Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 153: Water Waves
No one expected that the first to reach the Finish Line would be Wu Sheng.
Right after he sent Kong Lizhe back to the starting point in the previous round, he casually threw a 7. 39–40 (Launch Point D) to A1–A2–A3–A4–A5 and then to the Finish Line. Not one more, not one less—just right.
At that time, Gu Nian and Kuang Jinxin were still advancing and retreating on the stairs, Jiang Dachuan had just pulled a little distance from those two groundhog brothers, and the other friends were still calculating how many rounds they would need to approach the sprint stairs. Wu Sheng, who was the last to roll the dice, did so casually, throwing a 7.
“You must have cheated. You definitely cheated when you rolled the dice!” Kong Lizhe had suspected this in the last round, and now he was convinced.
Indeed, it was taking effect. Wu Sheng could feel the fluctuations of the stationery. This illusory stationery was like a blessing buff, not lasting long, but enduring two or three rounds of throws wasn’t a problem.
However, the secret could only be shared with specific people.
Xu Wang clearly caught the look Wu Sheng passed him, though it was just a quick glance as he turned to Kong Lizhe, but Captain Xu fully understood the advisor’s intended message—victory was that easy *shrug*.
“It doesn’t matter what you say.” Wu Sheng already looked at Kong Lizhe, innocently raising his hand and pointing to the glass dome above as if there was an invisible referee there. “It decides.”
It, naturally, was the Owl, the setter and enforcer of the rules.
However, the prompt tone did not sound.
Instead, it was Lao Qian who yelled out so excitedly that it echoed. “Class Monitor, you’re awesome!”
Kong Lizhe was almost blown away, covering his ears and cursing, “Can’t you give a warning before you fucking scream!”
The two stood closely at the same Launch Point, like a pair of good buddies.
Qian Ai, in a great mood, put his arm around the other’s shoulder, sincerely promising, “Then I’ll give a heads-up now. Wait until Xiao Kuang gets to the Finish Line, and I’ll shout again.”
Kong Lizhe pushed him away with an elbow. “Dream on. The next one to reach the finish line will definitely be Gu Nian.”
Qian Ai sighed and looked far away. “If I were you, I wouldn’t put so much pressure on my teammate.”
“……” Following his gaze, Kong Lizhe saw Gu Nian’s tired profile.
The other classmates of the Wang Duanran squad were initially annoyed, but hearing Qian Ai shout “Class Monitor”, their curiosity overcame their irritation and took the high ground.
“Did you just call him Class Monitor?” Despite Qian Ai’s loud voice making those words almost tangible, Wang Duanran still wanted to confirm.
“Yeah, we were high school classmates,” Qian Ai admitted openly. Mainly because in this round, everyone’s name scrolled through the prompt countless times. Trying to hide one’s real identity was futile, so there was even less point in hiding minor details.
“You two were high school classmates, and then got pulled in here together?” Wang Duanran guessed tentatively. “Were you together at the time?”
“Together what?” Qian Ai said. “We met in the second round.” He then pointed at Xu Wang, kindly adding, “These two teamed up from the start. Now that’s real fate.”
Hearing this, Wang Duanran said, “So they were classmates too?”
With the conversation reaching this point and he was still asking, Qian Ai almost despised Wang Duanran’s reading comprehension. “Of course. He’s our Sports Rep, he’s our Class Monitor, and I am… I… I sat in the first row.” After some thought, Qian Ai finally found a dignified identity for himself.
Wang Duanran looked at this “trio of heroes from one class” with mixed feelings. “Is the feng shui in your class not good?”
Amidst the banter, Wu Sheng was sent to the finish line, and everyone received a “Ding—”
[Cheat Sheet]: Congratulations to Wu Sheng for reaching the Finish Line!
A chair with wings flew down from the dome, perfectly landing under Wu Sheng’s bottom, then carried him back up below the dome.
The light projected from the glass hit his back, giving him a halo effect. Sitting in the chair, he looked down, seeing the entire chessboard. All the surface of the water was within his sight.
The friends below looked up, unable to see his face clearly. They only saw a figure in the backlight casually crossing his legs and giving them a friendly wave from above.
