Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 183: Defense
Soon, Xu Wang and Wu Sheng arrived on the 10th floor. As soon as the five people met, they heard a unified “ding—”
[Roster]: Team formation complete.
These simple words directly saved the five individuals the steps of confirming their current companions and searching for potential ones. Especially the latter, which was not only time-consuming and exhausting but also mentally draining. You could never be sure if there were other participants, always having to guard against sharing an opportunity again.
Now, they could finally relax.
Still, to be cautious, Wu Sheng confirmed the experiences up to the present with Kuang Jinxin and Chi Yingxue, going through the reasons for the 13 resets and matching them until they were completely assured.
- Xu Wang was stabbed.
- Qian Ai was mistakenly pushed down the building by a security guard.
- Qian Ai was hit with a brick.
- Kuang Jinxin was bitten by a silver ring snake.
- Chi Yingxue was stabbed by a fake maintenance worker.
Indeed, death was the trigger condition for the time reset.
However, it was mainly Kuang Jinxin who collaborated with Wu Sheng in confirming these events—Chi Yingxue had already grasped the “truth behind the dog head”, which was actually an owl head, and was thus caught up in the shock of this aesthetic revelation.
Xu Wang, holding a flier, came over to persuade. “Take a closer look. It actually resembles it.”
Chi Yingxue said, “It’s not about resemblance. It’s ugly.”
The other party was actually displeased. “You, as an art director, understand nothing. This is called soulism, a very important painting movement in postmodernism.”
Chi Yingxue: “…”
The arrival of someone with blue hair put an end to this art discussion.
Stationery used up would indeed be used up and wouldn’t reappear with a time reset. Hence, this time, the person with blue hair no longer had the chance to enjoy the “lullaby” treatment. Xu Wang’s move directly eliminated him.
Qian Ai felt somewhat guilty. After all, it was him owing money and violently avoiding debt. He could only pray that Blue Haired’s home was close so he wouldn’t suffer too much on the way.
“The situation is now clear.” Back in Qian Ai’s office, Wu Sheng didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point. “We five are a team, sharing 13 chances, with eight left now. Our best record was when Xiao Sijin was bitten by the silver ring snake, lasting until 12:50.”
“Kuang Jinxin.” Chi Yingxue pointed at the name tag on the person next to him, as a reminder.
Wu Sheng paused, not understanding the point. Didn’t Chi Yingxue just call him that, right?
Xu Wang understood and laughed. “Hey, you can call him Xiao Sijin, but we can only call him Kuang Jinxin?”
Chi Yingxue was generous. “Xiao Kuang is also fine.”
Xu Wang: “……”
“What should we call you then?” Qian Ai, keen on stirring things up, leaned in. “Xiao Xue?”
Chi Yingxue frowned, showing undisguised disdain.
Qian Ai: “Xue Zai*?”
*Young/little (仔). It’s similar to [xiao] (小) but is a suffix, and nuance-wise, it’s more diminutive. || In this context, he’s basically saying, “You prefer Little (Xiao) Xue or Littler (Zai) Xue (which, given the two choices, Chi Yingxue prefers the less diminutive form of address).
“The one before.” Chi Yingxue made a decisive choice.
“Address him however you want. The issue now is how to complete the test question.” Wu Sheng lightly tapped on the table, like a teacher emphasizing a point on the blackboard. “This building is full of dangers, and we can’t always be passive. We need to save ourselves.”
Luckily, there was Classmate Kuang who was listening seriously. “How do we save ourselves?”
Wu Sheng calmly said, “First, leave the building.”
A wake-up call for everyone.
Indeed, now that they had formed a team, there was no reason to stay in the building to be slaughtered. Although things were becoming increasingly unscientific, staying away from the “source of disaster” was definitely wise.
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go,” Qian Ai was instantly ready—not just to leave for a moment but even for a lifetime if needed—considering his company’s remaining assets were hardly worth packing up.
“Hold on,” Wu Sheng said. “Since it’s a test, the examination area might not be limited to the building. There could be dangers outside too. We need to be mentally prepared.”
Xu Wang looked at him deeply. “We’re ready. We’ll follow you.”
Wu Sheng swallowed. Xu Wang’s trust in him was evident, but now there was something more in his gaze—an indescribable allure.
The group decided to leave, avoiding the elevator and taking the stairs, quickly reaching the first floor. At this time, concerns about absenteeism were irrelevant. If the number went back to “0”, what awaited them was true death. They could hide not just for four hours but four years if necessary.
The first floor was bustling with employees going in and out for their lunch break.
The five pretended to be natural and walked out the front door.
The moment the sunlight hit them, “ding—”
[Cheat Sheet]: Foul.
Dazed, reset.
Number: 7.
Time: 12:18, 10th floor. Blue Haired was subdued for the third time, and the five regrouped in Qian Ai’s office for the second time.
No one spoke, but Chi Yingxue didn’t mind breaking the ice. He hummed lightly. “Leaving the building, such a good idea.”
