Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

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Chapter 35: Climbing the Lighthouse

Just when the four thought that the obstacles were cleared and the path ahead was open, suddenly four figures rushed out from behind a small pile of broken reefs behind the lighthouse, swiftly skimming the base of the lighthouse like mudfish and slipping into the main entrance!

Xu Wang and his team, positioned diagonally in front of the lighthouse, could only watch helplessly as the opportunists emerged from behind the rocks and stole their victory in an instant!

The lighthouse was only about ten to twenty meters high, so reaching the top was a matter of minutes. Mao Qiping had said that it doesn’t matter who knocks down the lighthouse keeper; what is essential is entering the treasure vault—that is the ultimate goal. Those people choosing to hide behind the rocks at the back of the lighthouse clearly indicated their strategy of giving up a frontal assault for a more opportunistic approach.

“Shit—”

“Fuck—”

The curses from Wu Sheng and Qian Ai burst out simultaneously, creating a peculiar effect of Chinese-English comparison*. Taken aback, the two glanced at each other, and in the next moment, both leaped up and dashed toward the main entrance of the lighthouse at their top speed!

*Clarity: Shit was said in English.

Kuang Jinxin came to his senses after his two teammates had already chased off and hurriedly got up to follow.

But soon, he sensed something was off. Wu Sheng and Qian Ai had already reached the door of the lighthouse, and he himself was halfway there, but where was their captain?

Just as the question arose in his mind, he heard Xu Wang’s shout from behind. “You guys chase. I’ll block from above. We’ll encircle them front and back—”

Kuang Jin Xin paused. “Above?”

“Got it—” Running at the front, the advisor of the team didn’t slow down or turn his head but responded with confidence before sprinting into the lighthouse.

Upon hearing Xu Wang’s tactic, Qian Ai hesitated for a moment, obviously not as clear as Wu Sheng, but eventually, without asking further, he quickened his steps and followed in.

Kuang Jinxin finally reacted.

With the height of this lighthouse, one doesn’t need to run many stairs to reach the top. In such a short time, even if they chased inside the tower, the probability of catching or even stopping the opponents was minimal. The only way was if they could somehow reach the top first, all four storming the treasure vault together, or at least one of them arriving first to block the opponents at the door of the vault, buying time for the others.

The captain intended to be this blocker, as he had [Chang’e Flying to the Moon], which, as the name suggests, must include flying as one of its effects. The captain could then ignore the stairs and fly in from the outside, landing directly in front of the treasure vault!

Realizing this, Kuang Jin Xin, who had already reached the lighthouse’s door, still swiftly turned back for a glance, seeing only the seriousness on Xu Wang’s face and the determination in his eyes.

This wasn’t the Xu Wang he knew.

This was their captain.

In the next second, Xu Wang closed his eyes, seemingly in deep meditation.

Kuang Jinxin understood immediately that the captain was using [Chang’e Flying to the Moon], establishing a connection with the stationery.

The stationery in the “Owl” was generally of two types: one was like [Fishnado], [Jingle Bells], or [Wind That Sweeps Away the Clouds], which had immediate effects upon clicking; the other required the user to control. For the latter, after clicking, no clear textual instructions like “How to Use” would appear, but some “sense fragments” were released. The user had to focus, capture these fragments, and integrate them to figure out how to manipulate the stationery and to get a general direction of its effects.

This meant that the effectiveness of such stationery was directly linked to the depth of connection established between the user and the stationery. A deep connection allowed for thorough exploration and ease of use, doubling the effectiveness; a shallow connection significantly reduced the stationery’s power, like missing the “wind” effect of the [Invincible Hot Wheels].

[Chang’e Flying to the Moon] should be both beautiful and sharp.

“Captain, you can do it,” Kuang Jinxin whispered encouragingly, no longer distracted, and charged up the stairs!

As Kuang Jinxin burst through the lighthouse’s door, Xu Wang opened his eyes in astonishment.

Waiting to ascend through the clouds, he finally sensed the key information from the “fragments” released by the stationery… Was stationery meant for the opponent’s use?!

Shouldn’t he, the user of [Chang’e Flying to the Moon], be rising with the wind with his clothes fluttering like a stunning swan?!

He had so handsomely laid out the tactics for his teammates—a pincer movement from both ends. Soon his teammates would reach the top of the lighthouse, only to find that their captain was still desperately chasing behind!

Losing the dignity of a captain wasn’t important, but how would he face his teammates, who trust him so much, if they lost the treasure?

“Shit!”

Xu Wang cursed in English, driven by some inexplicable force, only to realize that it couldn’t fully express his frustration and anger.

“Fuck—”

With a curse, Captain Xu charged into the lighthouse.

From the outside, the lighthouse appeared bright and pristine, but inside it was dimly lit with walls and floors made of dark cyan stones, weathered and mottled, resembling an abandoned church or castle from the Middle Ages.

The spiral staircase was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Xu Wang dashed up, taking two steps at a time. But after just a few twists, the endless circling made him feel dizzy and his vision blurry, to the point where he thought he saw someone floating ahead…

Someone?!

