalized? You don’t have a mental illness?”

“No, I… wait.” Situ Qing shook her head. “Maybe I do. Why else would Mu Sheng have brainwashed me? You’ve reminded me. I might get it checked.”

“Did you notice… a lot of players in this game are from mental hospitals?” Zhou Qian asked.

“Yes,” Situ Qing replied. “But I thought it was normal. They’ve experienced trauma, which drove them mad. Why did they suffer trauma? Probably because they underwent major life changes, giving them desires and wishes to fulfill. Hence, the game found them. It seemed logical. As for me…”

“I was lured into the game by Mu Sheng. However, I don’t know how he initially came into contact with the game. He’s a gambler, not a player.”

What Situ Qing said sounded plausible at first glance.

However, Zhou Qian didn’t entirely agree with her.

After all, many people become mentally ill not due to external events but because of inherent neurological issues, which are pathological damages.

But Zhou Qian gleaned a lot from Situ Qing’s words.

Now, his understanding of the game has fundamentally shifted.

First, the game had come to this world a long time ago.

Second, while most players were chosen from mental hospitals, some didn’t belong there, like the employee from his father’s company and Situ Qing. Also, Ke Yuxiao, who was currently chatting with Qi Liuxing in his room, was quite special. He was fully cured and left the mental hospital, but he was still a player.

When he thought of this, Zhou Qian heard a sigh from Situ Qing on the phone.

“Influenced by Mu Sheng, I entered this game, originally to help him get a new leg. However, as soon as I started the first mission, the game imposed a deadline for our next entry. If we exceed the time and don’t enter the mission… I will die. So even though I am no longer bound by Mu Sheng, I have to keep playing.”

“In fact, I have no wishes now. I just want to live a peaceful life. But obviously, I can’t. No, wait, I do have a wish. If possible, I want to make amends.”

“Zhou Qian, I don’t know… if you would trust me. I… I want to make it up to you, to Yun Xiangrong, and to Gao Shan. Trading for a life is not easy. The system might demand a fortune. But count me in.”

“I hope we can team up for the next mission. I promise you, whatever gold coins I earn, I don’t want anything. I just want to use them to bring back Gao Shan’s life.”

A minute later, Zhou Qian hung up the phone.

Many players were willing to join the game because they had wishes. However, once they joined, whether or not their wishes could be fulfilled, they couldn’t leave. Because once they did, they would die.

Players entered the game, cultivated, and gained more and more powerful strength… trying to approach the gods, asking the gods for power to fulfill their wishes.

But could they really get what they want?

Was the story of Epoh in Apple Paradise some kind of… highly suggestive metaphor?

……

Thus, three more days passed.

During these three days, Zhou Qian hadn’t received any messages from [137]. He also couldn’t contact [Hidden Blade].

In the end, Zhou Qian simply decided to ignore it.

Preparing for the next mission, Zhou Qian considered his teammates: himself, He Xiaowei, Qi Liuxing, Ke Yuxiao, and Situ Qing, making five in total. The next mission was for seven people, and he wondered what kind of two teammates they would be paired with.

Additionally, now that Yu Xian was dead, would the system assign him another gambler?

Zhou Qian didn’t know the answer for now.

Four more days passed.

In the early morning, Zhou Qian and Qi Liuxing welcomed Dr. Li Xuehai for a round of checks.

After a detailed progress check on their conditions and adjusting the medication, Li Xuehai packed up his notes, looking like he was about to leave.

Zhou Qian looked at him, noticing his scholarly appearance, and couldn’t help but say, “Hey, your tie is crooked!”

Li Xuehai, always expressionless, simply said, “In an hour, come to my office. There’s something I want to discuss with you.”

“Oh?” Zhou Qian was slightly surprised but nodded, “Alright.”

An hour later, Zhou Qian indeed went to Li Xuehai’s office.

Currently, there were no other doctors present.

It seemed he arranged his schedule to ensure that their conversation wouldn’t be overheard.

So, upon entering the office, Zhou Qian naturally closed the door.

Sitting down in front of Li Xuehai, he asked, “Dr. Li, what’s the matter?”

Li Xuehai, although having a refined demeanor, was usually very serious.

His expression now was even more so, making him look sterner.

Looking at Zhou Qian, he said, “It’s strange… I saw you playing some game.”

Hearing this, the smile on Zhou Qian’s face also disappeared.

In a flash, he realized something.

Indeed, he heard Li Xuehai say, “Now… it seems I’ve become your gambler.”

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