Xu Wang, Kuang Jinxin, and Qian Ai vigorously waved back, while Chi Yingxue nodded gently.
Wang Duanran, Jiang Dachuan, Gu Nian, Kong Lizhe, and Chen Guan all had grim expressions. They all thought in unison about throwing a brick at him.
[Owl: The first to complete the Aeroplane Chess game has appeared! Remember, those who finish the game must not interfere with the ongoing game. Violators will be considered as breaking the rules, disqualified, and sent back to the Launch Point~~]
What counts as “interference”?
Wu Sheng pondered these words, lost in thought.
Perhaps Wu Sheng’s completion broke the deadlock and shifted fortunes, as in the next round, Gu Nian and Kuang Jinxin reached the Finish Line one after another!
If not considering the order of their throws, just the rounds, they should be considered as reaching the Finish Line at the same time. However, their joy was distinctly different—Kuang Jinxin’s was pure joy, while Gu Nian’s joy was tinged with a hint of fatigue.
Thus, after twelve rounds, the seven people still on the board were as follows—
Chen Guan, Launch Point D, current position D2 on the stairs, 4 steps from the Finish Line.
Xu Wang, Launch Point B, current position B1 on the stairs, 5 steps from the Finish Line.
Chi Yingxue, Launch Point C, current position C1 on the stairs, 5 steps from the Finish Line.
Wang Duanran, though not yet on the stairs, was about to complete the basic circle, currently 9 steps from the Linish Fine.
Of the three at Launch Point A, Qian Ai just took off, at 2; Kong Lizhe threw a 1 after taking off, so was now at 3; Jiang Dachuan, having started a few rounds earlier than his struggling companions, was now at 8, with the Finish Line far in the future.
With this, the situation was quite clear.
Unless there were accidents, like PKs or Happy Wheel tornadoes, these four—Chen Guan, Xu Wang, Chi Yingxue, and Wang Duanran—would finish in succession without any hitches.
The real decider of victory might be among the three at Launch Point A.
The dice returned to Jiang Dachuan’s hand. He looked back at Qian Ai and Kong Lizhe, suddenly wishing for a foot-speeding stationery, to dash forward with the speed of lightning, leaving the bottom group behind.
Worrying about being caught up was secondary; mainly, he worried about being caught up to the same spot.
The difficult task of stationery PK, he should let the stronger teammates handle it—like Xiao Kong.
“Roll—”
6, 8–14.
Jiang Dachuan was thrilled. It was like eating ice during a hailstorm. Another throw, and he could widen the gap by two rounds in one go!
As soon as he landed on Grid 14, he couldn’t wait to throw the dice again!
“Roll—”
5, 14–19, surprise.
[Owl: Happy Wheel!]
Jiang Dachuan focused hard on the “Advance 1-10 at will” option, as if channeling his energy, he pulled the wheel down!
“Click, click, click—”
The wheel spun for a long while before finally stopping—Tornado.
Jiang Dachuan wasn’t quite satisfied, but then he thought, since he had just completed a quarter of the round, as long as the random wind didn’t blow towards this quarter, any position in the remaining three-quarters would essentially advance him, ensuring a no-lose situation.
“Whoosh—”
Jiang Dachuan was lifted into the air, not with a beautiful arc like Gu Nian’s, but a steep diagonal, landing on Grid 4, blank.
Well, his mind was indeed blank at the moment.
It took him a while to look back, first at Kong Lizhe next door, then at Qian Ai next to him, managing a weak smile.
Kong Lizhe felt both sympathy and pity, patting him on the shoulder to comfort. “No worries. I’m still behind you, aren’t I?”
“Exactly,” Qian Ai chimed in, continuing the comfort with earnest and heartfelt words. “What’s the use of running so fast? I’ve told you before, we’re a big family at Launch Point A, but you wouldn’t listen, always wanting to break away from the group.”
Jiang Dachuan: “……”
Kong Lizhe: “……”
When the hell did he say that? Can we not blatantly rewrite the chat history?!
The dice moved to Kong Lizhe, who threw a 2, moved 3–5, and ended up in front of Jiang Dachuan on Grid 4, still neighbors.
Qian Ai rolled a 1, moving 2–3, and now, the three of them, on Grid 3, 4, and 5, were lined up just like that.
