Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

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Chapter 90: Treatment

7 a.m., Anyang City, a luxury suite in a hotel.

This was a spacious suite, large enough to host a small party. Seven hours earlier, Wang Duanran’s team of five was leisurely chatting here, discussing whether to help another team submit their task after obtaining the Castle Badge, to end the challenge early and come back for a rest.

At that time, none of the five could have imagined that they would welcome the sunrise in a state of physical and mental exhaustion.

The first to be hit by the sunlight was Jiang Dachuan, lying on the sofa near the window. He irritably covered his eyes, and after a while, feeling the heat, he slapped the sofa and sat up abruptly, finally erupting, “If we had given our all from the start, we could have definitely won!”

Kong Lizhe, lying on a nearby recliner and playing with a spare phone, didn’t take his eyes off it. “Being able to make others underestimate you is also a kind of strength.”

Jiang Dachuan was frustrated. If making the opponent underestimate them was a tactic, then the bizarre appearance of [Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea] was definitely crucial…

No, he felt uncomfortable just thinking about it. He wanted to report it!

Gu Nian closed the detective novel he had been unable to get into and looked up. He rarely had things he couldn’t understand, but this morning, the confusion lingering on his face was evident. “How exactly did they break the [Meng Po Soup]…”

At the same time, Anyang City, a standard double room in an ordinary hotel.

Chi Yingxue finally fell asleep after Kuang Jinxin experimentally gave him a second pillow.

Even though he was about the same height as Wu Sheng, around 187 or 188 cm, curled up, he didn’t take up much space. Lying there with a pillow under his head and hugging another, his expression was relaxed and even a bit lazy from exhaustion, but his body was tense, as if trying to curl into an invisible point.

The contrast between his defenseless sleeping face and his extremely guarded sleeping posture was stark and strange.

The four teammates squatting by the bed looked at each other, communicating silently through their eyes—

Xu Wang nodded slightly—He should be really asleep this time.

Kuang Jinxin let out a slight sigh of relief—Mm.

Wu Sheng curiously raised an eyebrow—How did you think to give him another pillow?

Kuang Jinxin tilted his head, hands cupped beneath his chin—Holding something while sleeping feels secure.

Qian Ai widened his eyes—What are you all even talking about?!

Ever since coming out from the Owl, Chi Yingxue had been in a state of confused consciousness. He was mumbling incoherently, not fully asleep, yet not fully awake. The four teammates, not knowing where he stayed the previous night, had to carry him back to their hotel.

Advisor Wu analyzed for the teammates the cause of this situation—memory loss from [Meng Po Soup] affecting a single personality, leading to the switch to a second personality, and the restoration of the first personality after breaking the [Meng Po Soup] spell, leading to a competition between the two personalities.

The teammates listened carefully and silently digested this for half a minute.

From the time they returned to the hotel, the four had been by the bed, not moving an inch, worrying about Chi Yingxue’s restlessness. Now, they could finally relax a bit and take a breather.

They were unaware of when the day had broken. Looking outside now, it was already bright and sunny.

“Buzz—”

The vibrating sound of a phone rang out in the quiet room.

The four teammates were startled, looking at each other with innocent faces, searching for the source of the sound, only to find it under the blanket on the bed, from the new teammate’s phone.

The recently asleep Chi Yingxue became restless again, seemingly annoyed by the sound, frowning and hugging the pillow tighter.

The vibration finally stopped.

But before the teammates could relax, the “buzzing” started again, relentless.

“Nn—” Chi Yingxue groaned uncomfortably, eyes still closed, but one hand, as if with its own consciousness, released the pillow, fumbled for the phone, digging it out of his trouser pocket, and threw it away.

The four teammates by the bed were completely unprepared for this action, instinctively dodging to avoid being hit in the face by the flying phone.

The poor phone landed onto the carpet with a thud, still vibrating.

The teammates: “……”

Wastefulness is the deadliest thing!

Chi Yingxue, now comfortable, turned over and continued sleeping.

On the other side, Xu Wang quickly picked up the innocent phone, noticing that although it landed on the carpet, the corner of the screen was still cracked.

Two missed calls on the phone—from Chi Zhuolin.

“Buzz—”

Great, the third call was coming in.

Xu Wang hesitated between answering and muting it, but on the bed, Chi Yingxue suddenly opened his eyes, clear and alert, devoid of any confusion or fatigue—a stark contrast to the pillow-loving person a second ago.

The three teammates by the bed were caught off guard, unsure how to greet him.

Chi Yingxue sat up, glanced at the bed, then at Xu Wang and the familiar phone in his hand, understanding the situation.

“You guys must have had a hard time because of me,” he said apologetically and calmly, with warmth. “I’m back.”

Those simple words carried a declaration of sovereignty.

When he was previously restless, the teammates even discussed that if the awakened personality was a different one, whether they would have to “welcome” him again or bring up the “grudges of the amusement park” and the “achievement of obtaining the badge”. Now, it seemed that none of those were necessary.

