Author: 易修罗 / Yi Xiu Luo

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

---

Chapter 65

The long-awaited dating course had finally arrived—

“What do you mean? Who’s looking forward to it?” Ling Xiao, who was forcefully driven out of the training ground, was unhappy. Today’s lesson was about the use of primary elemental soul crystals. He was originally having fun tossing large fireballs with his friends, but as soon as the time came, he was ruthlessly expelled by the instructor.

Why couldn’t he study like the other students and instead have to go on a date?

Furthermore, this class didn’t have instructors, textbooks, or even reference materials. How was he supposed to go about this dating lesson?

Confused, Ling Xiao decided to ask for help from Yu Ji, whose emotional value was even less than theirs.

“What are you guys planning to do?”

Yu Ji, slightly embarrassed, replied, “He said he wants to go back to the dormitory and sleep. I couldn’t argue with him.”

Ling Xiao twitched at the corner of his mouth. Was this supposed to be a way of cultivating emotional connection?

“What about us?” He asked Ying Feng. “Just to clarify, I don’t want to go back and sleep.”

Ying Feng pulled out a long list. “This is the information I found online and in the library: ’99 Things Lovers Should Do’ and ’50 Places Couples Must Visit’.”

Ling Xiao: ……

How could he forget that Ying Feng was a top student and would diligently complete every task assigned by the teacher?

Mechanically, Ling Xiao read through the list from beginning to end. By the end, his expression had turned stiff. What were these suggestions?

Watching movies (which was pretty standard), candlelight dinner, shared hot spring bath, buying lingerie together, adopting a pet, using the Qizhu skill “Release” in public (What’s that?), playing a day-long Qizhu and Qizi identity swap game (Oh, that sounds interesting)…

No way! None of these were good!

Ling Xiao threw away the list. “Who dates by following a book?”

Ying Feng’s expression remained unchanged. “Then what’s your suggestion?”

After pondering for a moment, Ling Xiao had an idea. “I got it!”

Special commodity trading zone.

“Hello, this is the Soul Crystal Trading Street. Only those with the appropriate credentials can enter. Please show your personal terminal.”

They extended their wrists for scanning. “Ah, students from the Royal Sky Military Academy. Welcome.”

It was the first time both had come to this place. Apart from soul crystal shops, there were trading stalls for people to exchange soul crystals, raw material wholesale shops, virtual soul crystal trial points, arenas, casinos where one could exchange chips for soul crystals, and a variety of adventure projects.

“Hey, would you like to gamble on the ‘Creation from Nothing’ soul crystal? As long as your mental power reaches level one, you can activate it.”

“What is that?”

“‘Creation from Nothing’ allows you to obtain a random item after activation. It might be valuable, or it might be worthless. It’s all about luck.”

Ling Xiao was intrigued and asked Ying Feng, “Shall we try?”

Ying Feng took out a magnetic card. “Two, please.”

“Thank you for your patronage!”

Ying Feng tried first and got a card.

The merchant inspected the card. “Congratulations, this is a game voucher. You can use it at any adventure game shop on this street. This card’s value is three times that of the ‘Creation from Nothing’ soul crystal. You’ve made a profit!”

“Now it’s my turn,” Ling Xiao said and focused. He activated his crystal, and a white light appeared. When it faded, he found himself holding an object.

All three: ……

Ling Xiao was exasperated. “Why a banana? Why did he get a voucher and I got a banana?”

The merchant replied innocently, “Items appear at random. Some even get rocks or feathers. We can’t control it.”

Ying Feng, seeing Ling Xiao’s frustration, dragged him away to save the poor merchant.

“At least I didn’t get a banana peel,” Ling Xiao grumbled as he ate the banana, but his mood didn’t improve.

“Let’s use the voucher to play a game.”

They entered the nearest game shop.

“For the free voucher, you can only play the ‘Couple’s Quiz Game’. If you want the adventure combat game, it’s an extra charge.”

“We want an adventure game.”

“We’ll take the ‘Couple’s Quiz Game’,” Ying Feng’s voice interrupted from behind.

“Why?” Ling Xiao raised his voice.

“Did you forget our afternoon class?”

…Top students are so annoying!

Ling Xiao gave in, “Fine, quiz game it is.”

“We have a new quiz game from Earth. Want to try it?”

“Earth? What game?”

“It has a long title: ‘When the World Wants You Together and You Don’t, Fate Wants to Keep You Apart When You Want to be Together’.”

“That’s so long! Why are Earthlings so verbose?”

“We’ll take it,” Ying Feng said, not wanting to debate.

“This way, please.”

The store clerk led them to the entrance. “Let me explain the game rules briefly. In this game, we use a magnetic pole setup. The initial magnetic poles are opposite. If your opinions clash, the poles will reverse, and both of you will be penalized. The penalties get heavier with each discrepancy. Only when your opinions align will the poles revert.”

