Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 86: Disc
As the tree leaves rustled gently again, Xu Wang knew that the love line had reached a satisfying conclusion.
Sure enough, a playful congratulation rode on the light breeze—
[Owl: Congratulations on passing the 6/23 test!]
Among the five companions, Xu Wang anticipated this, and Qian Ai was pleasantly surprised by the notification. But no matter who, they all let out a sigh of relief in unison. However, their relief was cut short by the abrupt end of the message.
Successfully submitted?
What about the paper? And the usual “See you tomorrow~~”?
Everyone instinctively looked at their teammates, then realized that they were not alone in their confusion.
Had they really submitted? They shouldn’t have. Otherwise, they would be back in reality by now. But why wouldn’t it count as having been submitted? They had clearly completed the task line!
“Stationery.” Chi Yingxue, or rather, his sharp combat intuition, was the first to react.
As if to confirm his words, a belated attack notification lazily arrived—
[Owl: Someone used [(Illusory) Pause Button] on you~~]
A huge shadow, along with the notification, descended.
The five took a few steps back and looked up to see a flying disc hovering above the tree, carrying five people.
The disc resembled a shallow white porcelain plate used for serving dishes but was enlarged dozens of times. The five co-travelers on it were either sitting cross-legged or half-lying, treating it as their own sofa, relaxed and comfortable.
The moment Xu Wang saw the disc, he naturally concluded that the illusory stationery was theirs. But seeing the lazy postures of the people on the disc, he hesitated. This wasn’t a posture preparing for battle.
“We’re not here to interfere with your task or submission, so don’t be so tense.” The first to speak from the disc was the most relaxed looking among them, a man in his late twenties with messy hair, looking as if he had just woken up. He yawned while speaking, half-lying there, not at all looking like the one in charge of communication.
Xu Wang thought that perhaps this person was just pulled in to fill in last minute. Otherwise, it was hard to explain such an antagonistic opening.
At least he, the “communicated party”, felt no respect at all.
“You’re thinking too much. We’re not tense.” Xu Wang looked at him calmly, his face unflinching. “As for whether we’ll be angry, that depends on your explanation.”
This response was somewhat confrontational, but the people in the disc seemed not to notice, casually glanced at their companions, and then back at them, offering an even more casual explanation. “Looking for something.”
Combining this with the previous “We’re not doing tasks or submitting,” Xu Wang guessed they meant, “We’re looking for something, and once we find it, we’ll cancel the illusory stationery, and you can continue with your submission.” But the way it was delivered was minimalistic, both in expression and tone, utterly perfunctory.
The disc suddenly descended to a position just touching the treetop.
The teammate, who was just casually glanced at, instantly switched from lazy to active, picking a thicker branch to land on, and then began to search the branches with focused attention.
They were indeed searching for something.
Xu Wang pursed his lips, realizing that they weren’t looking for trouble with them—no, more accurately, they were too lazy to bother with them.
From beginning to end, the other party remained as relaxed as if they were on a spring outing, not because their goals didn’t conflict. In fact, even if their goals didn’t conflict, they might still cause trouble that harms others without benefiting themselves. The root of their composure and ease was that their own team wasn’t even worth the attention of the others; the others didn’t even bother to lie or be on guard.
“Please tell me that the humiliation of being looked down upon just now was an illusion,” Qian Ai said, looking at the five uninvited guests above, his chest heaving slightly.
Xu Wang sighed. “I can’t promise that as captain.”
“What exactly are they looking for?” Kuang Jinxin was puzzled. “There’s only the epiphyte flower on the tree, but they don’t even seem to look at it.”
“It’s definitely unrelated to the task line.” Wu Sheng narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning sharp. “Otherwise, such a big move would have triggered a plot by now.”
“Maybe they’re just looking in the wrong place, or the plot is about peacefully searching.” With one foot over the finish line but the other being firmly held back, Qian Ai was in agony.
