Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 181: Someone Else
Xu Wang and Wu Sheng thought that, with the numbers outside the window and the icons on their arms, confirming each other’s identities would be a matter of eye contact. However, it took almost twenty minutes to fully convince Mr. Qian that this wasn’t some high-tech trap and that they were not part of a scam group but rather fellow sufferers in the same predicament.
Xu Wang nearly wore out his lips talking. He thought that Mr. Qian must have been hurt before. Otherwise, where would such a strong sense of caution come from?
He was responsible for appealing to emotions, while Wu Sheng handled the logic. “…In summary, the condition that triggers the reset has been determined to be death. The first time was Xu Wang, the second and third times, both were you.”
“No wonder the first time I was just grabbed by the leg, and then time reversed, and the second time it was falling down that brought me back to 12:00.” Qian Ai, as straightforward as he was, had only noticed this oddity, which now was explained.
“The 13 chances are shared among us, and now we have 10 left.” Wu Sheng glanced at the blood-red number outside the window, pondering for a moment. “If we don’t run around recklessly or provoke trouble, it should be enough.”
“You mean we just sit here and do nothing?” Qian Ai tried to avoid looking outside. The blood-red color reminded him of debt collectors, which was unsettling.
“Right, do nothing. Death equals failure. Correspondingly, staying alive equals success.” Wu Sheng glanced at his watch. “Now it’s 12:38. There are 246 minutes, 14,760 seconds until 4:44 p.m. If we persevere, that’s victory.”
Qian Ai silently turned to Xu Wang. “How did he just rattle off the seconds so easily…”
Xu Wang patted his shoulder. “You’ll get used to it.”
Being able to calculate in seconds was child’s play for him; this person also had a photographic memory. He was meticulously detailed, remembering every person, event, and object from each reset. While Xu Wang was still bewildered, this person had already proactively sought him out to unite, and when Xu Wang had just begun to grasp a general concept of this test, this person could already use stationery with precision.
Aside from the kiss later on, in this test, he had practically no “contribution” worth mentioning.
After some thought, he gave Mr. Qian another piece of advice as someone who had been through it. “Don’t compare. It affects your state of mind.”
Qian Ai: “……”
He didn’t have that kind of competitive spirit.
The fact that they could restart after dying somewhat reduced Qian Ai’s stress, and he began to wonder about various things. “You say this is a test, so what happens if we pass? Is there a cash prize?”
Wu Sheng: “……”
Xu Wang despaired. “President Qian, how badly do you need money?”
Qian Ai showed him a miserable face. “Director Xu, creditors are coming to my door with bricks…”
Xu Wang: “Our company seems quite informal. We might have those unsecured loans. Want to try?”
Qian Ai: “Goodbye.”
The three fell silent for a moment.
Time passed by in the second, but this calm passage was reassuring.
Qian Ai opened his own owl head, looking at the array of icons in the [Stationery Box], still finding it incredible.
Wu Sheng said these were all usable props, but what effects they had could only be inferred from the category of the stationery (Defense, Offense, Illusory) and their names. The ones used to save him, [Lullaby] and [Impenetrable], were relatively easy to figure out.
With nothing else to do, Qian Ai began to explore his own stationery—
Defense category: [Princess Carry], [Immortal’s Leap]…
Offense category: [Sad Murderous Roar], [Export Into Needles]…
Illusion category: [Help], [Let’s See Who Dies First]…
“……” Why were the names of his stationery so mystical!
Suddenly, the chair started to shake, causing Qian Ai to tremble along with it. Wondering since his seat wasn’t a massage chair, he then noticed everything around him was shaking.
Xu Wang and Wu Sheng, at the first shake, quickly stood up, eyes full of alertness.
Xu Wang: “An earthquake?”
Wu Sheng: “Not sure. Get under the table for now!”
Although Xu Wang asked the question and Wu Sheng answered, the first to act was Qian Ai, showing remarkable agility.
The three each found a table and hid under it. As soon as they did, the shaking stopped.
They looked at each other, puzzled and confused.
If this was also one of the “crises”, it ended too quickly and was harmless.
But if this wasn’t a “crisis”, why would the building shake for no reason with no typhoon around?
