Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

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Chapter 140: Decoding

Underground stone chamber.

[Owl: Someone has used [(Illusory) Turning Weapons Into Jade and Silk*] on you~~]

*(化干戈为玉帛) Idiom referring to turning war into peace (in ancient times) now metaphorically means to turn hostility into friendship (AKA bury the hatchet).

Whether the sharp knives on the ground heard this hint or not was unclear, but the moment the stationery took effect, the cold, gleaming knives indeed transformed: half into jade, losing their sharpness and only retaining a smooth warmth, and the other half into soft silk, softly collapsing to form a luxurious path leading to the lever.

Wu Sheng lowered his arm and sighed inwardly. He had been reluctant to use this stationery in the front courtyard conflict with the Zhang and Peng duo, wanting to save it for tougher enemies later on, but fate had other plans, and he ended up using it here.

If it were only him and Xu Wang, they might consider some unorthodox strategies to fight, but with Yan Wang, who didn’t remember him or Xu Wang and was likely an “early stage” Yan Wang like Chi Zhuolin, the variables were too great. He had to stay within a controllable range and seek stability.

This was only the first challenge, and there were four more stone chambers ahead.

While Wu Sheng’s thoughts raced, Yan Wang, facing the jade and silk on the ground, was stunned. “Impressive. You two are more capable than I expected.”

Xu Wang glanced at him sideways. “Can you elaborate on your ‘expectations’?”

“I was wrong.” Yan Wang quickly admitted defeat, his smile earnest. “I failed to recognize the true value in front of me.”

Xu Wang smiled; this way of speaking reminded him somewhat of the Yan Wang he knew.

In just a few words, the group had reached the lever. Wu Sheng placed his hand on it but hesitated to pull it down, instead turning to ask Yan Wang. “What’s in the next room?”

Yan Wang, being the guide, was naturally the most familiar with the route.

Yet this question made Yan Wang’s face scrunch up, as if he had eaten a bad melon or an extremely sour orange. “I really don’t want to remember…”

“This is no time for sentiment,” Xu Wang interrupted. “Focus on the matter at hand.”

“Chocolate sauce flood,” Yan Wang replied grudgingly.

Xu Wang: “……”

Wu Sheng: “……”

“It’s better than a mountain of knives.” Yan Wang shrugged. “Just hold your breath and swim up.”

As Wu Sheng slowly pulled down the lever, the stone wall began to descend.

Just a foot down, chocolate sauce overflowed from the top edge of the wall.

It slid down the wall, flowed to the ground, and reached their feet.

The stone chamber was filled with the rich, fragrant aroma of chocolate.

As they braced themselves, the slowly sinking stone wall cracked loudly.

The next second, under a violent impact, the wall collapsed, and a tidal wave of chocolate sauce rushed towards them!

They immediately held their breath!

The chocolate sauce instantly filled the chamber, completely engulfing them!

Once submerged, Xu Wang began to swim upwards, only to realize that the viscosity of the chocolate flood was much thicker than he expected, offering far more resistance. He struggled to push upwards, but his ascent was painfully slow.

Xu Wang didn’t know how long he swam upwards, only aware that his lungs were running out of oxygen and his chest felt tight and heavy.

Just at the critical moment, a hand suddenly grabbed his arm and forcefully pulled him upwards.

Xu Wang’s head finally broke the “surface”. He gasped for air, but each breath was filled with the sticky, rich taste of chocolate, making breathing difficult and blinding his eyes with chocolate sauce.

The “life-saving hand” wiped his face.

Xu Wang could finally see the light. Though the chamber was still dim and unclear, at least he could see the concerned gaze of his advisor.

“Are you okay?” Wu Sheng asked worriedly, wiping Xu Wang’s face again.

Xu Wang grabbed his hand and licked it, confirming, “Milk chocolate sauce. I knew Xiao Xue doesn’t like dark chocolate.”

Wu Sheng froze, not because of the type of chocolate sauce, but because he was licked.

Yan Wang, also emerging from the chocolate sauce, reminded Wu Sheng, “You’re sinking.”