The awakened Chi Yingxue was the same as when they first met, distinct from the Chi Yingxue who was dressed in beach holiday style in the cold at the amusement park, making it hard to mistake him for anyone else.

Xu Wang quickly handed him the phone, wanting to explain that the screen was cracked by his own doing, but the fourth vibration came.

Chi Yingxue took the phone, not even looking at the cracked screen corner, pressed to answer, and got out of bed.

“Did you break your phone again—”

As soon as the call connected, this sentence sprang from the earpiece, carrying the impatience of the previous unanswered calls and an almost divinatory guess at the situation.

“Chi Zhuolin, it’s me.” Chi Yingxue pressed the phone to his ear, making the voice from the earpiece indistinct.

“Yes…”

“Henan…”

“Pretty good…”

“Who knows…”

As Chi Yingxue entered the bathroom and closed the door, the call was completely cut off.

From start to finish, the teammates only heard one sentence from the other end of the phone, but Chi Yingxue’s five sentences left them completely baffled.

“Chi Zhuolin?” Wu Sheng repeated the name just heard.

“Yes, Zhuo as in ‘outstanding’, Lin as in ‘to arrive’*.” Xu Wang was the only one who had seen how those few characters were written.

*Clarity: [Zhuo] (卓) from [zhuoyue] (卓越). [Lin] (临) from [Jianglin] (降临).

Kuang Jinxin asked, “Both are surnamed Chi. Is it a family member?”

Qian Ai frowned. “The way he’s calling non-stop, it sounds more like a debt collector.”

The gossip was brief, as Chi Yingxue ended the call and came out of the bathroom.

Before his teammates could ask, he explained directly. “Chi Zhuolin,” pausing for a moment before adding, “is my brother.”

The four teammates: “…Oh.”

Guessing he was a relative, and with the teammate being upfront about it, there seemed little else to respond with other than nodding.

“It’s nothing. I’m always running around outside every day, so it’s just a routine check-in.” Chi Yingxue put his phone back in his pocket.

This further explanation dispelled any doubts the four might have had. It was a private matter, after all, and basic communication sufficed.

“Where are you staying?” Xu Wang asked. “Are you going back to rest, or are you checking out and moving over to join us?”

Chi Yingxue pondered for a moment, sensing the implication of victory in the question, and raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You submitted the papers?”

“Yes.” Xu Wang was about to ask if he still had amnesia, but then realized that at the moment of obtaining the badge, it wasn’t the Chi Yingxue in front of him and hurriedly corrected himself. “Both the badge and the submission were successfully completed.”

Having a teammate with dual personalities was useful, but it could be exhausting…

Chi Yingxue tilted his head slightly, looking over his four teammates with a bit of surprise. “Those few with good strength, not bad.”

He knew he was capable of obtaining the badge, even if it required the other him to step in, but he didn’t expect the remaining four to also complete the submission.

The new teammate’s recognition left the team in an awkward silence.

After a while.

Wu Sheng patted their team captain on the shoulder. “Let it be.”

Xu Wang nodded. “Building a sense of team belonging takes time.”

Qian Ai brainwashed himself. “Just focus on combat ability, yes, combat ability.”

Kuang Jinxin shook his head in resignation, then turned to look at Chi Yingxue’s arm, which was slightly stained red through the bandage. “You should change that dressing.”

“……” Chi Yingxue felt like their words all translated to the same thing—there will be time in the future. I don’t have the same opinion as you now.

In the end, Chi Yingxue didn’t change the dressing and went back to his own hotel. Fortunately, he had a bit of team spirit left and said he would pack up his stuff and check out to join them in the evening for the “Owl”.

Watching Chi Yingxue get into a taxi, Qian Ai couldn’t help but mutter, “Does he not know what pain is?”

No one spoke.

That question could only be answered by Chi Yingxue himself.

Back in their room, the four teammates each took a nap. Wu Sheng fell asleep almost as soon as he lay down. The battles of the night had been as exhausting as three nights combined, and now he didn’t want to move even a finger, letting both his body and mind recharge.

Xu Wang was also tired and lay on the bed, but he couldn’t fall asleep.

He had been worried about Chi Yingxue before and hadn’t had time to think about anything else. Now that he was alone with his thoughts, the letters that had been lurking at the bottom of his heart started to stir, making him restless.

His biggest regret now was not bringing those letters with him.

How heavy could a few pieces of paper be? Could they earn interest hidden at home?!

If he could use a stationery item, he would immediately use an [(Illusory) Out-of-Body Experience] to rush back to Beijing. But reality was that his teammates were looking forward to the next day’s rewards and the day after’s new challenges. He couldn’t just suddenly say he wanted to go back to Beijing, could he?

