Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

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Chapter 45: Strong Enemies

“Can’t wait any longer?” Chi Yingxue’s eyes flashed with displeasure at his battle being interrupted, but his tone wasn’t harsh and was obviously restrained.

Xu Wang’s eyes flickered with surprise. During their encounter at the Endless Sea, this person wasn’t so considerate when interacting with his teammates.

“Li Xia said you would definitely be talking a lot again, so he sent me to make it quick.” The youth, who was supposed to be waiting at the Ferris wheel, Li Zijin, succinctly explained his purpose.

Chi Yingxue looked at him for a while, scoffed lightly, then turned and jumped back onto the carousel, as if handing over the baton.

“Good luck.”

The last phrase of encouragement he left was less sincere than a promotional bonus.

Li Zijin didn’t bother with him and instead looked down at his controller screen, quickly starting to operate.

His expression remained unchanged, and his posture was almost static; only his hands holding the game controller moved with practiced ease, as if he was truly engrossed in a game!

The four, now accustomed to the moonlight, suddenly sensed a shadow overhead.

Looking up, a small quadcopter drone was silently circling above them. The drone was white, and the mounted machine gun was dark and gleaming.

What Li Zijin was holding wasn’t a game controller.

He was playing with the drone, preparing to strafe.

“Run—”

Xu Wang’s shout was nearly a shriek.

At the same time, bullets started rattling out of the chamber!

The four scattered instantly, instinctively running madly. Their minds were blank, and only one thought prevailed: Run! If you’re too slow, you’ll die!

Death had never felt as close and real as at that moment.

From start to finish, Li Zijin never once looked up at his opponents. The drone had an infrared camera, and he only needed to focus on the live feed on the controller screen.

This “god’s view” allowed him to follow Wu Sheng without hesitation as soon as the opponents scattered in different directions.

“Li Xia sent me to have a look” was just an excuse Li Zijin had made up on the spot. In reality, he had come with Chi Yingxue and had seen everything from the usage of the “quicksand river” to the four jumping out of the car. He also clearly identified who the driver was.

He came because he was somewhat concerned about this new teammate.

In the end, this new teammate didn’t impress him at all. From start to finish, it was all idle talk, utterly nonsensical.

To him, the matter was as simple as drinking water.

The car key would surely be on the driver, so sending the driver back home, anything belonging to “Owl” would fall to the ground. They would just have to bend down to pick it up—the same principle as defeating monsters to collect coins.

Still, there was all this back-and-forth and choice-making nonsense.

“Boom—”

A sudden explosion distracted Li Zijin, causing him to pause.

When he looked at the screen again, it was pitch black.

Lifting his head, the drone not far away was disintegrating amidst a colorful cloud of smoke.

“Fuck.” He cursed softly, annoyed at his own carelessness.

He was so focused on pursuing the driver with the scythe and overconfident in the gun’s suppressive power that he neglected the others outside the camera’s view. If he remembered correctly, one of the kids had a long-range heavy weapon.

The last piece of drone wreckage landed amidst the smoke of the rocket blast, making a faint “plop”.

As if marking a hasty end to the sudden fierce battle.

The fire disappeared, the noise vanished, and the amusement park under the dark night returned to deathly silence.

A tall and upright figure slowly approached the edge of the pit, not looking at Chi Yingxue beside him but only at Li Zijin sitting on the car roof, as if he’d known all along that he would interfere. “Didn’t get it?”

“I’m sorry.” Li Zijin hung his head dejectedly, not daring to meet Han Buting’s gaze.

Gone was the previously feigned seriousness and depth; now, he was like a child who had made a mistake and was worried about being scolded.

Coincidentally, Chi Yingxue hated bratty kids, especially the impolite ones. “If he hadn’t interfered, I would have gotten it by now.”

“How would you get it? By riding the carousel for a couple of rounds until the opponents surrender?” A lean figure walked out from the darkness, wearing a black hoodie with hands in pockets. His face was hidden in the hoodie’s obscure shadows, with long bangs covering his eyes, making him appear entirely gloomy.