After regaining consciousness, Advisor Wu quickly kicked his legs to maintain his height.

Xu Wang turned away, chuckling, then resumed his serious captain demeanor. “Luckily, Xiao Xue likes sweets. If he preferred hot pot, we would have been in real trouble.”

The three slowly and laboriously swam through the chocolate sauce towards the lever in the next stone chamber.

Xu Wang turned to Yan Wang.

Yan Wang stood there, looking bewildered and innocent.

Xu Wang rolled his eyes. “Are you made of toothpaste, only speaking when squeezed? Just tell us. What’s in the remaining three stone chambers?”

“Oh.” Yan Wang suddenly realized and quickly said, “Next is a slide and mice, but the last two chambers are unpredictable.”

Wu Sheng: “What do you mean by unpredictable?”

Yan Wang scratched his head. “It changes every time. I don’t know what it will be this time.”

“Then tell us about the slide and mice,” Xu Wang urged.

Yan Wang: “Okay.”

Xu Wang: “What kind of slide?”

Yan Wang: “Big.”

Xu Wang: “What kind of mice?”

Yan Wang: “Big.”

Xu Wang: “Can’t you come up with a second adjective…”

……

In a certain room, hidden compartment.

Kuang Jinxin didn’t know how long he had been trapped here. His body no longer felt pain. There was only a dull numbness that remained in his twisted joints.

This was a place that could drive a person insane.

Cramped, dark, painful, suffocating.

He could feel his consciousness becoming increasingly scattered, occasionally thinking, ‘It might be better to just pass out,’ as losing consciousness would be a blissful release from his current agony.

But he immediately suppressed such thoughts.

What he was experiencing now, Xiao Xue had endured countless times throughout his long childhood, and now, that person was suffering the nightmare of the secret chamber again. He couldn’t ease Xiao Xue’s pain, but he could do his part to find the badge, find Chi Yingxue here, and end this ordeal even a minute sooner.

Taking a deep breath, Kuang Jinxin again rammed his head against the secret chamber wall!

“Thud!”

The solid sound of impact was accompanied by dizziness and dull pain.

The wall of the secret chamber was thin but incredibly tough.

Kuang Jinxin couldn’t remember how many times he had rammed it. The first time took him more than ten minutes to recover, but now he only needed a few seconds.

The wall didn’t break, but he could feel it loosening slightly, which was all the motivation he needed to continue.

After a few seconds, he gritted his teeth to ram it a second time, but a louder noise came from outside first—

“Bang!”

It sounded like a large tile being lifted and then smashed down.

Kuang Jinxin was startled, instinctively holding his breath, not daring to move.

Soon, a very familiar voice came from outside the secret chamber—

“Damn, where is this place?!”

Kuang Jinxin’s eyes widened, almost crying with joy, as he shouted, “Qian Ge! Brother Ge—”

In the room, Qian Ai, covered in dust and holding a steel dustpan, was gloomily surveying the unfamiliar room when he heard a loud call from within the walls, shouting his name, almost scaring him to death!

It wasn’t until the second shout that he realized something was wrong; he knew this voice!

“Xiao Kuang?!” Qian Ai dashed to the wall where the voice was coming from, knocked on it, and it echoed hollowly.

“Step back. I’m going to smash the wall!” Qian Ai announced loudly.

“Don’t smash, Qian Ge! I can’t move!” Kuang Jinxin hurriedly shouted, fearing he would be crushed along with the wall.

Qian Ai had already raised his dustpan, stopping just a centimeter from the wall. “God, a half-second later, and I would have smashed it!”

“……” Kuang Jinxin broke out in a cold sweat. Being beaten, abused, and stuffed into a wall hadn’t broken him, but he nearly died at the hands of his own teammate.

“Qian Ge, look for it. I’ve been ramming it for a while now. There must be a crack. If there’s a crack, we can pry it open!” Kuang Jinxin advised from inside the wall.

Qian Ai lit up his phone’s screen and, centering on Kuang Jinxin’s voice, looked around until he finally found a thin crack. Without a word, he started prying with the dustpan.