“Badges.” Chi Yingxue spoke in a low voice, not out of fear of being overheard but as if deliberately suppressing some emotion. “They are looking for badges.”
The four companions were stunned. Xu Wang was the first to reveal his hidden stationery box, showing the [Moonlight Labyrinth Badge] to Chi Yingxue. “This one?”
“Yes,” Chi Yingxue responded softly, then noticed that Xu Wang’s hidden item column had only one icon.
He immediately understood the information progression of the new team from this empty interface. Without waiting to be asked, he explained, “Each level has several hidden badges scattered in different corners. Finding one is enough.”
“Find?” Xu Wang was surprised. “Aren’t badges rewards for breaking records in a single level?”
Chi Yingxue explained, “That’s just relying on luck. Generally, teams search for them within the levels.”
Xu Wang: “How do you find them?”
Chi Yingxue: “Places with badges will emit a faint light at irregular intervals. Teams focused on finding them can spot it.”
Wu Sheng asked, “What happens if all are found?”
“Not sure.” Chi Yingxue tilted his head, finally fishing out some information from his intermittent memories. “Seems to be related to the levels after 13/23.”
After 13/23?!
For Xu Wang and the others, this was a huge shock.
Mao Qiping had mentioned that the best-performing team had only reached the thirteenth level, and the only time the speed of submission leaderboard was opened, the record was 12/23. This implied that no one had submitted past 13/23, corroborating Mao Qiping’s statement.
So how could these people, who had never broken through 13/23, claim that badges were related to later levels?
Or did they receive secret hints from the [Cheat Sheet]?
Four pairs of eyes focused intently on Chi Yingxue.
Chi Yingxue, uncomfortable with such intense scrutiny, clarified immediately, “That’s all I know. If you don’t believe me, you can interrogate me with an illusory stationery.”
Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, Qian Ai, Kuang Jinxin: “……”
Interrogating a priest, torturing oneself for answers… Why does every suggestion from the new teammate sound like a villain’s plan?!
“Do you want them?” Chi Yingxue suddenly asked.
The four companions were stunned, not understanding at first.
“Although I’m not sure of the exact use of the badges, they must be useful.” Chi Yingxue leaned slightly forward, closer to his four teammates. His voice and the corners of his mouth rose slightly. The suppressed emotion in his eyes showed a dark, expectant light. “If you want them, I can help you snatch them.”
His voice was very gentle, like a devil luring the good.
Xu Wang asked, “Do you have the badge for this level?”
Chi Yingxue paused, then shook his head. “No.”
Qian Ai was speechless. “Then this is called ‘let’s rob them together’, understand?”
“……” Chi Yingxue didn’t understand why these people were so fixated on “us” versus “them”. Was it important?
“You just want an excuse to fight, right?” Xu Wang raised his eyebrows at him. “You want to flip that disc and wipe out those people.”
Chi Yingxue was taken aback, genuinely surprised this time.
Kuang Jinxin looked at him, sighed, and shook his head. “Your murderous intent is too recognizable.”
Qian Ai glanced at him. “You get excited at the thought of a fight. I’ve figured out the pattern.”
Xu Wang patted his shoulder, showing a trusting smile. “Your request is approved.”
Turning around, Xu Wang asked Wu Sheng, “How much longer can you hold on?”
Advisor Wu shrugged. “Until you win.”
Chi Yingxue saw a clue in this “everything is under control” demeanor. “Are you using stationery?”
No wonder the other party has found nothing so far.
In fact, once the range was locked, the badge wouldn’t be too difficult to find. Just now, when they were eager to fight, he was worried that the other party would succeed before they even started.
“They want to find something, so they use illusory stationery against us to stop us from submitting our papers.” Wu Sheng looked up at the busy figure in the tree. “A defense stationery in return is not too much.”
Chi Yingxue was puzzled. “Didn’t he hear the alert for the defense stationery?”
Wu Sheng said, “Of course, it’s for the one in the tree, [(Defense) Nothing At All*].”