“Each of you has the right to use ‘objection’ once. Using an objection allows you to skip a question you don’t want to answer. But after the game, you’ll receive a minor penalty for each objection used.”

“If you pass the game successfully, you’ll receive a gift from our store, which is unique and can’t be found elsewhere. Good luck! Oh, I forgot to mention, since this is an imported game, we’ve localized some aspects. But some questions couldn’t be changed, so you might find some questions hard to understand. Just choose an answer randomly.”

“It seems like a complex game,” Ling Xiao said, forgetting the beginning after hearing the end.

“You’ll understand once we start.”

The two entered the game room, and a female voice rang out:

“I am the commentator NPC for this session. Only the two of you are participating, and all your answers are strictly confidential. No third party will know. Are you ready?”

“Ready.”

“Then, let the game begin.”

“Ah!” Ling Xiao shouted, crashing into Ying Feng beside him. “What happened?”

It took Ying Feng a lot of effort to push Ling Xiao off him. “Look at your chest.”

Ling Xiao looked down and saw a letter N on his chest, while Yin Feng had an S in the same position.

“So this is the magnetic pole setup. What do we do now? We can’t even walk like this.”

Ying Feng tried to move. “As long as our bodies touch, we won’t be pulled together like before.”

“Let’s hold hands then.” Ling Xiao couldn’t think of another solution.

Ahead was a long corridor. As they walked hand in hand, Ling Xiao felt more and more awkward. Why did he feel nervous holding hands, even though they had been more intimate before?

“We’re here,” Yin Feng said, pulling him back from his thoughts. They had reached the first quiz checkpoint.

“Now, the first question. Choose wisely.”

“Do you want to play: A, Easy mode; B, Hard mode?”

“What’s the difference?” Ying Feng asked.

“Hard mode has harder questions and harsher penalties. You can’t quit unless you fail. But the rewards for passing are greater.”

Yin Feng: “A.”

Ling Xiao: “B.”

Both: ……

“We’re playing for the first time, and we don’t know what’s coming next. It’s safer to start with easy mode.”

“But games are about challenges! What’s the fun in playing easy? I want to play hard mode.”

“Please confirm your answer quickly, or both of you will be penalized.”

“Fine,” Ying Feng conceded. “B it is.”

Suddenly, the floor disappeared, and they dropped into a new space.

“Next question: Do you prefer your tofu pudding to be: A, sweet; or B, savory?”

Both: ……

“What’s tofu pudding?”

“It sounds like food. Remember the clerk said some parts of the game aren’t localized? This might be it.”

“Oh, let’s pick randomly then.”

“Okay.”

Ling Xiao: “A.”

Ying Feng: “B.”

Both: ……

“Why B?”

“I don’t like sweets.”

“But you don’t even know what tofu pudding is! What if it’s inherently sweet?”

“Then there’s no reason to ask if it’s sweet or savory.”

“How do you know there aren’t savory sweets?”

NPC: “Please confirm your answer quickly.”

Silence.

“Fine, whatever. I’ll go with A,” Ying Feng compromised.

“Answer confirmed. You’ve passed.”

“I don’t want more stupid questions. Give us something harder,” Ling Xiao shouted.

“Next question: Is everything possible? A, Yes; B, No.”

Ling Xiao: “A.”

Yin Feng: “B.”

“Why?!”

Ying Feng calmly explained, “If you say ‘yes’, they might ask if it’s possible for something to be impossible. If you say it’s possible, then something is definitely impossible, contradicting the ‘everything is possible’. If you say it’s not possible, that also contradicts ‘everything is possible’.”

Ling Xiao: “…I didn’t get any of that, but, B!”

“Answer confirmed. You’ve passed.”

“The next question is a very famous moral dilemma from Earth. Please watch the explanation on the screen.”

In front of them, a projection of a train appeared. There was a fork in the track ahead of the train. On the track where the train was moving, ten people were playing, while on the other track, there was only one person.

“The people you see on the screen now are five- to six-year-old children from Earth, which are our early forms. The track on the left is abandoned, and the one on the right is strictly forbidden for anyone to stay. The train is about to reach the fork. As the person who can change the track, would you let the train continue and hit the ten children who violated the rules, or change the track and hit the one who obeyed? A. Change track; B. Don’t change.”

“I choose C. Change the track and then teleport to save one child.”

“Unfortunately, Earthlings do not have this capability. Please select again.”

“I choose B.” Ying Feng said.

“Why?”

“Rules are rules. We cannot punish those who obey just because there are more rulebreakers. What’s the point of such rules?”

“Do rules matter more than life? Those are ten children, ten souls. They will vanish if they die.”

“Please finalize your answer soon.”

Ling Xiao: “I object.”

“Are you sure you want to use your objection? It’s your only chance, and you’ll be punished after the game.”

“I’m sure. Both sides involve lives. I don’t want to choose either.”

“Objection accepted. Skipping this question. Next question.”

On the screen, the child on the abandoned track disappeared and was replaced by another person. The expressions of Ying Feng and Ling Xiao both changed to some extent.