The three suppressed their doubts, waited a moment, and, finding no further shaking, carefully emerged from under the tables. Before they could fully stand up, they simultaneously experienced a moment of disorientation.
As their vision cleared, Xu Wang found himself sitting in his department head chair, looking out the window with a sense of despair.
The number had changed to “9”.
…How many people are actually in this exam venue?!
……
Forty-five minutes earlier.
Time: 12:05, the number 10, floor 15, pet grooming center.
Chi Yingxue leaned against the door of the grooming room, staring at Kuang Jinxin. “This is the second time I’ve come to find you.” After saying this, he seemed unsure and added with a frown. “Right?”
Even Kuang Jinxin, slow as he might be, realized something was off.
“Lin Lin, I’m stepping out for a moment.” Leaving his position unexpectedly, he needed to notify his colleague.
The young girl held him back, whispering, “Don’t go into the corridor. Use the storeroom over there. Otherwise, if the manager sees you, she’ll say you’re slacking off at work again.”
Kuang Jinxin thanked her, subtly inquired about the specific location of the storeroom, and then stealthily took Chi Yingxue there.
As soon as the door closed, Chi Yingxue pinched his face—not too hard, but definitely not lightly either.
Kuang Jinxin hesitated for a moment, but the next second, he decisively knocked the intrusive hand away. “What are you doing?”
Chi Yingxue asked, “Does it hurt?”
Kuang Jinxin was perplexed. “Of course.”
“Oh.” Chi Yingxue nodded. “It seems it’s not a dream then.”
Kuang Jinxin: “…You could pinch yourself.”
“It hurts.” Chi Yingxue said it as if it was the most natural thing.
Kuang Jinxin was at a loss for words. He wasn’t angry, but he found it amusing and exasperating. “Brother, it hurts me too.”
Chi Yingxue lightly pursed his lips. That word “brother” made his heart flutter as if it was tickled by a feather, giving him a warm and fuzzy feeling.
Glancing at the name tag on Kuang Jinxin’s chest, his eyes softened. “Xiao Sijin…”
These words sounded as if he had said them thousands of times before—affectionate and natural.
Leaning against the door with one hand, Chi Yingxue moved closer to Kuang Jinxin, his voice soft as if pleading, yet his tone carried a domineering edge. “Call me ‘brother’ again, and I’ll let you pinch me back.”
Kuang Jinxin thought this person was good-looking at first sight, but now, up close, he realized he wasn’t just good-looking; he was beautiful. He found it hard to resist, especially when Chi Yingxue spoke, his breath warming Kuang Jinxin’s face and making him dizzy. A little longer, and not to mention calling him ‘brother’, Kuang Jinxin might just lean his face closer for a pinch if Chi Yingxue raised his hand.
Dangerous.
Kuang Jinxin’s defensive instincts automatically kicked in. He slid down the door and dodged to the side, nimbly escaping Chi Yingxue’s grasp. “Can you first tell me what exactly is going on?”
Chi Yingxue looked at the empty doorway, feeling a bit disappointed, but quickly came to terms. The monk can run, but the temple won’t run with him.
“I’d like to know what’s going on too.” He showed his arm, rolled up from his sleeve. “An ugly pattern appeared on my arm, an even uglier billboard appeared outside the window, and time keeps reversing. That’s about it.”
“……” Kuang Jinxin decided to investigate on his own.
He had already seen the number outside the window on his way to the storage room. Now it was 10. According to Chi Yingxue, it started at 13, and with each reversal of time, it decreased by “-1”, much like a countdown.
Kuang Jinxin finally understood why. Despite grooming for so long, Lin Lin said he had only groomed a few strokes, and why the dog ran out many times and was always stopped by the same colleague. It turns out time had been reversing. He just hadn’t noticed.
The question now was, why was this happening, and why with him and this person.
“Uh, what’s your name?” Kuang Jinxin felt a bit embarrassed. He should have asked at the beginning.
Chi Yingxue tilted his head to look at him, not speaking.
Kuang Jinxin had a moment of inspiration. “Brother.”
Chi Yingxue was satisfied. “Director Chi.”
