Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

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Chapter 14: Counterattack

[Owl: Someone has used [(Defense) Cicada Sheds Its Shell] on you, oh~~]

As the notification sounded in their ears, Xu Wang, Kuang Jinxin, and Qian Ai’s first reaction was: Damn, it’s not over yet?!

The next second, they landed on the ground with a “thud”, like a few potatoes falling out of a broken plastic bag, rolling away in all directions.

Though the fall hurt, the extreme cold and lack of oxygen from high altitude were instantly relieved. They instinctively took deep breaths, and their stiffened minds slowly recovered, becoming active again.

“It’s tough that you even thought to use your [Stationery Box],” Xu Wang recovered his strength and quickly got up to move his arms and legs. Of course, every joint hurt terribly, but there were no real broken bones or injuries. It seemed their earlier guess was right; the “Owl” intended to keep the damage within a certain limit.

Wu Sheng was already up before him, looking around to assess the situation. “It’s my fault. I had doubts when I met Qian Ai and should have thought it through, not getting carried away by the [Cheat Sheet] and charging forward blindly.”

“Wu Sheng admitting a mistake” was definitely a rare creature. Xu Wang’s heart softened unexpectedly, and gentle words came out. “There’s nothing right or wrong. To be honest, we are even less thoughtful than you. When I met Lao Qian, I didn’t even have any doubts. Just surprised and happy.”

Wu Sheng still shook his head. “You guys not thinking of it is normal. I really shouldn’t have made this mistake.”

“……” Watching the sincerity and seriousness on his face, Xu Wang wanted to give him a roundhouse kick.

If he softened up to this guy again, he would be no better than a pig!!!

In the meantime, Kuang Jinxin and Qian Ai also got up one after another. The former looked the most pitiful—his nose red from the cold, his originally fair face all dusty, making one strongly suspect that he landed face-first when they got free. The latter was much better—swinging his arms and moving his neck, back to being a burly man.

“Did we… get tricked? And then saved by Class Monitor again?” When Qian Ai heard Xu Wang’s “It’s tough that you even thought to use your [Stationery Box]” while lying on the ground, he connected it with the prior events; the fact couldn’t be clearer.

“Lao Qian.” Xu Wang asked, “You were at the airport for three days. Didn’t you meet anyone alone?”

“Not a soul.” Qian Ai raised both hands, and every cell in his body wished to prove his innocence. “If there was anyone as hurried as us, I wouldn’t have let them go. Even if we couldn’t team up, a chat would’ve been relieving.”

Xu Wang understood. “It’s not that you didn’t meet anyone. It’s that they didn’t want you to meet anyone.” He sighed. “We’re the fools here. The other teams are much shrewder.”

Kuang Jinxin only understood the situation then and looked shocked. “There are other teams on the plane?!”

Xu Wang massaged his forehead. Kuang Jinxin’s naivety could get him sold if he ever walks past two miles and still helps the seller count the money.

“But that’s not right,” Kuang Jinxin muttered in confusion. “We were all sucked in, wanting to turn in our submission. Shouldn’t we help each other to get through together?”

Xu Wang asked him, “What if there can only be one team that can pass in the end?”

Kuang Jinxin didn’t even need to think. “Then it’s fair competition. Every man for himself.”

Xu Wang: “But what if you have the chance to get ahead?”

Kuang Jinxin frowned disapprovingly. “That’s not getting ahead. That’s a despicable ambush, like false starting in a track and field. You’d get disqualified!”

Xu Wang: “……”

Alright, he took back what he said. Not two miles; this kid could be sold within two steps and still help count the money.

“This is the airplane’s cargo hold.” Wu Sheng, after observing, gave a certain conclusion.

Hearing this, the three of them seriously looked around. It was a long and narrow spacious area, precisely assembled by metal-like plates, with a flat ground covered in longitudinal tracks. It indeed resembled an airplane’s cargo hold, but there was very little cargo. There were only two wooden racks at the end of the hold, and the rest was vast empty space.

“Is this the same plane as before?” Qian Ai asked uncertainly.

“It should be,” Wu Sheng said. “Otherwise, we’d just be waiting dry until five to snap back to reality, and the [Cicada Shed Its Shell] bringing us here would be meaningless.”

Qian Ai nervously swallowed. “So we need to go back to the cabin… to defuse a bomb?”

“Lao Qian, your thinking is problematic.” Xu Wang came over, criticizing his teammate with his hands on his hips. “What time is it now, and you’re still thinking about defusing bombs? We just got brutalized. Don’t you want to fight back?”

“Of course, it’s good to fight back, but clearly the opponent is more experienced, so shouldn’t we plan a few more schemes…” In the situation of unclear friend and foe, Qian Ai was always the cautious one. “Don’t just think about revenge. Also plan for escape and survival…”

His voice grew lower, as even Kuang Jinxin came over. Now it was three against one.

Kuang Jinxin: “I don’t agree with an ambush, but they’ve already hit us. Of course we should respond with our spirit!”

