Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 151: Advance and Retreat
“Dachuan.” The dice arrived in Gu Nian’s hands, but he didn’t rush to throw it, instead calling out to his teammate first.
Jiang Dachuan was squatting on Grid 1, mentally almost isolated from the whole world. It took him a while before he faintly realized that someone seemed to be calling him from an unknown direction.
He silently lifted his head and slowly looked towards Gu Nian at the distant Grid 29, responding with a lifeless, “Huh?”
Gu Nian smiled at him—a light and shallow smile. “The captain said he changed his mind. The Rolls-Royce he just bought, you can be the first to drive it.”
Jiang Dachuan sprang up, looking towards Wang Duanran in shock and delight. “Really?!”
“Ah?” Wang Duanran was baffled for two seconds, then seemed to understand and nodded hard. “…Yeah.”
Jiang Dachuan was overjoyed. What PK failure? What being sent back to the starting point? Now they were all dust in the universe!
Wang Duanran’s heart was bleeding. He could almost foresee the grim future of his new car getting scratched, rear-ended, and needing body paint.
However, the atmosphere, which was one-sided just a moment ago, became lively and complex again due to this interlude and Jiang Dachuan’s revival.
Xu Wang was somewhat surprised. The last time they clashed, his impression of this team was that the relationships between teammates were lukewarm, but now it seemed he was one-sided. A scattered team couldn’t have come this far; it was just that each team’s cohesion was different.
“Rolling—”
Gu Nian’s dice had already landed.
2, 29-31.
“Ding—”
[Cheat Sheet]: Grid 31 revealed, surprise.
Kuang Jinxin was at Grid 33. According to the position, it conformed to the [Pond Fish Rule], but his Bystander’s Amulet was still active, so his teammates weren’t worried.
Compared to Xu Wang’s team’s calm, Wang Duanran’s team was a bit more anxious, although it wasn’t their first time tackling this challenge. Any surprise, taken lightly, could send you back to the starting point.
The surprise was quickly revealed—the Happy Wheel!
This was the second time the Happy Wheel appeared in the game. Gu Nian was clearly interested in this game; as soon as the wheel stabilized, he grabbed and spun it hard!
The wheel spun swiftly and colorfully, like a palette.
After a while, the wheel finally stopped—Tornado!
Instantly, a small tornado formed around the square Gu Nian was standing on, blowing him away with its rapid wind force!
Tornado—can blow a person randomly to any square.
All nine teammates instinctively looked up, following the graceful arc drawn by Gu Nian in the air, eventually landing on step A4.
Starting from point A, Gu Nian was blown by the tornado to Grid A4, just two steps away from the finish line.
The air suddenly solidified.
A few seconds later, Wang Duanran’s team, having reacted, erupted in excitement!
“Gu Nian, you did great!” Chen Guan felt as if a huge rock pressing on his chest for a long time was shattered by this wind; he now felt he could leap eight hundred miles and punch with a thousand pounds of force!
“Gu Nian, finish the battle in the next round!” Jiang Dachuan was excited as if he was the one close to the finish line.
“Gu Nian!” With everything else said by his teammates, all Kong Lizhe could shout was the name.
Wang Duanran proudly looked towards Kuang Jinxin, with only three squares between them. “You’re right, luck is the greatest strength.”
Kuang Jinxin revealed a bright smile of affirmation. “I told you so.”
Wang Duanran: “……”
Is there a misunderstanding in their communication?!
A 2-point roll directly put Gu Nian far ahead—Kuang Jinxin still had more than half a circle to go (1-52), while others were already on the sprint steps—and also completely reversed the atmosphere of the race.
Momentum is a thing; either the east wind prevails over the west wind or the west wind over the east.
Next up was Kong Lizhe. He hummed a tune as he threw the dice. Although the result was just 1 point, from 7 to 8, a blank, the joy in his eyes didn’t fade.
“6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6……” Qian Ai prayed devotedly while holding the dice.
Kong Lizhe could understand the desire to roll a 6. After all, 6 and 10 allow for another roll, meaning one round could cover the distance of two… Hold up! Kong Lizhe’s eyes widened, counting the squares, and he felt a chill down his spine. Qian Ai was at 2, while he was at 8. If Qian Ai rolled at 6, that would land him right on his square! Was this seeking a PK addiction?! He absolutely, fundamentally, did not want to PK with this guy at all!
