Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

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Chapter 4: Ice Waterfall

The black bear’s pounce caused the entire sleigh to jolt violently! Unaware of what was happening behind them, the reindeer kept pulling hard, but with the added weight of a bear, their speed immediately slowed down.

The other three people sensed something was wrong and instinctively looked back, feeling their scalps tingle at the sight!

The black bear had stabilized itself and began to struggle into the sled.

Xu Wang, unarmed and desperate, kicked at the bear’s head!

The bear didn’t dodge but instead opened its mouth to catch it!

Xu Wang realized something was wrong, but it was too late to retract his kick!

Just as his foot was about to enter the bear’s mouth, a large leg appeared out of nowhere and kicked the bear’s forehead!

The force of the kick sent the bear’s head reeling backward, and instead of biting Xu Wang’s foot as intended, it only caught the tip. Xu Wang used the reaction force from the bear’s teeth to retract his leg quickly!

He felt a sudden chill on his foot—he had managed to pull back his leg but not his shoe.

Wu Sheng kicked the bear’s paw off the sled with two more swift kicks until the black bear fell into the snow with a thud. He then turned to Xu Wang and yelled, “Are you trying to lose your foot? Don’t you know you can take injuries out with you? Are you planning to hop on one leg for the rest of your life?!”

Xu Wang’s lips parted and closed repeatedly, but he couldn’t muster a single reply.

The words were well-intentioned… but why did it sound so snarky!

“Fuck, this thing must be fake. It’s a robot bear, right? How does it not get tired from running?!” Sun Jiang cursed, drawing everyone’s attention back. Sure enough, the black bear had caught up again, having been kicked off by Wu Sheng only to close the gap once more.

Kuang Jinxin was hugging the rear of a reindeer, making him the farthest from the bear among his companions. Yet, this did little to comfort him. Looking back at his partners and then at the bear, he felt like crying. “We shook it off easily on the sled yesterday. What’s happening today?”

“This won’t do.” Wu Sheng raised his arm to check the map. “We’re about to reach the coordinate point. If we can’t shake it off by then, we only have two choices: one, we stop the sled and risk getting killed by it while searching for a trigger prompt, or two, we don’t stop, and all our efforts tonight will be in vain.”

Xu Wang patted his shoulder. “Just say the third option directly.”

Wu Sheng was surprised. “You know I have a third option?”

Xu Wang smiled at him—an innocent, friendly smile. “Once you start showing off, that means you’re confident.”

Wu Sheng: “……”

He wondered if returning to his country had been a mistake.

“When we get close to the coordinate point, none of us should act. Wait for the bear to climb in successfully, then we’ll all jump off and let the running sled take the bear away,” Wu Sheng explained his plan succinctly.

Kuang Jinxin swallowed hard but was the first to agree. “It’s risky, but it seems feasible.”

Sun Jiang had no objections, which counted as tacit agreement.

Xu Wang stopped joking and nodded seriously.

With a shared goal, Wu Sheng looked down at his arm. “According to our speed on the map, we have about two more minutes to reach the coordinate point. Be ready.”

Kuang Jinxin and Sun Jiang rolled up their sleeves and stared at the maps on their arms, identical to Wu Sheng’s.

Xu Wang leaned in and saw they were looking at [Cheat Sheet] on their arms. He hurriedly opened his own [Cheat Sheet], and the same content immediately appeared—a small map with a coordinate point marked (116.4085, 39.9616) and, not far below it, four tiny squares moving steadily towards the coordinate point.

Xu Wang remembered what Wu Sheng had said about needing to reach a specific coordinate point, and he belatedly realized that the reindeer sled wasn’t running aimlessly but was precisely heading towards the coordinate point! The small map represented the area, and the four tiny squares were themselves!

The sleigh shook violently, its speed drastically slowing down—the black bear had once again dug its claws into the sleigh’s backrest!

Looking at the map, they saw the coordinate point was imminent. The four looked at each other and nodded in unison—it was now or never!

As the black bear struggled upwards, the four held their breath and stayed still, except for Kuang Jinxin, who was already far enough. The other three leaned forward as much as possible, giving the bear ample space to climb in.

Finally, the bear flipped over the backrest and landed with a heavy “thud” into the sled.

That sound was the signal, and all four leapt from the sled in unison!

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Fwish—

Suddenly lighter, the sled gave the reindeer a burst of energy. They lifted their antlers and dashed off, pulling the sled away in an instant.

Xu Wang rolled several times in the snow before coming to a stop. He had jumped while the sled was still moving slowly, but the snow was unforgiving. He felt his shoulder wound tear open from the impact, the pain going from intermittent to constant.

The others fell around him, rolling into “snowmen”. Wu Sheng, closest to him, was already getting up and coming over to help him. “Is your shoulder okay?”