Xu Wang: “If you don’t speak out after being tricked once, you’ll be tricked a second time. Better to lose than to flee.”

Wu Sheng: “What do you mean lose? Why would we lose? There’s no such word in my dictionary.”

Qian Ai: “……”

No one told him during the 1/23 submission that it would turn into a massive multiplayer online battle! He was just a peace-loving idiom-guessing enthusiast. TAT

“By the way,” Xu Wang suddenly said, “I saw them.”

The sentence pulled back Qian Ai’s attention, as well as Wu Sheng and Kuang Jinxin’s.

“Men, women, old, young, tall, short, fat, thin?” Wu Sheng directly asked the core question. After all, knowing the enemy is the key to revenge.

Xu Wang tried to recall and describe the “enemy appearance” as precisely and concisely as possible. “Male, male, male, male… Tall, handsome, thin, fair!”

Kuang Jinxin was stunned.

Qian Ai felt something was odd.

Wu Sheng frowned.

Xu Wang realized what he had said, regretting that such a unique description might reveal some personal preferences. As he was getting nervous, he saw Wu Sheng stroking his chin and muttering in confusion, “Tall, handsome, thin, fair… Isn’t that just like us?” He looked up seriously. “Is there a standard for team formation in the ‘Owl’ based on appearance?”

Wait a minute.

Xu Wang was a bit lost, subconsciously looking at his teammates.

Qian Ai… indeed tall.

Wu Sheng… quite handsome.

Kuang Jinxin… definitely fair.

As for himself… he knew there weren’t any good words left for him!!!

Having decided on the big direction of “revenge”, the next two things to do were: one, to return to the cabin; and two, to hide themselves, search for the enemy, and wait for the right moment to strike. But all these had to be based on their own “combat power”.

All four arms stretched out. The contents of the [Stationery Box] with all their “combat power” were clearly visible.

Xu Wang: [(Defense) Circular Ground Prison], [(Offense) Cao Chong Weighing the Elephant].

Wu Sheng: [(Offense) Wind That Sweeps Away the Clouds].

Kuang Jinxin: [(Defense) A Clever Rabbit Has Three Burrows], [(Offense) Tears Like Rain].

Qian Ai: [(Defense) A Single Leaf Blocks the Eyes¹], [(Offense) Words Like Pearls and Jade²>.

1(一叶障目) Idiom referring to the whole picture of things cannot be seen (basically, one’s view is so narrow that it prevents them from seeing the bigger picture).
2(字字珠玑) Idiom referring to words and sentences in a speech or writing that’s extremely beautiful. It can also extend to mean words that are concise, powerful, or profound.

Compared to offenses, defenses were obviously easier to understand through text, but they still felt insufficient.

“Shall we scavenge some more?” Xu Wang had been eyeing the two wooden racks at the end of the cargo hold for a while, feeling like they were “treasure chests” that might open up surprises.

“This is someone else’s property. We shouldn’t touch it…” Although it wasn’t the real world, Kuang Jinxin still insisted on his moral standards of “Five Disciplines, Four Graces, Three Loves*”.

*An ideological education and publicity campaign promoted by China. The Five Disciplines refer to decorum, manners, hygiene, discipline and morals. The Four Graces refer to the beauty of the mind, language, behavior, and environment. The Three Loves refer to the motherland, socialism, and the communist party of China. 

But it seemed like no one heard him.

His three companions had already pulled the cloth covering the first wooden rack.

Kuang Jinxin walked over reluctantly, first noticing his teammates’ astonished expressions, then he saw what was on the wooden rack—no, inside the wooden cage.

A sleeping male lion.

It was resting its head on its paws, sleeping soundly. Its majestic mane trembled slightly with each breath, exuding a proud and domineering aura.

The three teammates cracked friendly smiles, as if the king of animals in its dream could see them, tiptoeing around, picking up the cloth, and respectfully covering it back.

Sweet dreams. Xu Wang sent his blessings, mouthing it silently.

Kuang Jinxin watched his three teammates with an indescribable look, his eyes clearly saying—this is what you get for snooping.

However, just as his silent complaint flew by, the cloth on the second wooden rack was pulled down.

This time, it wasn’t a cage but just a wooden rack. Inside was utterly empty, save for a lone deep brown box sitting squarely in the middle of the bottom shelf.

Qian Ai took a trembling step back.

Xu Wang and Wu Sheng were slightly better, standing still, but their breathing paused.

A lacquered wooden urn.

The box was carved with flowers, with one side depicting bright mountains and clear waters and the other side evergreen, with a black-and-white photo of an old lady in the middle. She wasn’t smiling; just gazing subtly forward, her eyes seemingly meeting anyone who looked at her.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but the cargo hold seemed to suddenly grow colder, the previously circulating air now carrying drafts of chill.

Xu Wang felt his hair stand on end. He hurriedly covered the box back with the cloth clumsily, saying very sincerely, “Sorry for disturbing.”