Rolling—7.
Qian Ai sighed in disappointment, missing the duel.
Kong Lizhe sighed in relief, surviving the ordeal.
7, 2–9, reward, 1,000 yuan.
The moment the square was revealed, Qian Ai went crazy. “Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, Xiao Kuang, Xiao Xue—it’s a cash reward—cash!”
“……” Wang Duanran’s team was perplexed.
It was just 1,000 yuan, yet why did it feel like it brought 1,000,000 yuan’s worth of joy?
Next, Kuang Jinxin rolled an 8, 33–41, directly joining Chi Yingxue on the same blank square.
Chi Xue stepped back half a step, making room for Kuang Jinxin on the square.
Kuang Jinxin landed.
Without any small talk, Chi Yingxue glanced at Gu Nian on the central platform in the water, saying, “He’s 29 steps ahead of you.”
Kuang Jinxin didn’t care. “As long as we’re not the last one to reach the finish line, we win.”
Chi Yingxue tilted his head and pondered for a moment. “That’s true.”
Jiang Dachuan, the only one who hadn’t taken off yet, his little heart had just been fluttering from the Rolls-Royce, was stabbed twice.
Just after leaving the starting point, Captain Xu, currently second to last in the game, also had a stray bullet graze him.
Not wanting to lose at the last moment, he then rolled a 6!
15–21, Gu Nian once won 20,000 yuan here!
Captain Xu’s earnings were slightly less, but he still pocketed 10,000 yuan!
He could roll again.
Xu Wang looked at the square in front of him, calculating that either a 7 or 9 would do, 7 to Grid 28, blank, 9 to Grid 30, reward.
Taking a deep breath, he threw the dice onto the water surface.
Another 6!
Xu Wang was stunned, not even believing his own luck. Could he possibly throw it a third time?
The whole group of friends didn’t react for a moment.
21–27, launch point, blank.
Xu Wang, feeling dizzy, threw for the third time—6.
Wu Sheng, Chi Yingxue, Kuang Jinxin: “……”
Qian Ai almost wished he could gift him a yacht. “Captain, 666!”
Jiang Dachuan, Kong Lizhe, Gu Nian, Chen Guan remained silent.
Wang Duanran couldn’t stand it anymore, slamming the table and complained with genuine emotion, “Hey, can you not? If this keeps up, no one will want to play with you! You might as well just walk directly to the finish line!”
27-33, blank.
When Xu Wang landed in Grid 33, he still felt like he was stepping on clouds, floating. The happiness came too suddenly and too intensely, and he was somewhat unable to withstand it.
On his fourth roll, it was finally not a 6, but a 1.
Xu Wang himself breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that rolling another 6 might use up all the luck for this level too soon.
33–34, surprise.
Xu Wang quickly gathered his happy bubbles, ready for what’s next!
[Owl: Quick Happy Answer in ten seconds!]
Xu Wang was startled, subconsciously looking at Wu Sheng, not quite sure, yet somewhat sure, but not really confident. After all, even their own advisor couldn’t have scanned every part of the level, right?
Wang Duanran’s team laughed.
Especially Kong Lizhe, who saw this as an early declaration of return. “Stop struggling. Just go back to the launch point honestly.”
[Owl: In the 6/23 Castle, which broom flies the fastest? A. Black Storm B. Crimson Flame C. Blue Snow D. White Elf. Countdown begins! 10! 9! 8……]
Xu Wang was utterly hopeless. Flying brooms belong to the Happy Line, and they had only glimpsed their colleagues riding brooms from afar through a window. What the brooms were called, how fast they flew—who knows!
Wang Duanran’s team was also confused. They had gone through the Happy Line and ridden brooms—of course, let’s not recall the specifics to avoid trauma—but all the brooms looked the same; they all had the same color. Where was there black, crimson, blue, white?
“Xu Wang,” Wu Sheng suddenly said.
Xu Wang’s heart jolted, his gaze meeting him again, hope kindling yet not daring to burn too fiercely.
Wu Sheng said, “C. Blue Snow.”
His voice wasn’t deliberately steady or lowered. It was just as casual as when he used to explain problems to him, pointing out effortlessly, “Here, this is the correct answer.”