Of course, if there was a valid reason, he believed his teammates wouldn’t mind accompanying him back once. But could he tell them? Could he say, “I think there might be an unsolved code from ten years ago, and now I want to go back and take another look, to study it”?

…Why did he have to like Wu Sheng so much! If he liked a simple and sweet person, he might already be in the seven-year itch phase by now!

Wu Sheng woke up in the afternoon. Opening his eyes, he saw his team captain sleeping on the other bed, turned towards him, with furrowed brows and a tight grip on the blanket, looking angry as if fighting someone in his dreams.

He thought the other must be dreaming about the challenge. After watching quietly for a while, he couldn’t resist reaching over to gently smooth the furrow on his team captain’s brow.

Only when Xu Wang’s brow relaxed did Wu Sheng get up satisfied, refreshed, and went to the bathroom to start a new day!

In the evening, the fully reunited team of five had their first meal together in full force at a hotel nearby.

During the meal, Xu Wang, on behalf of the whole team, extended a warm and friendly welcome to the new teammate, Classmate Chi. The latter seemed not quite used to such a team-building atmosphere and was initially a bit uncomfortable. However, when Qian Ai started live streaming, the other members naturally dispersed, leaving the camera to the host for a solo shot. Amidst phrases like “Thanks to Brother XX for the yacht” and “What? It’s a sister, haha,” he continued to eat and drink with ease. After this, Chi Yingxue didn’t have any more issues adapting…

Like the “[Mirage] plan” from the night before, it was better not to overthink it and just go with the flow.

Another midnight arrived, and the small team, no longer needing to complete challenges, refreshed in the banquet hall.

As soon as they stood still, they received the reward notification—

Xu Wang’s [Stationery Box]: Received [(Defense) Slipping Hands], [(Offense) Voodoo Doll], [(Illusory) Don’t Want to Grow Up].

Wu Sheng’s [Stationery Box]: Received [(Defense) Poison Immunity], [(Offense) Travel Hammer], [(Illusory) I’m Really Scared].

Qian Ai’s [Stationery Box]: Received [(Defense) Cloak of Invisibility, [(Offense) Gemini Jumping Machine], [(Illusory) Ah, Dropped Money]

Kuang Jinxin’s [Stationery Box]: Received [(Defense) Lost in a Five-Mile Fog], [(Offense) Whose Hand is Brushing Your Black Hair, Whose Hand], [(Illusory) Reincarnate of Hua Tuo*].

*Hua Tao was a Chinese physician famous for his medical skills, so this stationery is basically saying someone as skilled (in medicine) as Hua Tao (thus his reincarnation).

Chi Yingxue’s [Stationery Box]: Received [(Defense) Mr. Thirteen of the Middle Ring], [(Offense) Romantic Afternoon Tea], [(Illusory) I Advise You to Be Kind].

The five teammates found a secluded corner to check the rewards and naturally shared with each other.

Xu Wang: “Lao Qian, your illusory stationery [Ah, Dropped Money] won’t backfire on the teammates, right?”

Qian Ai: “As the team captain, shouldn’t you be more concerned about the user, me?!”

Kuang Jinxin: “Sheng Ge, what does your illusory stationery [I’m Really Scared] mean?”

Wu Sheng: “I’ll tell you once I’ve figured it out.”

Qian Ai: “Hey, Xiao Xue, I’m familiar with [Mr. Thirteen of the Middle Ring]!”

Chi Yingxue: “Xiao… Xue?”

[Owl: Someone used [(Illusory) Reincarnate of Huo Tuo] on you~~]

Chi Yingxue’s dangerous gaze, brewing due to the new nickname, dissipated cleanly amidst the sudden prompt sound.

The nail injury under the arm bandage and various bruises from the physical fight with Jiang Dachuan were all healed in an instant, as good as new.

Those pains he didn’t care about, but were real, disappeared without a trace.

Only he could hear this prompt; Wu Sheng, Xu Wang, and Qian Ai were still discussing the uses of the new stationery, leaving Kuang Jinxin, who was staring at him, as if waiting for the effect.

Their eyes met, and the user asked uncertainly. “Is it okay now?”

Chi Yingxue nodded lightly. “Yes, full status.”

Kuang Jinxin sighed in relief; his expression seemed to say, That’s good.

Chi Yingxue smiled faintly. “Actually, it wasn’t necessary.”

Kuang Jinxin asked, “Does he also not fear pain?”

Chi Yingxue paused, and after a while, he realized who was being asked about and laughed. “Being overly sentimental” was a very novel experience for him—uncomfortable, but interesting.

“He does. He fears pain terribly.” His tone rose, carrying pleasure and schadenfreude.

Kuang Jinxin slightly frowned, feeling that the answer had a bit of intentional provocation.

“Hey.” Chi Yingxue suddenly leaned in close with a smile on his lips, but his eyes were cold. “Is this illusory stationery for me, or for him?”

Kuang Jinxin didn’t dodge, looking straight into his eyes. “For my teammate.”

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