“One against two, you have the advantage. I concede.” Chi Yingxue raised one hand, a gesture others use to swear, but here, it signified surrender.

Han Buting ignored the minor squabble behind him, reached out and touched Li Zijin’s head, and asked in a deep voice, “Did you see who the driver was?”

Ideally, that question should have been directed at Chi Yingxue, as he had used the [Quicksand River] to stop the four and should know more about the situation.

But Han Buting chose to ask Li Zijin.

Chi Yingxue mockingly curled his lips and looked up, leisurely admiring the carousel ceiling.

In the dim light, the ceiling’s elaborate design lost its color and shine, resembling a low-quality product.

“I saw clearly,” Li Zijin hastily answered, eager to make up for his mistake. “Gray clothes, carrying a scythe!”

He didn’t know Wu Sheng’s name but remembered him distinctly.

Han Buting didn’t ask further; he simply lifted his hand and tapped his [Stationery Box].

……

Ten meters away from the explosion site, behind some bushes.

Kuang Jinxin crouched down and approached his advisor, asking softly, “Are you alright?”

Experiencing a gunfight for the first time would stun anyone, and Wu Sheng was no exception; his heart was still racing.

But facing his teammates, who risked themselves to save him, he had to reassure them. “I’m fine, thanks to your accurate shot, or I’d be a sieve by now.”

Kuang Jinxin scratched his head a bit embarrassedly. “At first, I was running with the captain, scared out of my mind. Then the captain noticed the drone was following you and told me to use the rocket launcher…” As he spoke, he seemed to recall something terrifying and became serious, his voice becoming heavier. “Sheng Ge, they’re different from Yue Shuai. They really dare to kill.”

Wu Sheng knew.

Never mind the concept of being “sent back home”, whether by stationery or by killing an opponent with weapons; it’s a completely different concept and a different experience.

Just like they instinctively fear bullets, even though they know they won’t die.

[Owl: Someone used [(Illusory) Snatch*] on you~~]

*(探囊取物) Idiom derive from historical stories, where its original meaning is ‘exploring the bag to get something”. Now it’s used metaphorically to describe obtaining something effortless or with ease (AKA like taking candy from a baby, as easy as pickpocketing one’s own pocket).

The alert sounded unexpectedly.

Startled, Wu Sheng reflexively checked his pockets, only to find the car keys gone.

He quickly parted the bushes, looking through the gap towards the quicksand pit a dozen meters away.

Where only moonlight had revealed four vague shadows, it now illuminated brightly.

The Beetle’s headlights.

They couldn’t possibly see him hiding here, yet they easily located and acquired the keys from his pocket.

Such a powerful illusory stationery, and they hadn’t used it initially, probably because they were reluctant to waste it on them.

Reluctant to waste it on people like them.

Kuang Jinxin, unaware of the situation, only saw Wu Sheng suddenly patting his pocket and then the four people removing the quicksand pit and getting into the Beetle, now exposed to daylight. More importantly, they started the car!

“Sheng Ge?” Kuang Jinxin panicked. “They…”

“Took my keys,” Wu Sheng said calmly, but his grip on the scythe’s handle whitened.

“It’s okay.” Kuang Jinxin stared ahead with determination. “They won’t get away.”

……

Chi Yingxue was the last to get into the Beetle, casually closing the door.

Li Xia glanced at him from the rearview mirror, stepped on the gas, and drove off.

Despite a few minor hiccups, the overall plan was still effortlessly executed, evidenced by the fact that from beginning to end, their opponents had only fled, unable to fight back.

Han Buting was mostly satisfied with the outcome.

However, Li Zijin was still brooding. “They were even weaker than the previous team with the truck. At least those guys put up a fight for a few rounds. This team is so weak, wasting two of our stationery on them.”