“C. Blue Snow.” Xu Wang didn’t hesitate for a moment.
[Owl: Correct answer! Congratulations!]
“Sheng Ge!” Kuang Jinxin wore an unabashed look of admiration.
Qian Ai was amazed, giving their advisor a thumbs up.
Xu Wang’s square stabilized, but Wang Duanran’s team’s morale was shaken. Chen Guan, closest to Wu Sheng, just two squares away, straightforwardly said, “The brooms in the Happy Line don’t have names.”
Wu Sheng said, “Just because you didn’t see, doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”
Chen Guan’s face sank. “We’ve ridden them eight times!”
Wu Sheng: “……”
Qian Ai could understand—it was better to choose the same line for familiarity. But he was also curious. “Doesn’t that get uncomfortable?”
Chen Guan: “……”
Wang Duanran, Kong Lizhe, Gu Nian, Jiang Dachuan: “……”
They didn’t want to answer.
Wu Sheng suddenly sympathized with the opponents. Since it wasn’t a big secret, he might as well clarify. “You also bought the badge handbook, right?”
Wang Duanran and the others were stunned, unsure whether to answer.
Seeing their expressions, Wu Sheng knew he guessed right. Actually, from the last encounter, their familiarity with the badges and challenges was enough for him to make this inference.
Since the badge handbook wasn’t a secret, then his answer could be shared. “Next time you have a chance to return to 6/23, you might want to check the second row from the left on the magazine rack in the basement level convenience store. The third magazine from the left on the cover, the fourth line of the small title—Black Storm loses to Crimson Flame, Blue Snow kills White Elf.”
Wang Duanran: “It could also be Crimson Flame!”
Wu Sheng: “Right, so between the two, I choose Blue Snow.”
Wang Duanran: “Why?”
Wu Sheng: “If you have three longs and one short, choose the shortest; three shorts and one long, choose the longest; two longs and two shorts, choose b; if it’s uneven, C is invincible*.”
*Clarity: This is apparently an exam formula, where if you have three long answers and one short answer, choose the short answer; if you have three short answers and one long answer, choose the longest. If it’s two short and two long, choose B. If it’s uneven (in this case, Crimson Flames (赤烈焰) and Blue Snow (蓝雪)) choose C.
Wang Duanran: “……”
All friends: “……”
Since Advisor Wu revived everyone’s fear of being dominated by multiple-choice questions in exams, for a long time after, everyone was very low-key.
Chi Yingxue rolled a 4, 41–45, and stood on a reward square with Wu Sheng, earning 10,000 yuan.
Wang Duanran rolled a 5, 37–42, revealed a surprise. The ground underneath turned into quicksand, which he used stationery to stabilize.
Chen Guan rolled a 9, from 48–5, also revealing a surprise. It was the Happy Wheel. The result was that he had to choose to go back a number of squares between 1–10. He naturally chose one, 5–4, blank.
Lastly, Wu Sheng rolled a 10, from 45–3, revealing a surprise. Toxic vines suddenly grew from the ground, which he used stationery to cut and burn them, finally uprooting them. Continuing, he rolled again, a 3, 3–6, reward, receiving stationery.
Wu Sheng smiled wryly. He had obtained this stationery a long time ago but had kept it unused due to not understanding its effect. Now, the icon in his stationery box was directly doubled.
By the end of the sixth round, there had been significant changes in the situation. The progress ranking of the ten friends was as followed—
- Gu Nian, base 52/52, steps 4/5, only 2 steps away from the finish line.
- Kuang Jinxin, Launch Point B (14)-41, progress 28/52
- Xu Wang, Launch Point B (14)-34, progress 21/52
- Chi Yingxue, Launch Point (27)-45, progress 19/52
- Chen Guan, Launch Point D (40)-52-4, progress 17/52
- Wu Sheng, Launch Point (40)-52-3, progress 16/52
- Wang Duanran, Launch Point C (27)-42, progress 16/52
- Qian Ai, Launch Point A (1)-9, progress 9/52
- Kong Lizhe, Launch Point A (1)-8, progress 8/52
- Jiang Dachuan, Launch Point A.
