Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

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Chapter 12: Shocking Changes

“Finally saw me?” Qian Ai gritted his teeth, staring at his two old classmates as he asked, with his voice rising subtly, “Weren’t you supposed to be taking your little cousin on a trip?”

Xu Wang quickly pulled Kuang Jinxin over. “My cousin!”

Wu Sheng, not to be outdone, raised an eyebrow in retort. “Weren’t you supposed to be eating your way across China?”

Qian Ai pulled out a roujiamo from his pocket and took a big bite, chewing furiously and grumbling. “These days, you can’t even trust old classmates!”

Kuang Jinxin, completely baffled, looked from Qian Ai to Wu Sheng and Xu Wang, struggling to make sense of the situation amidst the aroma of the roujiamo. “Is this…a new team?”

After a brief exchange, they managed to share their “sorrowful” stories.

Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, and Kuang Jinxin had come straight here after their 1/23 submission. In comparison, Qian Ai had it worse, being the only one in his team wanting to come here. He had to leave his group and couldn’t form a new one here, so he’d been wandering around every day, leaving at five in the morning, for three days now.

As the saying goes, cherish the thread of fate that’s linked by the call of the Owl*.

*This is a play on the buzzword saying: Cherish this fate with the help of the internet (网络一线牵珍惜这段缘). It’s a common expression between netizens used to express friendship (basically, the internet brought us together, so let’s cherish that fate). In this case, rather than the internet, it’s the Owl.

Though shocked at first, they felt a tinge of excitement at reuniting—better to join the familiar than let the opportunity pass to strangers. This time, the list for additional members only had three names, still prefixed with 1/23. Excluding Qian Ai, none of the remaining two were familiar to Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, or Kuang Jinxin. Even the names they had seen the night before, including Sun Jiang, were gone.

Qian Ai, having spent three extra days here, had figured out more patterns. “Adding members probably only works with people in the same coordinate range. Like if you’re in Beijing, you can only invite those also in Beijing. Here, you can only invite those also here. Otherwise, how can a team scattered in different places pass the challenge together?”

This made sense, hence the different names on the lists on consecutive nights.

Qian Ai joined the team but felt conflicted. “Is this damn place only haunting our class?”

Xu Wang empathized deeply. To think, old classmates scattered across the world struggling to make a living, now reunited in a magical and uncertain ordeal—it was enough to bring tears to those who knew them, especially their old high school teacher.

Unlike them, Wu Sheng was less sentimental and more observant, scouting for potential dangers or clues. However, his search turned up nothing but new questions—when they parted ways with Sun Jiang on the snowfield, he disappeared immediately, but when they met Qian Ai, he hadn’t teamed up with them yet. This was a seemingly stark contradiction.

Kuang Jinxin’s sudden exclamation broke Wu Sheng’s train of thought. “I remember now! Why does that name sound so familiar!” He eagerly sought confirmation from Wu Sheng and Xu Wang. “Wu Ge, Xu Ge, he’s the Qian Ai you mentioned while guessing idioms on the snowfield, right? The one who can inhale food like a gale!”

As Qian Ai listened, his eyes narrowed until, facing his old classmates, they were sharp slits. “Old friends, care to explain?”

Wu Sheng nonchalantly spread his hands. “We were just stating the facts… Mmph…”

Xu Wang covered his mouth, ruining the team’s mood, and offered Qian Ai a smile of solidarity. “It’s a long story…”

As they were mending their friendship, a “four-in-one” ding suddenly tensed the atmosphere.

Everyone checked their arms. [Cheat Sheet] — [Passenger Kuang Jinxin, Passenger Qian Ai, Passenger Wu Sheng, Passenger Xu Wang, please proceed to counter G4 for check-in as soon as possible.]

Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, and Kuang Jinxin’s first instinct was to look at Qian Ai, who was bewildered. “Don’t look at me. I’ve never successfully formed a team before. I just stand here foolishly each time I enter. Today’s the first time I’ve received this message.”

Clearly, the Owl only provided new instructions once a team was complete. And now, 2/23 officially began.

Despite no change in their surroundings, a sudden tension gripped everyone.

G4 wasn’t far ahead. It was manned by a handsome guy at the counter but was devoid of any passengers. As the four approached, he efficiently printed out four boarding passes and tossed them onto the counter without looking up. “Go through security. Board at Gate 17. You’re running late.”

His voice was low and eerily magnetic.

Xu Wang wanted to chat more, but the guy suddenly put up a “Temporarily Closed” sign and left without looking back, disappearing behind the luggage conveyor like a ghost. Xu Wang, staring at the empty counter, felt a chill. “Is he… even real?”

“Don’t know, but if you chat with him, he can answer anything.” Qian Ai shared, having nearly chatted up with all the ground staff in his three days, “But as soon as you mention this place is fake, an unreal world, they either don’t understand or look at you like you’re insane.”

“NPCs,” Kuang Jinxin suddenly murmured, breaking his usual silence. “Like NPCs in a game.”

“That’s not quite right,” countered Qian Ai. “NPCs usually repeat a few lines, but I’ve nearly dug out their ancestors’ history. Whether you chat directly or beat around the bush, they can answer everything!”

“Artificial intelligence,” Wu Sheng chimed in, his eyes scanning the passersby as if inspecting lines of code. “Given current technology, seamless human-machine communication is possible, especially here.”

Indeed, especially here.