Xu Wang didn’t move, but then the person just reached out and pulled him up.

Wu Sheng had grabbed his uninjured shoulder, whether by chance or intentionally.

After standing up, Xu Wang quickly withdrew his arm and subtly lowered his eyes. He brushed the snow off his body and, amidst a pounding heartbeat, pretended to be nonchalant by whistling. “It’s fine. Remember how I used to take on three at a time? You know that.”

Wu Sheng finally caught the chance to return a similarly innocent smile. “Yeah, I remember when I called the teacher over, you were already being tossed into the soccer goal by those kids.”

Despite the years, Xu Wang still got riled up when this incident was mentioned. “Why didn’t you come over to help directly? What’s the point of calling the teacher!”

“Nonsense.” Wu Sheng raised an eyebrow, exuding a righteous aura. “You were picking fights with those big guys, and I was still small back then. What good would I have done by going there? In times like those, you need to be smart!”

“That being said, brother, I don’t really want to interrupt your reunion here, but…” Kuang Jinxin timidly extended his hand in front of them, then slowly directed their gaze somewhere. “It seems like the bear jumped down with us.”

A few meters away, the black bear that had taken a hard fall seemed to just regain its senses, huffing and puffing on the ground.

Xu Wang widened his eyes at Wu Sheng. “Weren’t we supposed to jump down and then let the sled carry the bear away? Why did the bear jump down too?”

Wu Sheng gave him an innocent look. “You’re asking the wrong person. You should be asking the bear.”

Fuck me!

Xu Wang felt like screaming in frustration. Why was it that every time he decided to trust and rely on this guy, he always ended up failing in a hundred and one ways!

“What are we waiting for?” Seeing the black bear struggling to get up, Sun Jiang was almost ready to beat someone. “Guys, quickly find the coordinates!”

He was the first to start walking, checking all directions to align with the coordinates.

Xu Wang also wanted to help, but just as he took a step, he inhaled sharply from the cold—only then did he remember he was missing a shoe!

He hadn’t felt anything while sledding or rolling in the snow, as he was too busy bickering with Wu Sheng. Only now, as he tried walking, did he realize his foot was numb from the cold!

When Wu Sheng saw Xu Wang suddenly raise one foot in the stance of a golden rooster standing on one leg, his memory came flooding back, recalling the harrowing moment of “bear snapping off a foot” on the sleight. Without thinking, he immediately crouched down, ready to take off one of his shoes to give to Xu Wang, but as soon as his hand touched the shoelace, he heard a “ding—”.

No, four dings.

A crisp alert sounded from everyone’s arms.

Xu Wang lifted his arm, exited the [Cheat Sheet] to return to the main four options, and noticed a new little “1” in the top right corner of [Stationery Box]. Upon clicking, what was previously an empty slot now contained [(Defensive) My Skate Shoes].

“What the hell are skate shoes?” Xu Wang looked to his companions for help, bewildered. “Are we supposed to use the soles to hit the bear?”

Wu Sheng, looking down at his own arm and hearing Xu Wang’s question, looked up just as confused, a mix of bewilderment and perplexity in his eyes. “What skate shoes?”

Xu Wang, utterly baffled, waved his arm, assuming everyone else was in the same boat. “Isn’t there a pair of skate shoes in the stationery box?”

Wu Sheng shook his head. “Our update was for the [Cheat Sheet].”

Xu Wang was stunned, not knowing what to make of it. “Aren’t we… a team…”

Wu Sheng pondered for a moment before a hint of realization flicked in his eyes. “It must be different roles. Who gets what might be random, or maybe it’s because you’re missing a shoe, so it gave you that item.”

Xu Wang: “Then what did your [Cheat Sheet] update?”

Wu Sheng: “Stay still.”

“What kind of hint is that? And…” Xu Wang looked him up and down. “If you’re supposed to stay still, why are you squatting?”

Wu Sheng looked off into the distance, refusing to answer.

Kuang Jinxin’s pitiful voice sounded from beside him. “Xu Ge, I think it might not be a hint. It’s an order…”

Xu Wang looked in the direction of the sound and saw Kuang Jinxin two steps away, with one foot forward and the other back, the front leg bent and the back leg stretched, maintaining a bow-step forward charge posture. His stance seemed fierce and vigorous, but his expression was one of pitiful misery.

Putting it together with the “Stay still” from the [Cheat Sheet]…

Xu Wang’s face fell. “You guys didn’t…”

Kuang Jinxin’s mouth drooped even further, looking utterly dejected. “As soon as I stepped forward, I got stuck.”

Xu Wang understood. No wonder Wu Sheng’s hand froze while touching his shoe. But luckily for them, they had the [Cheat Sheet] always in view. If they had updated the [Stationery Box] like him, they wouldn’t have been able to move at all to check it.