Wu Sheng was silent; indeed, he had been hasty.
Qian Ai found it grating. “Don’t be sarcastic. If you had a better idea, you should have said it earlier. What’s the point of hindsight criticism?”
“I’m not capable, nor do I have any advice to offer.” Chi Yingxue wasn’t annoyed and remained cool.
This calmness infuriated Qian Ai even more. “You motherf—”
“Hey, hey—” Xu Wang timely intervened. Internal strife was detrimental, especially when Qian Ai was quick-tempered and Chi Yingxue could infuriate someone to death without compensation. He was sure it wouldn’t take three sentences before they started fighting.
Qian Ai shut up, huffing to the side. He sat on the couch, looking at the sky, the ground, the window—anything but Chi Yingxue—to avoid irritation.
Chi Yingxue shrugged, appearing nonchalant.
Xu Wang disliked internal conflicts but wasn’t in favor of smoothing things over. “Xiao Xue, we’re all in the same boat now. No one knows the right direction. You say you’re not capable and won’t offer suggestions, which you might see as self-awareness, but I see it as a lack of courage to take responsibility… Don’t look at me; I’m the same as you—Qian Ai, Kuang Jinxin, we’re all the same. Not offering suggestions means certainly not being wrong. But we won’t kick the only person willing to take responsibility and find a direction off the boat.”
Chi Yingxue remained silent, but his resistance was faintly visible.
He didn’t really mean to do anything to Wu Sheng; a chance was just lost. Couldn’t he make a sarcastic remark?
“Do you also think I’m wrong?” Chi Yingxue noticed Kuang Jinxin frowning at him.
Kuang Jinxin said, “You should apologize to Sheng Ge.”
Chi Yingxue suddenly narrowed his eyes, his beautiful pupils instantly sharpening. “Do you call everyone brother?”
Kuang Jinxin was stunned.
Qian Ai and Xu Wang were also taken aback, not keeping up with the sudden shift in the conversation, leading to a disconnect.
Seeing Kuang Jinxin a bit softened, Chi Yingxue felt a bit soft-hearted and decided to step back. “You call him Wu Sheng, and I’ll apologize.”
Kuang Jinxin looked at him for a long while, then suddenly turned to Wu Sheng. “Sheng Ge, Sheng Ge, Sheng Ge, Sheng Ge.”
He called out in one breath, a total of 1+4 times.
Chi Yingxue: “……”
Qian Ai, watching Chi Yingxue’s face turn completely dark, silently applauded Xiao Kuang in his heart. This is called not indulging bad behavior. Well done!
Kuang Jinxin didn’t know what got into him, but he just didn’t want to go along with Chi Yingxue’s wishes. Right is right, and wrong is wrong. Who says that when you’re wrong, you can still act stubbornly, expecting others to accommodate you?
But now, he guessed Chi Yingxue wouldn’t bother with him anymore, which he actually kind of regretted…
“Sorry.”
The abrupt apology interrupted his thoughts.
It was Chi Yingxue who spoke, directed at Wu Sheng.
Kuang Jinxin looked at Chi Yingxue’s profile in surprise, clearly reluctant, but once the words were out, they were out, without being taken back or any unrelated additions.
Kuang Jinxin was surprised, while Qian Ai was shocked.
How the hell was this trained? Not allowed to call brother, yet after calling out five times, the accuser ended up apologizing obediently. Was this some kind of spell?
“It’s okay.” Wu Sheng replied, then added, “I should also say sorry. I’ll be more cautious next time.” This wasn’t just politeness. Wu Sheng genuinely thought so. Treating any challenge lightly is disrespectful to oneself, others, and even to the person who posed the challenge.
Chi Yingxue didn’t say anything further and walked to a sofa.
Qian Ai crossed his arms across his chest, on guard.
Chi Yingxue, without even glancing at him, sat down in the farthest corner and stayed still.
From Qian Ai’s angle, he felt a bit sorry for him, but thinking back to that arrogant attitude, he didn’t feel like sympathizing, so he was torn between “comforting” and “kicking someone when they’re down”.
The awkwardness spread in the silence.
Wu Sheng, full of new ideas and eager to share, also didn’t know how to start.
Kuang Jinxin glanced at Chi Yingxue from time to time, hesitating.
Xu Wang saw this, smiled, walked over, and patted him on the back, whispering, “He’s just a brat. As the older one, you should be more tolerant.”
Kuang Jinxin was amused at his last hesitation, and he decisively moved towards the sofa.
Xu Wang gave Qian Ai a look.
Qian Ai: “Hm?”
Xu Wang was speechless. He walked over and physically moved him to Wu Sheng’s side; the three of them formed a small circle. “Wu Sheng, whatever new ideas you have, share with us first.”
“Aren’t we waiting for those two?” Qian Ai looked back, not seeing anything, before Xu Wang turned him back around.
“Just worry about yourself. Don’t worry about others.”