The three stopped bickering. They were all struggling to get by so who was laughing at whom?
The dice didn’t concern itself with them and fluttered to Xu Wang.
Xu Wang glanced at the Finish Line in front of him, summoning every bit of his sincerity, hoping for a 5.
The dice was thrown, skimming across the surface like a stone before stopping—4.
B1–B5, just one step away from the Finish Line.
Just one step!
Xu Wang felt bitter inside but still stood tall and proud—Chen Guan was standing on the opposite stairway, after all. In terms of the straight line, there were just 4 steps and one Finish Line between them, and he couldn’t appear weaker in momentum.
“Ding—”
A sudden, prompt tone made everyone pause.
Xu Wang was on the stairway, which was all blank, so what was the “ding” for?
[Cheat Sheet]: B4 revealed, surprise.
This turn of events caught everyone off guard.
Gu Nian had been tangoing back and forth on the stairway without triggering a single surprise, so how did Xu Wang get one?
As if knowing everyone’s questions, the earpiece seamlessly connected—
[Owl: There is a [Good Neighbor Responsibility Amulet] within ten spaces, activating the [Sprint Surprise]! Dears who shoulder the responsibility, stand tall with your majestic chest, and protect the bearer of the surprise! If the bearer of the surprise returns to the Launch Point, you too must bear joint responsibility and go back~~]
All eyes in the audience, nine pairs, snapped onto Chen Guan.
Chen Guan was still confused. During their last round through this level, they also triggered the “Good Neighbor Responsibility Amulet”, knowing it required the holder to help defend against any surprises for neighbors within ten spaces. But no one knew it applied to the stairs too!
Xu Wang was on the B stairs, and he was on the D stairs. You can’t just connect them with a “Finishing Line stone” and call it a straight line!
“Couldn’t you have climbed the stairway a round later?!” The effect of the symbol lasted for three rolls, and this was already the third. Just a bit more, and he could have avoided it. Chen Guan couldn’t really blame anyone, but he couldn’t very well scold himself either.
He didn’t scold, but Xu Wang could help. “Couldn’t you just not trigger this damn amulet?!”
Amidst their mutual blame-shifting, the surprise arrived as scheduled—the water surface violently shook, shaking the ground itself, and the next second, a giant wave towered!
The wave rose near Xu Wang, seven or eight meters high, with spray even wetting the shoes of the “three who already finished” in the air!
The wave crashing down, if not deadly for Xu Wang, would at least sweep him away, and being swept off the square would be a violation!
Wu Sheng stared intensely below, his knuckles white from gripping the armrest of his chair, frantic with worry but clear on the rules—he could not interfere with the game!
Other companions could throw stationery, but just like when Chi Yingxue wanted to help Kuang Jinxin before, it was completely ineffective.
The wave had already crashed down, fast and fierce, with a vicious killing intent!
This was completely different from the surprises in the basics. The lethality and corresponding difficulty weren’t just a step up, it was a leap!
The giant wave instantly engulfed Xu Wang along with the steps!
“Captain—”
“Xu Wang—”
The first call was made by Kuang Jinxin and Qian Ai; the second was by Chen Guan, who shouted with more genuine concern than both opponents. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help, but searching for stationery also took time. As the captain, Xu Wang couldn’t even withstand the first wave; how could he, an external help, assist!
After the wave receded, the steps reappeared, along with a sturdy big tree rooted on the steps and Xu Wang, who was hugging the top of the tree trunk.
The tree was tall and straight, and its trunk grew straight up for nearly three meters before branching out into lush branches. Xu Wang was hugging the end of this three-meter-tall trunk with his head under the dense branches, which, in terms of vertical space, indeed didn’t count as leaving the square.
However, he was in a sorry state. The posture of hugging the tree with all four limbs was full of a desire to survive, and there was even a noose around his neck… A noose?!
Chen Guan’s eyes widened. Just as he was about to confirm, another wave hit.
The branches snapped loudly, and when the wave receded, a part of the tree crown was missing, but Xu Wang, still hugging the trunk below the tree crown, remained as steady as Mount Tai.