Xu Wang suddenly snapped to attention and stopped abruptly, but the staircase was so narrow and his speed so fast that he, driven by momentum, still collided with the arm of the person ahead.

What happened next was nothing short of a miracle.

Upon collision, that person slowly floated upwards about ten centimeters and then, without any intention to turn, lightly touched his back against the wall.

Despite this, the person maintained a graceful pose, one hand stretched forward, the other back, knees slightly bent, as if a fairy was running futilely to the moon in a weightless universe.

Of course, this “fairy” was male, and his face bore a fierce expression completely at odds with his classical pose.

Their eyes met, and the man’s anger was unmistakable. However, contrary to his raging fury, his lips moved slowly and silently, with no sound reaching Xu Wang’s ears.

Xu Wang had to rely on lip-reading.

“I… Fuck… You… Forget it. You’re talking too slowly. See you!” Giving up on communication, Xu Wang stepped over this fellow classmate and continued climbing.

Just half a circle later, he encountered a group of three “fairies” huddled together. The entire members of the “Steal the Fruits of Victory Squad” were now assembled.

Unlike the previous one, these three, though also moving gracefully, weren’t purely floating but bouncing up and down. Each time their feet touched the ground, and they exerted a little force, they would spring up high until their heads touched the underside of the steps above, then slowly descend. The whole process was like a slow-motion scene, with every detail clearly visible.

The first fellow male classmate’s condition made Xu Wang think that [Chang’e Flying to the Moon] was a “fixed pose + weightless state”, but now he realized it wasn’t weightlessness but extremely low gravity, so low that it was hard to balance the body during motion, and a slight force could cause significant displacement, occasionally resulting in a floating state, with sound unable to propagate.

[(Offense) Chang’e Flying to the Moon], Chang’e referred to the opponent’s posture, and Flying to the Moon referred to the state of the opponent—that was, running gracefully on the moon.

Xu Wang quickly pushed past these three and continued upward, feeling the joy of being “The Flash” against the backdrop of his opponents.

So cool!

As Xu Wang disappeared into the depths of the stairs, the three, filled with anger and helplessness, could do nothing but watch.

They had no idea how to handle the lighthouse keeper, so they chose a dark spot to ambush, waiting for an easy victory. This kind of opportunism, even if it failed at the doorstep of the treasure vault, was acceptable.

But suddenly slowing down thirty-two times to pose and float? Had the user of this stationery ever considered the victim’s shame endurance?! Don’t they have any conscience?!

Xu Wang, completely untroubled by any conscience, continued with the joy of The Flash and the sense of victory over his enemies, reaching the top of the lighthouse in one go.

A lighthouse keeper with a bundle of long nails embedded in his chest lay at the corner under the square hole, with sunlight streaming in from outside right onto the door of the treasure vault and the faces of his three teammates who had been waiting for a long time.

“Captain!” Kuang Jinxin could hardly contain his excitement and admiration, giving a big thumbs-up. “[Chang’e Flying to the Moon] is so cool! A million times cooler than I imagined!”

Qian Ai nodded vigorously. “When Wu Sheng and I caught up with them, we were dumbfounded, thinking they were slowing down intentionally to pose for us. It took a while to realize they were actually ‘Flying to the Moon’ haha!” After a hearty laugh, he felt a twinge of sympathy. “It was a complete psychological crush, much more damaging than a front and rear pincer. They probably won’t dare to cut in line again. This shadow is like ink spilling over.”

Compared to the excitement of his two teammates, Wu Sheng was quite calm, simply stepping aside to reveal the door to the treasure vault, then smiling slightly at Xu Wang. “We’ve been waiting for you, my captain.”

Xu Wang took a deep breath, filled with unprecedented satisfaction.

He decided not to say any modest words, as it would ruin the composure he was trying to maintain. For the first time, feeling a true sense of mission to “uphold the dignity and image of a captain”, Xu Wang strode confidently to the door of the treasure vault.

He placed his hands on the left and right doors, looked back at his teammates deeply, then turned his gaze forward and pushed with all his might!

Nothing happened.

Except for a sudden stillness in the air.

Xu Wang maintained his pushing posture, seemingly motionless but secretly exerting force in every way he knew how.

The door remained firmly closed; not even a crack appeared.

“Cough, maybe we should try ramming it together…” Qian Ai, unable to bear the sight, offered a way out for the captain.

Turning back to face his teammates, Xu Wang went through a brief but intense internal struggle, finally deciding to accept his teammate’s kindness.

“I…” Just as he turned and said a word, Xu Wang suddenly felt a tightness around his legs. Looking down, he was met with the dark face of the lighthouse keeper.

“To enter the door, step over my corpse!” The keeper, strong as an ox and with a voice as deep as a bell, clung to Xu Wang’s leg.

Xu Wang was baffled and even began to doubt life itself. “Dude, you’re already a corpse!”

The keeper snorted coldly. “You think a few little steel nails can eliminate me? Haha.”

Xu Wang: “……”

He was being humiliated by an NPC?!

“Bang—”

A loud banging noise echoed in his ears.

It was Qian Ai.

“It’s no use. We really can’t break through.” Even as he said this, Qian Ai continued to ram the door stubbornly.