In a whirl of thoughts, Xu Wang looked towards Sun Jiang, who was also immobile except for his neck. The only luck he had was that when he was “frozen”, he wasn’t in any odd position and now stood as straight as a post.

Seeing Xu Wang looking, Sun Jiang, nearly bursting with urgency, yelled, “What are you dawdling for? Use whatever you’ve got. It might just be the game-changer!”

Wu Sheng was much calmer, understanding Xu Wang’s worry, and said assuredly, “Don’t worry about us. If the trigger for everyone arriving is to stay still, then staying still won’t pose a fatal risk. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense.”

Reassured, Xu Wang took a deep breath and activated [My Skate Shoes]!

The moment the icon disappeared, Xu Wang felt himself suddenly ten centimeters taller. When he looked down again, the remaining shoe had vanished, replaced by a pair of skates… with four wheels underneath.

Aren’t these just fucking roller skates?!

“Careful—”

The three people rooted in place suddenly shouted in unison!

Xu Wang only felt a shadow approaching from the corner of his eye. He shifted to the left and slid out several meters before realizing the snow here was extremely hard, as if compressed by a road roller, making skating effortless!

The black bear pounced and missed. As it got up to pounce again, it noticed three more motionless figures closer to itself and immediately shifted its target!

Xu Wang, seeing this, nearly stopped breathing. He could dodge, but his three teammates seemed as if they were grown into the snow!

In a life-and-death moment, Xu Wang thoughtlessly scooped up a hard chunk of snow and fiercely threw it at the bear’s back!

But he was a step too late. By the time the snow chunk fell, the bear had already pounced on the three!

Bang—

A huge collision sound that hurt just to hear.

Xu Wang’s eyes widened. He was certain there was nothing around the three, but the bear hit an invisible wall just a foot away from them and slid down dejectedly.

The impact was severe, adding to the injuries from a previous sled fall that hadn’t fully healed. The bear didn’t even groan and lay completely still a foot away in the snow.

Xu Wang was thoroughly confused by the series of events. He sadly realized that in this territory, he was just a weakling* with neither ability nor intelligence!

*Scum power of 5. This is a reference to Dragon Ball where Raditz first lands on Earth and, using his combat analysis lens, measures a farmer with a combat power of only 5 (the scum in this case basically means a five combat-powered trash). It’s now slang used to refer to someone who performs poorly in battles or competitions. 

His teammates, rooted like pine trees, meant Xu Wang couldn’t run. But with no new hints appearing, what else could he do?

In desperation, Xu Wang looked up at the sky, foolishly hoping for a guidebook to fall from above.

Of course, that didn’t happen.

But when he lowered his gaze, he noticed the scenery he had previously ignored.

A whole cliff of ice waterfall.

Right in front of him, behind his three teammates, the massive waterfall was like a galaxy falling, frozen in its most beautiful and spectacular moment by the cold winter. It was crystal clear, surging and flying, and if you listened closely, you could almost hear the sound of water like shattered jade curtains.

The ice waterfall seemed to respond to his searching gaze, suddenly reflecting a bright, crystal clear light!

Xu Wang was blinded and couldn’t open his eyes until the intense light faded. When he looked again, the words “Dragon Coiling and Tiger Crouching*” in golden characters appeared on the ice waterfall, as if written with a brush dipped in gold powder, strong and majestic!

*(龙盘虎踞) Idiom used to describe a place with a strategic geographical location that’s easy to defend but difficult to attack. It conveys a sense of grandeur or majesty of a location, suggesting the place is imposing like a tiger or dragon.

Stunned, Xu Wang watched for a while before reacting. The characters suddenly transformed from “Dragon Coiling and Tiger Crouching” to “Golden Wind and Jade Dew*”. It was then that he noticed a countdown in the upper left corner of the ice waterfall, starting from ten, then nine, eight…

*(金风玉露) Idiom referring to the scenery of autumn.

Confused, Xu Wang’s changed expression was fully captured by Wu Sheng. “What happened? Where did that light come from?”

Coming back to his senses, Xu Wang hurriedly pointed forward. “There’s an ice waterfall on the cliff behind you. After that flash of light, words started appearing on the ice, first ‘Dragon Coiling and Tiger Crouching,’ then ‘Golden Wind and Jade Dew’…”

“Tweet tweet—”

A warning-like piercing whistle cut through the air. The countdown that had only two seconds left suddenly reset to ten seconds, and “Golden Wind and Jade Dew” disappeared, replaced by a new phrase “Summer Insect Speaks of Ice*.”