Qian Ai had mastered the use of the dustpan, able to move mountains and dig holes with just a gap.

“Crack!”

With brute force from the steel dustpan, the secret chamber’s wall broke open.

Qian Ai immediately pulled out the curled-up Kuang Jinxin. It was too dark to see his condition clearly, but he pulled him out as usual, which caused Kuang Jinxin to cry out in pain due to the rough movement.

Kuang Jinxin rarely cried out in pain, startling Qian Ai, who immediately slowed down and stopped pulling. Instead, he extended his arm fully inside, embracing and half-carrying Kuang Jinxin out.

Once out, Qian Ai saw, in the light of the phone flashlight placed on the ground, Kuang Jinxin’s broken mouth corner, swollen eyes, and his hands bound behind his back.

“Who the hell did this?” Qian Ai angrily cut the plastic ties with his dart, struggling to contain his murderous rage, and asked through gritted teeth.

Kuang Jinxin slowly moved his arms and wrists, feeling the blood flow returning.

Qian Ai was anxious. “Tell me.”

Kuang Jinxin looked up, his eyes filled with complex emotions. “Chi Yingxue’s father.”

Qian Ai was momentarily stunned.

“Why would he…?”

His voice, filled with disbelief, lost its previous fierceness.

“Does he dislike us intruding? Or is it because we fought with Lao Zhang and Lao Peng…”

Qian Ai’s limited intellect could only come up with these reasons, but even he felt they were far-fetched. Kuang Jinxin’s face was swollen, his cheeks bearing clear handprints, and being bound and shoved into a wall—this clearly was a fucking a crime. It couldn’t be just because they fought with people in the house, could the homeowner retaliate so crazily?

“He mistook me for Xiao Xue…” Kuang Jinxin spoke softly, feeling choked up. “Qian Ge, he wasn’t beating me. He was beating Xiao Xue.”

Qian Ai knew this was a world of consciousness, with many absurd and illogical elements, but Kuang Jinxin’s answer still stunned him.

It wasn’t the simple and brutal shock of blood and monsters attacking, but rather a creeping coldness in the heart, like a snake slithering inside, bringing an unshakable chill.

“I didn’t sit still as he told me to, so he said I was running around, being disobedient. If I’m disobedient, I must be punished…” Kuang Jinxin’s eyes reddened, and his voice choked not with self-pity but for the injustice done to Xiao Xue.

Qian Ai felt distressed listening and instinctively reached out to comfort Kuang Jinxin by patting his head. But when he did, several hairs came off in his hand—not just one or two, but seven or eight!

Qian Ai was stunned, looking at his palm, and Kuang Jinxin immediately understood. “He grabbed my hair earlier.”

“…He’s sick!” Qian Ai was furious, feeling that each new piece of information was pushing his limits.

No wonder Chi Yingxue feared pain and darkness and developed a split personality. Having such a father, it was a miracle he grew up at all!

“But why?” Qian Ai asked. “Or is there no reason, and his dad is just an abuser?”

Kuang Jinxin couldn’t answer this question for Qian Ai. Although he had talked with Chi Yingxue’s father, there was almost no useful information.

As the numbness in his body faded and the pain returned, Kuang Jinxin noticed Qian Ai’s disheveled state, the discarded dustpan, the lifted floor tiles, and the large hole exposed.

“Qian Ge, did you… dig your way here?” Kuang Jinxin couldn’t think of any other explanation for the scene before him.

“The door wouldn’t open. What else could I do? So, I dug.” Qian Ai rubbed his shoulder and swung his arms. “Wasn’t easy to reunite with you guys… Huh? Where are Xu Wang and Wu Sheng?”

Qian Ai had been focused on rescuing Kuang Jinxin and only now remembered his captain and advisor.

Kuang Jinxin briefly explained their strategy of splitting up, one group following the child and the other tracking the man in black.

Qian Ai, after hearing it, slapped his forehead. “Great, we still need to reunite.”

Kuang Jinxin forced a smile. “At least we’re split in two groups, not three or four.”