He spoke out loud this time, feeling that merely mouthing words wouldn’t show sincerity.

Kuang Jinxin felt like crying. “Let’s go back to the upper cabin…”

This time, Qian Ai raised both hands and feet in agreement.

Unable to tame the lion or disturb the old lady’s peace, Xu Wang and Wu Sheng finally got serious, turning their attention back to “themselves”.

[Stationery Box]: Confirm use of [(Defense) A Clever Rabbit Has Three Burrows]?

Kuang Jinxin, under his teammates’ encouraging gaze, clicked confirm.

Actually, no one knew exactly what [A Clever Rabbit Has Three Burrows] was, but they guessed from the name that it might lend them a helping hand.

[Stationery Box]: Please choose three hiding places. Bathroom/Tea room/First class/Business class/Emergency exit/Cockpit.

Just as expected!

Their eyes lit up, and after a brief consultation, they quickly made their choice—Tea room, Emergency exit, Cockpit.

As Kuang Jinxin clicked the last hiding spot, suddenly the ground beneath them vanished. Their bodies swiftly lost weight and they felt as if they were plummeting into an abyss!

[Owl: Someone has used of [(Defense) A Clever Rabbit Has Three Burrows] on you, oh~~]

With this notification, they were caught by a gentle force. Their fall slowed down, and after a while, they landed steadily into a square, narrow space.

The place was like a box, except for the “lid”—the cover above their heads—which was a circular transparent glass about the diameter of a person wide. Everything all around and beneath them was pitch black.

Outside the glass, it seemed to be the cabin, with people occasionally passing by, their shoe patterns clearly visible through the glass.

However, their view was limited like a frog in a well; it was hard to discern even the gender of passersby from the fleeting shadows.

A faint breeze blew from somewhere.

Startled, they fumbled around the pitch-black walls and surprisingly found holes in two walls. They divided up into two groups and crawled through the dark tunnels, quickly reaching the other two spaces that were similarly dark, with only a round piece of transparent glass above. However, they found that the glass could be opened, like an exit to the outside world for these hidden spaces.

Thus, the function of [A Clever Rabbit Has Three Burrows] was fully revealed.

It created a secret space beneath the floor at each of the three chosen locations—Tea room, Emergency exit, Cockpit—where they could hide and observe. The “transparent glass” above was like the one-way glass in police interrogation rooms; those below could look up and see the movements above, while the cabin floor looked normal from above, completely unaware of the watchers below.

And the three locations were connected, allowing the users to move between them.

There was no movement in the Cockpit. The Emergency exit was close to the bomb but also too peripheral with a very narrow view, leaving only the Tea room at the tail of the plane. Taking advantage of the moment the flight attendants left, they slightly opened the “round glass”, getting a clear view of the entire economy class aisle.

So, for the next twenty minutes, that piece of floor opened like a submarine hatch. Whenever there was no one at the tail or the flight attendants were distracted, the floor would occasionally be slightly opened, revealing two spying eyes.

After several rounds of observation, the four of them basically identified their “enemy”. It wasn’t difficult at all—Xu Wang remembered their rough physical features, and besides the flight attendants, they were the most active.

“Ready?” Xu Wang stood in the center, reached up to grasp the horizontal bar of the glass cover above, and turned back to confirm with his teammates for one last time.

Wu Sheng, who couldn’t wait to act, immediately nodded. “Just go!”

“……” Xu Wang felt that this assurance didn’t really comfort him.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the glass cover and sprang out, gesticulating wildly. “Hey, I haven’t reached the nine heavens yet. I’m still here—”

Passengers in the economy class turned around, only to see a man popping up from the floor at the tail, flailing like a madman. Those four also saw him, but their reaction was far more shocked than the passengers—Xu Wang to them was like an evil spirit returning on a night of the living dead—there was no reason to return!

The four initially scattered in the economy class quickly gathered in the middle of the cabin, cautiously facing off against Xu Wang over a distance of more than ten meters.

Xu Wang was waiting for this moment, his lips curling up, feet stomping with a “bang bang”!

He hadn’t covered the lid when he sprang out, so Wu Sheng, already prepared below, immediately leaped out like lightning, charging towards the distant four with [(Offense) Wind That Sweeps Away the Clouds]!

The economy class was suddenly a whirlwind of flying debris and darkness!

The four, not clustered together, would have been fine, but once together, they were like a package ready to be sent off. In an instant, they were lifted into the air, swept by the wind towards the tail of the plane, just like the four of them had been thrown out into the clouds earlier!

Xu Wang knew they had experience, so he was prepared for a new attack, but surprisingly, those four really flew straight towards him and Wu Sheng, as if about to crash into each other like meteors hitting the earth!

Xu Wang quickly used [(Defense) Circular Ground Prison], drawing a purple circle in front of his feet as quick as lightning!

The wind stopped abruptly, and the four, piled up like arhats, fell in front of Xu Wang, eyes wide with rage, yet unable to step out of the circle.

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