Looking at this round, Captain Xu quietly climbed to third place thanks to rolling triple sixes; Chi Yingxue and Chen Guan advanced steadily without making much noise; Gu Nian, with his strong luck, directly stepped up, and despite any reluctance, one must admit the huge gap in luck and talent does exist, something Jiang Dachuan would feel most deeply.
Wu Sheng also had this clear ranking in his mind. Gu Nian was likely to reach the finish line first, but similarly, the last one could also be from the opposing team. The key to winning this level wasn’t about who was the fastest but who was the slowest, so the current situation wasn’t too bad for his side.
Of course, if he had to choose, he’d prefer Gu Nian not to reach first. Letting the opponent take the lead would be too significant a loss in terms of momentum and morale. But at this point, it seemed inevitable.
While Advisor was calculating the battle situation, Jiang Dachuan, at his Launch Point A (Grid 1) for the seventh round, had already thrown the heavy dice again.
2.
Jiang Dachuan nodded, continuing to stay at the Launch Point calmly, unsure if this was due to a stable mindset or numbness.
The dice flew into Gu Nian’s hands.
The whole place quieted down, silent as if even the ripples on the water stopped, turning the water surface into a serene, azure-blue canvas.
Bright light from the glass dome above cast down, spotlighting Gu Nian, the man closest to the finish line, as if locking him in on it.
Gu Nian appeared composed, but his calm, deep gaze betrayed the importance he placed on this throw.
As he gently released his hand, the dice landed on the water surface as smooth as a mirror.
The shadow slowly rose—10.
The whole group of friends: “……”
Throwing a 10 at this time was truly… complicated.
To reach the finish line, the number must be exact; if over, one must move back accordingly.
So, under the watchful eyes of all, Gu Nian moved forward first—A4–A5–Finish Line—then moved back—Finish Line–A5–A4–A3–A2–A1–1–52–51.
51, surprise.
It took Gu Nian just a minute to get rid of the dead needles falling from the sky.
Then he carefully threw the dice a second time.
This time, the dice didn’t hit the water but rolled to Jiang Dachuan at Grid 1, stopping by his feet—10.
Someone, unable to hold back, exclaimed, “What the—”, voicing everyone’s thoughts.
Xu Wang’s team, though not hoping for Gu Nian to reach the finish line, felt somewhat sorry for him throwing consecutive 10s, especially at this time, from a humanitarian perspective.
Wang Duanran’s team, needless to say, wished they could snatch that dice and chew it up for being so disobedient and replace it with a more obedient one!
He was back to where he retreated.
Gu Nian moved back to A4.
The third throw.
Even Gu Nian, as composed as he was, seemed a bit shaky, uncertain if it was nervousness or frustration.
This time, he threw the dice onto the Finish Line stone slab.
“Rolling—”
6.
Xu Wang’s team: “……”
Kong Lizhe, Chen Guan, Jiang Dachuan: “……”
Wang Duanran: “Gu Nian, you don’t have to be so competitive. Just because they threw a 666, you don’t have to counter with 10-10-6. We don’t need much; just 2 would suffice!”
Gu Nian: “……”
Of course, he wanted a 2, but it’s not like he could remote control the dice!
Rarely anything could make Gu Nian feel agitated, but today, this game of Aeroplane Chess succeeded.
Trying to calm his mood with a deep breath, Gu Nian watched as he was sent forward and then back—A5–Finish Line–A5–A4–A3–A2.
The dice was thrown for the fourth time, rolling on the step before falling into the water.
3.
A2–A3–A4–A5.
He was only one step away from the finish line.
The long-suppressed atmosphere finally broke through.
Wang Duanran’s team didn’t boast loudly this time, but everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After all, after moving back and forth, he still advanced a step. Ignoring the process and focusing only on the result, it was definitely good. Well, yes, just ignore the process.
The team could ignore the process, but Gu Nian couldn’t forget it. He looked at the Finish Line that was so close, yet he felt an overwhelming sense of an endless journey ahead.
Xu Wang’s team remained silent.
Their silence wasn’t due to worry about Gu Nian reaching first but seeing in Gu Nian’s repeated attempts their own bitter future of “desperately seeking the Finish Line but not reaching it”.
The last five steps had no attributes as they were all blank—truly, it was a path of despair.
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Kinky Translations 
well, he should be happy he didn’t throw a 9! At least he’s standing safe now…
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