“Stop smiling with a swollen face; just be stoic.” Qian Ai looked at him, wanting to throw a [Money Dart] at that Old Man Chi. “By the way, the kid you mentioned, is that Xiao Xue?”

Kuang Jinxin thought for a moment and shook his head. “Can’t be sure. But considering Chi Zhuolin’s age, it’s not strange that Chi Yingxue here is a child.”

“Chi Zhuolin?” Qian Ai was confused. “He’s here too?

Kuang Jinxin realized he had only talked about splitting up and had left out the part about encountering Chi Yingxue twice before.

He quickly organized his thoughts and updated Qian Ai as fast as possible. After finishing, he pulled out “Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes” from his backpack—

“Qian Ge, this is probably the original book. I found it in a secret study nearby… But I forgot the four sets of numbers in the letter!”

His excitement at nearing the solution was mixed with frustration at forgetting the puzzle.

Qian Ai quietly looked at the nursery rhyme book for a long time before silently pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket. “Is this the letter you were talking about?”

Kuang Jinxin’s eyes widened in disbelief. What Qian Ai took out was Chi Zhuolin’s letter!

“Qian Ge, where did you get this? Did you meet the captain and Sheng Ge? No, wait, didn’t you say you were digging underground the whole time…?” Kuang Jinxin snatched the letter, flipping through it back and forth, shocked and ecstatic, not knowing what to say.

“It’s a long story,” Qian Ai said with a bitter swallow. “Your Qian Ge was really focused on digging, thinking I’d dig from this side of the door to the other side and be done with it. But it was weird; I dug down on this side but couldn’t dig up on the other side, like hitting a ghost wall. I was about to give up when I broke through to a tunnel! It was a proper tunnel, very neatly dug, so I thought, since it’s come to this, let’s see where the tunnel leads. Halfway through, I met a giant crab, and it had this piece of paper stuck to its claw. I thought it was a clue, so I fought a deadly battle with the crab… Hey, are you listening to me?”

Qian Ai was speaking passionately, spit flying everywhere, but when he looked up, he found that Kuang Jinxin was already on the floor, buried in the book and the letter, flipping and reading, flipping and reading, as if possessed by Wu Sheng.

Realizing that he was deciphering, Qian Ai wisely shut up and waited quietly.

Finally, the “Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes” was closed.

Qian Ai asked eagerly, “What did Chi Zhuolin write to Xiao Xue in the end?”

Kuang Jinxin sat up, staring at the thick hardcover book cover for a long time before spitting out four words: “Dad, has, come, back.”

……

In front of the lever of the slide stone chamber.

Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, and Yan Wang, covered in chocolate sauce and countless mouse hairs, looked like three ape-men.

Beside them was a towering, bright yellow spiral slide. Under the slide was a thick, python-like mouse tail, but the owner of the tail had already fled.

“I can’t imagine how you managed to get through here alone before.” Xu Wang looked at Yan Wang, gasping for breath. “It was tough for all three of us to fight it.”

Yan Wang plucked the mouse hair off his head. “It was especially strong today, probably excited to see you guys.”

Xu Wang was incredulous at this absurd theory.

Wu Sheng approached the lever and turned back to remind Xu Wang again. “Ready?”

Xu Wang nodded seriously.

According to Yan Wang, the contents of these last two stone chambers were random, so they could only prepare mentally and choose tactics as they saw fit.

Wu Sheng turned serious, looking at the stone wall, and firmly pulled down the lever!

“Click—”

The stone wall descended smoothly.

When it was fully down, nothing happened.

The stone chamber in front of them was empty and quiet, with nothing but a stone table in the center, on which lay a file folder.

Wu Sheng held his cell phone flashlight and approached the stone table cautiously and quietly.

Xu Wang and Yan Wang looked at each other and followed.

Finally, the three stood by the stone table, the phone light falling on the transparent folder. Inside was just one page, torn unevenly at the top as if ripped from a bound document.

From the page number and signature, it could be seen that it was the last page of a DNA test report. The final item of the report clearly stated—

[Test Results]: Based on the above DNA genetic marker typing results, specimen 1 is excluded as the biological father of specimen 2.

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