In a magical space where anything can happen, a mysterious place that forcibly drags people in, it wouldn’t be surprising if these were all willing extras, not to mention if artificial intelligence was advanced enough to simulate human interaction perfectly.

“Ding—”

[Passenger Kuang Jinxin, Passenger Qian Ai, Passenger Wu Sheng, Passenger Xu Wang. Please proceed through security to Gate 17 for boarding immediately!]

The incessant beeping of the [Cheat Sheet] sounded like an urgent call to action.

When destiny calls, they charge forward. Without hesitation, the group headed for the security checkpoint.

With nothing to their names, the four passed through the waiting hall easily, but Xu Wang noticed Kuang Jinxin’s unusually low spirits. Entering such a place would dampen anyone’s mood, but Kuang Jinxin was typically optimistic and lively, making his current state all the more abnormal. Upon inquiry, it turned out that while he was waiting with his backpack for the entrance to open, he was whisked into the terminal in a dizzying spin—he remained, but his backpack was gone.

Though Kuang Jinxin’s backpack lacked valuable items, it contained his carefully chosen “essentials for living”. He claimed that no matter the environment, whether it required food or drink, warmth or cooling, overnight stays or long treks, dancing or singing, his bag had all the “equipment”. Losing it was indeed disheartening.

Xu Wang patted his brother’s shoulder, feeling quite qualified to console him. “Don’t worry, it’s not lost. Based on my experience, your bag is probably lying safely on the hotel floor right now.”

“But I didn’t put any dangerous items in my bag.” Kuang Jinxin lamented with a droop of his eyebrows, looking quite wronged.

“That’s because your bag is too big!” Xu Wang knocked on his head. “Come on, cheer up. No matter how much you mourn, the bag won’t come back. We need to focus on what’s ahead. Who knows what kind of demons or ghosts are waiting for us on the plane.”

“I just thought of something.” Wu Sheng, who was leading the way, turned back abruptly. “If we get ejected back to reality on the plane, wouldn’t that technically be like jumping off a building?”

Xu Wang, following close behind, nearly bumped into him. Barely steadying himself, he was confronted with this brutal thought and felt utterly dispirited. “Can’t you say something more auspicious?”

Wu Sheng tilted his head, then changed the topic. “It probably won’t happen. If it can eject you the moment a bear pounces on you, it means there’s a ‘protection mechanism’ that’s inherently present, so it should’ve anticipated and prevented an ‘ejection from plane’ bug. Okay, I’m fine now.”

Xu Wang: “……”

Kuang Jinxin: “Wu Ge, you might be fine…”

Qian Ai: “But we’re all freaking out!!!”

The path through the terminal seemed endless, and Gate 17 felt like a mythical place that only existed in legends. They walked and walked, passing gates numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, even 20, and 30, but Gate 17 was elusive until it finally revealed itself after more than twenty minutes.

By their estimate, they had walked about 1.5-2 kilometers—coincidentally, the distance between the hotel and Zhenbeitai.

After checking in and boarding the plane, they encountered a flight attendant standing at the entrance with a warm and beautiful smile. The four of them took their seats according to their tickets: Wu Sheng in first class, Kuang Jinxin in business class, Qian Ai near the economy wing, and Xu Wang at the back of the economy class.

As they settled, the plane began to taxi slowly, and soon, Xu Wang felt a slight weightlessness and ringing in his ears—the plane had taken off.

What if they got ejected from the plane now?

Xu Wang cursed Wu Sheng for raising this concern, as it had now taken root in his subconscious, even causing his nearly healed shoulder wound to throb again.

“Don’t be nervous. The discomfort only lasts during takeoff and ascent. It’ll be smooth sailing soon,” a kind and hefty voice said next to him.

Turning, Xu Wang saw a middle-aged man wearing glasses sitting beside him. He looked scholarly and elegant, like a professor or teacher.

“First time flying?” the man asked, seeing Xu Wang’s silence. His tone wasn’t intrusive but seemed more like an attempt to alleviate the awkwardness of silence.

His voice was different from the ground staff’s earlier—naturally friendly and indistinguishable from an ordinary person. Yet Xu Wang, still uneasy from the lingering shadows of distrust, asked abruptly, “What’s your name?”

The man appeared slightly taken aback, as if wondering, ‘Is this how people chat?’

Watching the man’s minutely detailed expression, Xu Wang almost believed he was “human”, until he heard the response, “I’m Yin Yilingling (100)*, what about you?”

*Clarity: The characters introduced here are [surname] + [number as their first name]. I’ll put the translated text in parenthesis, so you’ll know what they mean.

What kind of parents would name their child that?

Not giving up, Xu Wang asked the young woman to his right. “What’s your name?”

She smiled sweetly. “Mu Jiuba (98).”

Xu Wang looked past her, asking another passenger across the aisle. “What about you?”

The three passengers in the last row all turned to him, introducing themselves forthrightly—

“Ping Jiuwu (95).”

“Huang Jiuliu (96).”

“He Jiuqi (97).”

As Xu Wang faced their smiling visages, he found himself unable to muster a smile in return.

[You still have four hours~~]

A voice filled with schadenfreude and a hint of mischief suddenly rang in his ear, its playfulness masking a sinister undertone. Xu Wang was all too familiar with it.

It had sent him back home.

It congratulated them on their submission.

Four hours? What did that mean?

As confusion brewed, a passenger near the window in the front started screaming, “There’s a bomb! Ahhhhh—”

…Can the hint be any more blunt?!

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