*(一无所有) Idiom referring to having nothing (assets, money, achievements, knowledge).
Chi Yingxue: “……”
Tactics should be left to the meticulous.
“Have you guys finally decided how to fight?” Messy Hair was lying at the edge of the plate with his hands propping up his face which was full of impatience. “You’ve thrown away a defense stationery. What else is there to dawdle about?”
The five companions were momentarily stunned.
There was both a horizontal distance and a vertical height between them, and such low whispering, like a mosquito’s buzz, could not possibly have been heard. How did Messy Hair know about the defense stationery?
While they were confused, a green sticky note suddenly flew up from the grass under the feet of the five, completely blending with the green of the grass, fluttering back into the plate, into the hands of a the curly-haired youth.
“[(Defense) Eavesdropping Sticky Notes],” Messy Hair announced the answer, sitting up leisurely and smiling. “One must always be wary of others.”
“Dachuan, stop searching.” Curly Hair had just collected the sticky note, reminded his teammate in the treetop. “They’re wearing defense stationery.”
Jiang Dachuan, tired and sore, became angry when he heard this. “Who the hell is making trouble for no reason!”
Wang Duanran—Curly Hair—nodded towards the opposite side. “The most handsome one.”
Jiang Dachuan looked down angrily, locking eyes with Wu Sheng. “Are you full and idle? In a hurry to go home?”
Wu Sheng: “……”
Xu Wang, Qian Ai, Chi Yingxue, and Kuang Jinxin: “……”
Qian Ai: “This way of recognizing people…”
“Is there a problem?” Curly Hair looked unhappy at being questioned, pointing at Wu Sheng “The most handsome”, pointing at Chi Yingxue, “The most beautiful”, pointing at Kuang Jinxin, “The cutest”, pointing at Xu Wang, “The most cunning”, pointing at Qian Ai, “The strongest”.
“Very convenient,” he concluded.
“…” Five silent companions had two completely different moods.
Jiang Dachuan sat on the tree branch and stopped working, urging his teammate on the disc. “Quick battle, quick victory.”
Chen Guan—Messy Hair—stretched lazily and sat up straight. Wang Duanran didn’t move, but his gaze was on Xu Wang and his group. As for the other two, they looked at the sky and enjoyed the breeze, not lifting an eyelid.
Xu Wang swallowed and tensed up subconsciously, feeling the “difference in level” for the first time.
It was an intuition honed from dealing with danger in nearly fifty days of battling in the “Owl”.
“Boom!”
A sound like mountains collapsing and the earth splitting open exploded above their heads!
In an instant, the whole sky turned black at a visible speed, accompanied by huge falling rocks!
The only lawn under their feet also started to shake violently and cracked!
Chi Yingxue summoned the magic bean, and its leaves quickly lifted all five of them into the air!
Just as they took off, the only lawn collapsed, leaving only a small circle as thick as a tree trunk, barely keeping the tree!
This series of events happened in just a few seconds that Xu Wang and the others didn’t even see who used the stationery!
[Owl: Someone used [(Offense) The Collapse of Heaven and Earth] on you~~]
The announcement finally came.
The familiar name made the five of them stunned; they had just used this stationery to get rid of a team, and now the retribution came so fast!
The last bit of light disappeared, and the sky turned completely dark, as if dyed with ink.
In the darkness, where no one could see each other, Chi Yingxue’s voice suddenly rang out. “Not right.”
Xu Wang quickly asked, “What’s not right?”
Chi Yingxue: “With [The Collapse of Heaven and Earth] how can the [Magic Bean] take root?”
Xu Wang: “……”
Wu Sheng: “……”
Qian Ai: “……”
Kuang Jinxin: “……”
The leaves under their feet suddenly lost their support, and the five companions, along with the [Magic Bean], fell into the dark abyss!
The author has something to say:
Every time I write about a battle, I get excited. Am I possessed by Chi Yingxue?…_(:з」∠)_
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