Seeing this, Kuang Jinxin hurriedly joined in to help.

Xu Wang looked at Wu Sheng somewhat confusedly. “We’re not really going to have to kill someone, are we?”

“Don’t worry, leave it to me,” Wu Sheng reassured with a confident look, then bowed his head to open his [Stationery Box].

Xu Wang watched his decisive actions, feeling that their advisor seemed to have a mysterious yearning for using the [Deep Gaze of Death].

Sensing the murderous intent, the lighthouse keeper clinging to his leg suddenly screamed, “If you kill me, the treasure will disappear—”

Xu Wang froze, unsure whether this was a bluff or true. If true, they really couldn’t kill…

“It’s false.” Wu Sheng remained unmoved. “He just said that to enter, you have to step over his body. If stepping over the body is the true condition, then his current statement must be false. Otherwise, it’s logically contradictory.”

With that, he immediately tapped the icon in the toolbox with a pair of deep, affectionate eyes drawn on it.

Xu Wang watched his actions, holding his breath unconsciously. The thought of seeing a “deeply affectionate gaze from Wu Sheng” made him nervous and, cough, a bit excited.

“How many nails have I shot at you—”

Just as Wu Sheng’s fingertip was about to touch the icon, the lighthouse keeper, with all his might, threw out a question.

Wu Sheng paused.

Xu Wang was completely baffled. Was this the time for a quiz in this life-and-death situation? Was he crazy?!

Qian Ai, who was still persistently ramming the door, couldn’t stand it anymore. “What bullshit is this? We’ve run all the way up here, and now we’re supposed to go back outside and count the nails for you?!”

The lighthouse keeper ignored him and repeated, “How many nails have I shot at you?”

The tone of the second question was more severe, silent yet sharp, with a hint of provocation.

Xu Wang’s heart skipped a beat, and his first reaction was to look at Wu Sheng!

Sure enough, their advisor slowly lowered his arm, his gaze falling as he stared back at the lighthouse keeper for the first time.

Xu Wang felt a sense of despair.

Who is Wu Sheng? The more unusual the question type, the more electrifying it feels for him.

Now, even if you forced him to use the stationery, he probably wouldn’t.

But—

How many nails were shot?

Is that something a normal person could answer? Forget the rapid speed of a nail gun; even at a slower pace, who could count the rain of nails accurately?!

“The Brain…” Kuang Jinxin muttered softly by the door.

Xu Wang turned to look at him. “Huh?”

Kuang Jinxin pointed at Wu Sheng, his voice getting even softer as if afraid to disturb him, cautiously whispering to Xu Wang, “I meant that Sheng Ge’s current state and aura are just like those geniuses in the ‘The Brain’ show on TV…”

Hearing this, Xu Wang turned his attention back to his advisor.

Wu Sheng had closed his eyes at some point, his brow slightly furrowed and his eyelashes trembling slightly, indicating that his brain was working at high speed, possibly calculating, recalling the scene, or something else.

As an ordinary person, Xu Wang didn’t delve deeper. But watching Wu Sheng like this, the doubts in his heart gradually diminished, and his anticipation slowly grew. From “maybe he can”, to “he should be able to”, to “he definitely can”—that trust bloomed vigorously.

“288.” Wu Sheng slowly opened his eyes and looked down at the lighthouse keeper. “If you count the few nails you shot earlier with the stones, then it’s exactly 300.”

The lighthouse keeper looked at him incredulously, his grip on Xu Wang’s arm gradually weakening.

Qian Ai and Kuang Jinxin looked at each other and once again joined forces to ram the door of the treasure vault!

“Bang—”

The door swung open in response, and dazzling golden light instantly poured out!

Propelled by inertia, Qian Ai and Kuang Jinxin plunged straight into the treasure vault. Xu Wang rushed over eagerly, but as he stepped into the vault, he paused and looked back to see Wu Sheng still standing in place.

Xu Wang sighed. After all, he was the greatest contributor this time, so he shouldn’t rush him and wait instead.

In the golden glow, Wu Sheng squatted down close to the resentful face of the lighthouse keeper and gently tapped his own head with a finger. “My arrows may miss, but this,” he pointed to his brain, “never does.”

The lighthouse keeper looked at him, confusion mixing with his resentment, as if asking, “What are you talking about?”

Wu Sheng never cared about these details. He stood up and brushed off the dust from his body, feeling satisfied and content.

Turning to enter the treasure vault, he found the captain leaning casually at the door, watching him leisurely.

Wu Sheng tilted his head, eyebrows slightly raised in inquiry.

Xu Wang, for once, didn’t make a sarcastic remark but instead gave him a brilliant smile. “So handsome.”

Wu Sheng also smiled. His eyes and brows relaxed, giving off a gentlemanly demeanor. “Yeah, I know.”

“…Come in, let’s open the chest.”

Captain Xu decisively turned around, offering the greatest tenderness he could to the hero of the day.

The door to the treasure vault slowly closed after Wu Sheng entered.

Before the four men, there were three treasure chests. Two were already open and empty, and only one remained untouched. The golden light was emanating from this last intact chest, casting a magnificent glow over the entire vault.

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