Li Xia, always the quiet one, focused on driving.

Chi Yingxue yawned, showing little interest in continuing the conversation.

Han Buting, in a fairly good mood, checked his watch to confirm the remaining time, then prepared to respond to his teammates.

Suddenly, Li Xia hit the brakes.

The Beetle screeched to a halt, shaking everyone inside.

Even with his seatbelt fastened, Han Buting was jostled quite a bit.

Chi Yingxue and Li Zijin, who didn’t have the awareness to wear seatbelts, were tossed about.

Li Zijin struggled to get up. His first instinct was to scold the driver, but as he was about to speak, he was stunned by the “scenery” outside the window. His intended “Can’t you drive?” turned into “What the fuck…”

The moonlight, plants, and rides all disappeared.

Outside the window was a wall, candlelight, fireplace, and a sofa, as if the Beetle had driven into someone’s living room.

“Do you smell something?” Li Zijin sniffed hard, catching a rich, sweet fragrance.

“Chocolate.” Chi Yingxue lowered the window to get a clearer whiff, then frowned in disappointment. “Shame it’s not pure. Too much artificial fragrance.”

“Close the window,” Li Xia said sternly.

Chi Yingxue casually nodded. “Okay, you close it then.”

The driver’s seat could control all windows.

But Li Xia repeated emphatically, “Close the window.”

A flash of irritation crossed Chi Yingxue’s eyes, too quick for anyone to notice.

“Okay, the driver’s the boss.” Shrugging, he obediently closed the window.

Li Xia turned back and reminded Li Zijin, “Fasten your seatbelt.”

“Oh.” Recalling the previous mishap, Li Zijin quickly complied.

Chi Yingxue, not receiving a friendly reminder, didn’t lift a finger, instead taking an interested look at the candle flames on the walls outside, increasingly finding them akin to candy.

Li Xia restarted the car and floored the accelerator.

The Beetle started moving again, but before reaching top speed, it collided with the wall!

Instead of the expected harsh collision, the car’s front end seemed to hit a piece of rubber candy. No matter how much you pressed forward, it firmly held you back, gradually grinding down your speed.

The Beetle stopped once more, still inside the house.

Li Xia looked at the captain, succinctly deducing, “Defense stationery.”

Han Buting nodded. “Everyone, get out.”

Li Xia was dubious but still obeyed, opening the door to exit.

Chi Yingxue wanted to see his expression, but looking over, all he saw was a shadow, utterly uninteresting.

Li Zijin was the third to exit.

Chi Yingxue was once again the slowest.

Han Buting didn’t mind, waiting for everyone to gather before confidently approaching the door, grasping the wafer-cookie-like doorknob, and gently turning.

The door lock clicked, and a crack opened, letting in the faint stench of blood from the amusement park with the night breeze.

Li Xia frowned.

Li Zijin’s eyes widened in surprise.

Han Buting closed the door again and explained, “No alert means the stationery isn’t used on us but on the car. We can’t drive out, but we can leave as we please.”

“Why can’t they just stop both the car and us?” Li Zijin grew even more disdainful of the opposing team. “What a crappy stationery.”

“It’s not that they can’t. They don’t want to.” Chi Yingxue raised an eyebrow and gently blew towards him. “The crappy team you look down upon still hopes to steal back the car. If they stopped us along with the car, where would the chance be?”

Suddenly, lights flared outside, brightening the sugary glass.

The four inside were momentarily stunned.

Someone had turned the circuit breaker they had broken back up.

……

Light returned to the Happiness Amusement Park.

Twinkling lights, rotating carousels, swinging pirate ships, and spinning dessert cups—all of its colorful, joyous charms.

The four inside couldn’t clearly see this beautiful sight but soon heard a certain captain’s call.

“Don’t hide. Come out. The candy house looks tastier from outside—”

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The author has something to say:

When meeting friends, you have wine; when meeting enemies, you get your shotgun (╰_╯)

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