Kuang Jinxin: “…Is that your name?”
“More like a position.” Chi Yingxue thought for a moment and confirmed. “Yes, a position. That’s what the employees call me at the company.”
Kuang Jinxin: “Then what’s your name?”
Chi Yingxue spread his hands; his beautiful eyes full of innocence. “I have amnesia.”
Kuang Jinxin: “……”
Doesn’t this director have any curiosity at all…
Suddenly, the ground started to shake, including the cardboard boxes around them.
Kuang Jinxin immediately braced against the wall, but the shaking grew stronger. Trying to suppress his panic, he looked at Chi Yingxue. “Seems like an earthquake. It’s too late to go downstairs. We need to find a place…”
“Stationery.” Chi Yingxue interrupted him.
Kuang Jinxin didn’t catch that. “What?”
Chi Yingxue said, “It’s not an earthquake. It’s the stationery I used.”
Kuang Jinxin froze, then looked at Chi Yingxue seriously for the first time, noticing that amidst the sudden shaking, he seemed quite intrigued.
“It’s quite interesting.” Chi Yingxue commented, his earnest expression resembling a child reviewing amusement park rides.
Kuang Jinxin was speechless. “Stop it first.”
Chi Yingxue: “……”
Kuang Jinxin: “……”
Chi Yingxue: “How do I stop?”
“……” Kuang Jinxin felt that his pre-amnesia self must have been a very patient person, but now he felt like blackening.
The shaking eventually stopped after Chi Yingxue finally figured out how to control the stationery he was using.
The stationery he used, thankfully, stopped in time; a few more shakes, and the building might have collapsed.
Chi Yingxue disagreed with this accusation. “On the verge of collapsing, but it continues to fall without ever actually falling.”
Kuang Jinxin wanted to retort “sophistry”, but his words faded as he saw it.
A black and white snake was on the shelf, hissing at Chi Yingxue.
How could there be a venomous snake here? But Kuang Jinxin had no time to ponder. He knew it was a banded krait, the fourth most venomous snake on land, since its pattern was too distinctive. The mortality rate of those bitten is extremely high.
“What’s wrong?” Chi Yingxue, seeing his face change dramatically, naturally wanted to step forward.
“Don’t move!” Kuang Jinxin’s heartbeat nearly stopped; his voice was so stern that it almost changed pitch.
Chi Yingxue froze, sensing something, and slowly looked down.
Eye contact was made, and the snake moved.
But Kuang Jinxin was faster, grabbing a cardboard box nearby to cover it.
The snake lunged forward with its attack, and the box only managed to press down on its latter half.
Kuang Jinxin pressed down hard, almost putting his entire weight on the box. The snake struggled, its upper body suddenly twisting around, biting onto Kuang Jinxin’s hand pressing the box.
Kuang Jinxin didn’t feel pain—just a moment of dizziness.
By the time he came to his senses, he was back in the grooming room, brushing a dog.
Ten minutes later, Chi Yingxue appeared at the grooming room door, looking gloomier than last time. Five minutes later, holding a fashionable yet retro golden shovel, he planted it on the ground with murderous intent. “Let’s go.”
Kuang Jinxin was astonished. “Going again?”
Chi Yingxue coldly lifted his eyes, his beautiful pupils filled with ice. “To avenge you.”
Meanwhile, on the 10th floor of the building, the last remaining copier in President Qian’s company was working tirelessly.
“Is this useful?” Qian Ai picked up a freshly printed, still warm A4 paper, uncertain. “It doesn’t look very alike…”
It was a flier written by Wu Sheng in a few minutes.
The content was straightforward—
[Can you see the blood-red number outside the window? Do you also have an owl pattern on your arm? If so, your friends are anxiously waiting for you on the 10th floor. Please come quickly to meet up!]
Besides the text, there was also an owl head drawn.
“Draw one in a few minutes and let me see.” Xu Wang took the flier and seriously admired it. He finally commented, “Concise text and the illustration capture the essence without losing the spirit. It’s perfect. Coming up with the idea of distributing flyers floor by floor is genius.”
“……” Qian Ai suspected Wu Sheng might have bought financial products from Xu Wang’s company, likely as a major client.
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