“Now, the person you see on the screen has changed. Each of you sees the other. The same question applies: if you don’t change the track, the child will get hit. If you change it, your other half will get hit. Choose: A. Change track; B. Don’t change.”

Ling Xiao & Ying Feng: “A.”

“This is the first time you two have agreed since starting the game. Even the player who insisted on rules has now abandoned them. Do you not care about each other’s lives?”

Ling Xiao responded seriously, “I have vowed to protect children with my life. Even if that person is me, I will still choose A. I believe Ying Feng would make the same decision, so his choice is my answer.”

“That concludes this question. Next question: If a weak person you dislike is in danger, would you help? A. Yes; B. No.”

Ling Xiao & Ying Feng: “A.”

“If helping this person could potentially put you in danger, would you help? A. Yes; B. No.”

Ying Feng: “B.”

Ling Xiao: “It’s just a possibility, not a certainty, right?”

“Please answer quickly.”

“B.”

“If helping someone you dislike endangers someone you like, would you help? A. Yes; B. No.”

Ling Xiao & Ying Feng: “B.”

“Conversely, if the one needing help is someone you like, but helping them will certainly endanger and even kill someone you dislike, would you help? A. Yes; B. No.”

Ying Feng: “A.”

Ling Xiao: “…A.”

“Why the hesitation?”

“Because the person I dislike might be someone someone else likes… Never mind, I was just saying.”

“If both are people you like, one is your friend and the other your lover, helping one means losing the other, would you help? A. Yes; B. No.”

“What kind of crazy question is that? I refuse to answer!”

“I’m sorry, you’ve already used up your objection.”

“Use yours,” Ling Xiao said to Ying Feng.

“I don’t want to use it yet. I choose B. I don’t have friends.”

“You say it as if you have a lover.”

NPC: “Please make a choice quickly.”

“I choose A. I don’t have a lover!”

“Are you sure?”

“Sure!”

“Reversing polarity.”

Suddenly, Ling Xiao was thrown out, and the floor on the other side collapsed, revealing molten lava beneath.

Ying Feng clenched his hand and found that the Qizi Summoning had no effect here. He immediately leaped over and grabbed Ling Xiao’s hand. The two hung off the cliff with a great repelling force trying to separate them.

“A friendly reminder: this is a virtual game. You won’t get truly hurt, but there will be a pain sensation. If someone falls, they will endure five minutes of scorching pain. This is the punishment for different opinions. If you want to avoid the punishment, just change your answer.”

As Ling Xiao slowly descended, he realized that even if this was fake, he didn’t want to fall into the lava. But the repelling force from the magnetic polarity was too strong. Right now, both of their chest symbols read “S”. If this continued, Ying Feng would soon lose his grip.

“I…”

With a grunt of effort, Ying Feng swung Ling Xiao away from the lava. But due to the force, Ying Feng himself fell off the cliff. As they got farther apart, Ling Xiao watched as Ying Feng was about to fall into the lava.

“I choose B!”

Bang—the lava disappeared, and the letter on Ling Xiao’s chest reverted to “N”. The two, suspended in midair, collided and then landed on the ground, entwined.

“That hurt.”

Ling Xiao rubbed his forehead. The collision was real and had given him a headache.

“This game is too twisted. I’m not playing anymore.”

“Sorry, you chose the hard mode. It can’t be manually terminated.”

“How can it be terminated?”

“After three different choices and three punishments, the game will be deemed a failure.”

“…This is such a scam!”

“Are you ready for the next question?”

Ying Feng held Ling Xiao’s hand and got up. “Since you’ve chosen the hard mode, let’s play seriously till the end. We have two more chances.”

Ling Xiao took a deep breath. “Let’s continue!”

“Next question: If your most respected mentor seeks your help, but it’s against your moral principles, would you: A. Help; B. Not help.”

Ling Xiao & Ying Feng: “B.”

“If there’s something you’ve always longed for, but obtaining it would mean betraying your morals, would you choose: A. Get it; B. Give it up.”

Ling Xiao & Ying Feng: “B.”

“If there are two people standing in front of you now and you can only choose one with the other one dying, would you choose: A. Lover from your past life; B. Partner from this life.”

Ling Xiao’s expression tightened. He quickly turned his head, wondering, ‘Ying Feng, what would you choose?’

---

Kinky Thoughts:

The train problem in this chapter comes from the Trolley Problem. It is an ethical dilemma where you’re presented with a problem of whether to sacrifice one person to save a larger number.

There is a runaway trolley barreling down the tracks. Ahead, on the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move. The trolley is headed straight for them. You are standing some distance off in the train yard, next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the trolley will switch to a different set of tracks. However, you notice that there is one person on the sidetrack. You have two (and only two) options:

1. Do nothing, in which case the trolley will kill the five people on the main track.
2. Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the sidetrack where it will kill one person.

Which is the more ethical option? Or, more simply: What is the right thing to do? 

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>