This time, Chen Guan saw clearly. It was indeed a noose—one end around Xu Wang’s neck, the other tied to a nearby branch. If Xu Wang’s position hugging the trunk had been any lower, the rope would have been taut, and by then, he really would have become a hanged ghost.
Steady as Mount Tai, this was the illusion Chen Guan saw.
Xu Wang was now anxious, no longer able to maintain a cool demeanor. “What are you zoning out for? Hurry up and think of something! I don’t have any stationery to deal with water!”
“I am looking! Just hang in there!” Chen Guan looked down at his arm, quickly searching, but in reality, this action was half true and half false. He knew very well what stationery he had. Of those that could deal with water, there was only one. Rather than saying he was searching, it was more accurate to say he was hesitating.
The reason was straightforward—he was reluctant to use it.
That piece of stationery could resist almost all water-based disasters or attacks, whether from opponents or from the environment. He had never planned to use it in this level, let alone to save an opponent.
The giant wave hit for the third time.
Xu Wang lost his grip and was pushed down by the waves. The noose suddenly tightened, making it hard to breathe.
He held his breath, waiting for the wave to recede. He gritted his teeth and climbed up a few centimeters again, only then easing the feeling of suffocation.
In the misty view filled with water vapor, his sharp senses didn’t diminish. While gasping for breath, he caught that moment of hesitation in Chen Guan’s eyes, instantly understanding.
“Do you even know how to calculate? If you save a piece of stationery now, we will both make it back to the Launch Point. Who knows how many pieces of stationery we’ll have to fight over in the basics later!”
A wake-up call.
But Captain Xu had another point. “Didn’t I also bring mine out? I was planning to use it for a stationery PK, but plans cannot keep up with changes. That’s life!”
Chen Guan decisively gave up that piece of stationery he treasured—asking for nothing else but some peace.
Wang Duanran, Jiang Dachuan, and Kong Lizhe simultaneously wiped a cold sweat from their minds, fortunate to have dodged in advance.
Chen Guan’s stationery worked on water; the companions couldn’t hear the hint and only saw that when the fourth wave lifted, a giant suddenly stood up in the water!
His lower body was submerged in the water, but his upper body alone was seven or eight meters tall. He held a tool resembling a shovel but not quite the same, standing in front of Xu Wang’s hanging tree like a dam, easily blocking the giant wave for him.
After the wave receded, he waded through the water, came to the side wall, raised his tool, and struck hard at the corner of the wall submerged in water!
With a “thud” sound, the whole room shook!
The water around the chessboard dropped visibly fast, and in just a few minutes, it was completely drained, revealing the nearly ten-meter-deep ground that had sunk before!
And at the corner of the wall where the giant had struck, there was clearly a big hole. Obviously, the water had flowed out from here.
Where is the outside? What’s there? No one knows, but this round of surprise was supposedly overcome.
Xu Wang was released and carefully landed back on the square, gasping for breath, but he didn’t forget to thank Chen Guan. “Thanks, I owe you one.”
“Forget it. It’s best if our waters do not violate each other’s rivers*.” Chen Guan wasn’t prepared to accept this debt of gratitude or to retaliate for the previous loss. Up until now, he had deeply realized a fact—this team wasn’t suitable for clever maneuvers or strong attacks. Taking a detour was the most worry-free.
*(井水不犯河水) Metaphor for each taking care of their own business and not offending each other.
“That won’t do. I’ve taken note of it anyway.” After Xu Wang stated his position, curiosity re-emerged. “What was that piece of stationery just now?”
Chen Guan: “[(Defense) Great Yu Controls the Flood*].”
*This comes from an ancient myth where Great Yu was able to control the waters to prevent floods that ravaged the land for two generations.
“Oh—” Xu Wang suddenly realized.
His gaze returned to the big hole in the corner of the wall, instinctively flipping through the knowledge points in his memory—the essence of Great Yu’s water control: blocking is not as good as dredging.
“Xu Wang.” Wu Sheng’s voice suddenly came from above, short and urgent, like some kind of reminder.
Xu Wang was about to look up, but a flash in the corner of his eye caught his attention.
He quickly followed the light. Right below the first step where Chi Yingxue was standing, due to the water receding, the ground at the bottom of the pit was revealed. There, a familiar badge flashed, playfully jumping.
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