*(夏虫语冰) Idiom referring to someone who has limited experience and perspective trying to understand something beyond their capabilities, akin to a summer insect, which never experiences winter, to speak of ice and snow. Basically, someone who is shortsighted due to their limited experience or understanding and doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

“I get it!” Xu Wang had a moment of inspiration. “It wants us to play a guessing game with idioms! I describe, you guess, but I can’t say the words in the idiom, so when I just mentioned the literal words, the countdown ended early and switched to a new phrase!”

Wu Sheng understood, but judging by the look of “astonishment” in his eyes, it was obvious that the “level” he had gone through so much trouble to trigger was far from what he had originally expected.

Sun Jiang was outright internally fuming, his face clouded with a “are you fucking kidding me?” expression.

“I’m good at this. Our class played it last year at the party!” The happiest was Kuang Jinxin, forgetting the bear lying a foot under his feet, eyes brimming with eagerness. “Xu Ge, what’s the phrase now? Hurry and start!”

“Okay, but we only have ten seconds per word, and it changes after that, so we must be quick!” Xu Wang said in one breath, immediately turning to “Summer Insect Speaks of Ice” and started organizing his thoughts. “It’s like… someone… who’s quite narrow-minded…”

The countdown ended.

The ice waterfall changed to “A Face like Peach Blossoms*.”

(人面桃花) Refers to a woman’s appearance complementing peach blossoms. Later, it was used to describe when a man and woman fall in love by chance and the man reminisces about the past, evoking a sense of nostalgia and melancholy for past beauty.

Kuang Jinxin was mentally counting down, and as Xu Wang suddenly stopped, he quickly realized it was time for a new phrase, hurriedly suggesting. “Xu Ge, you don’t have to explain. You can use actions, context—whatever gets us there fastest!”

“Stay calm, don’t rush.” Wu Sheng also accepted reality and quickly got into “combat” mode. “We’ll guess together. Ten seconds is enough.”

His voice was steady, a stark contrast to when he’s mocking or joking, which made him a calming force.

The phrase changed again—“Friendship as Strong as Cutting One’s Throat*”.

*(刎颈之交) This is a bit of a literal translation. Idiom referring to a friendship that’s so strong and loyal that you are willing to risk your lives for each other’s sake, sharing a bond of life and death (literally cutting your own throat for your friend).

Xu Wang made a decisive move, lifting his hand in a gesture of cutting his own throat, repeatedly acting out, and saying, “Two people are very close, very close!”

Kuang Jinxin watched Xu Wang repeatedly pulling something from his neck to his chest when suddenly a lightbulb went off and his eyes suddenly brightened. “The Love of Boat Trackers*!”

*The joke here is that Kuang Jinxin thinks Wu Sheng’s action is “rowing” and the hint given, so he thought of The Love of Boat Trackers, which is not an idiom, but actually an (old) song by Yin Xiangjie feat. Yun Wenhua. From what I gather from the lyrics, it’s basically about the love between a girl and a boat rower. You can click on the YouTube link for the song and translation.

Xu Wang despaired. “Idioms! Idioms, brother!”

Are all people born after ’95 this nostalgic for oldies?!

The timer ended, and the words changed—“Hundred Years of Good Harmony*.”

*(百年好合) Idiom referring to the happy union of men and women. This is often used as a blessing for newlywed couples (like “Wishing you a lifetime of happiness together”).

Xu Wang went all out, blowing a kiss at Wu Sheng. “I want to join you in matrimony—what’s next?”

This was the context method Kuang Jinxin talked about, giving the first part to guide his teammates to say the next.

Wu Sheng caught the flying kiss and the underlying message his classmate wanted to convey. “Clouds and rain in Wushan*.”

*(巫山云雨) Idiom referring to (unite in) sexual intercourse. It comes from a story involving Yaoji, the Goddess of Wu Mountain (Wushan). 

Xu Wang: “……”

Wu Sheng slightly frowned, surprised his answer wasn’t correct.

“The joy between fish and water*?”

*(鱼水之欢) Yet another idiom referring to sex. Comes from “The Romance of the West Chamber” by Wang Shifu.

“……”

“Blending like water and milk*?”

*(水乳交融) Idiom referring to blending in perfect harmony (meaning people getting along well with each other). In this context though, it means really well (if you get my drift).

“……”

“Like dry wood and a blazing fire*?”

*(干柴烈火) Idiom referring to passionate sex.

“Can you stop thinking dirty?!”

With Xu Wang’s desperate shout, the phrase changed.

No one noticed the black bear lying on the ground had moved slightly.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Just a note: It is highly recommended you read the translation notes, as they give a bigger context to understanding the game and also a lot of the jokes in this novel. Many items/props (stationery) in this novel are also idioms or cultural references, so it’s best to understand them to get a better picture of how they work.

I’m wheezing from this chapter.

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