“But…”
Without waiting for more buts, Wu Sheng wanted to share the latest direction for solving the problem. When the discussion was over, Chi Yingxue and Kuang Jinxin also joined back in. The former still had a calm face, but his eyes revealed his good mood. The latter frowned. He looked annoyed, and his face was a bit red.
Xu Wang observed the two teammates with interest, smiling silently.
Wu Sheng, oblivious to the subtle atmosphere, saw everyone back and immediately offered “discussion notes”. “We’ve just gone over it, and we can confirm that the building is the examination venue. Leaving the venue will be considered a foul, so now we only have two options…”
Kuang Jinxin and Chi Yingxue listened, gradually becoming more serious.
Xu Wang sighed, hoping these two could give Wu Sheng some insight, but now it seemed Wu Sheng was more likely to pull these two back from puppy love to early self-study.
“First, full defense. Since the goal is ‘to survive past 4:44 PM’, we find a relatively safe place, use defense stationery, and wait out the time, dealing with whatever comes our way…”
“Second, take the initiative. Identify and lock down all potential threats that could harm us, tackling them one by one…”
Wu Sheng paused, then continued with a steadier voice. “The first option is safer, helping us avoid some dangers and only dealing with those that come directly to us. Its downside is passivity; the second option is more proactive, but its downside is greater uncertainty and the potential to trigger more unknown risks.”
“All three of us choose the first.” Qian Ai asked Kuang Jinxin, “What do you think?”
Kuang Jinxin nodded. “I also think the first is safer.”
“Cough, what about you?” Qian Ai extended an olive branch to his teammate surnamed Chi, ready to blacklist him if he dared not accept…
“No need to ask me.” Chi Yingxue turned to look at the God of Wealth poster on the wall, mumbling, “The minority complies with the majority.”
Qian Ai’s soul was filled with tears. “Xiao Xue, you’ve matured.”
……
Time: 13:00. Blood number: 7.
They didn’t go anywhere else, just to Qian Ai’s company’s finance room. The cashiers and accountants were long gone, leaving six empty workstations. It was cold and quiet, with a safe even emptier than the workstations.
The five locked the doors and windows, each finding a workstation to sit at, with nothing to do but wait out the time.
Qian Ai, bored out of his mind, casually flipped through a drawer, found two decks of playing cards, and said happily, “How about a game of Fight the Landlord among the five of us?”
Xu Wang, sitting diagonally behind him, shook his head and sighed. “Now I know why your company went under…”
Playing cards in the finance department’s drawer—such professionalism probably followed the boss’ lead.
Qian Ai, poked in his sore spot, reluctantly stuffed the cards back, sighing sadly, “Ah! Actually, amnesia might not be so bad. If we really get through this challenge and regain our memories, you probably won’t see me again…”
“How much do you owe?” Chi Yingxue asked while yawning.
“I don’t know,” Qian Ai lamented. “But given the size of my company, it must be hundreds of millions…”
Chi Yingxue: “Just file for bankruptcy. Then you don’t have to pay it back. At most, your remaining assets will be divided according to the repayment order.”
“That won’t do,” Qian Ai immediately objected. “Owing money and paying it back is only natural. If I file, what about people like that blue-haired guy? They’d have nowhere to cry.”
Chi Yingxue: “You don’t have the money to pay either way.”
“At least—at least they can still find me and have something to cling to…” Qian Ai’s voice grew weaker. In reality, without money, everything is illusory. Material things are one aspect, but people also need something to hold onto spiritually, and he was that something for his creditors.
Chi Yingxue looked up indifferently. “That’s a nice thought, so why jump off a building?”
Qian Ai: “……”
That made sense. He was momentarily speechless. Wait, what did ‘a nice thought’ mean? Even though he understood what the other was trying to say, wasn’t that description a bit off…
Taking advantage of Qian Ai and Chi Yingxue’s conversation, Xu Wang also whispered to Wu Sheng. Their seats were next to each other, so a slight turn of the head allowed them to make eye contact.
Of course, it was Xu Wang who initiated the conversation with Wu Sheng. Otherwise, the latter could stay immersed in deep thought.
“Are you in IT?”
Wu Sheng thought Xu Wang was giving him signals and waving for some important reason, but when he turned around, this was what he heard. Clearly, Xu Wang was eager to chat, and Wu Sheng was open to it, since there wasn’t much else to do.
“Yeah, some kind of enterprise software.” After several resets, Wu Sheng had glanced at the documents on the desk a few times.
“Oh…” Xu Wang leaned on the desk, tilting his head to look at him, whispering like chatting secretly during class. “I’m in financial sales.”
Wu Sheng nodded. “I know, you’ve mentioned it.”
Xu Wang suddenly felt nervous and just blurted out, “Are you married?”
Wu Sheng was taken aback by the question, and after a few seconds, he shook his head. “I don’t remember.”
Xu Wang quickly followed up. “What’s your feeling?”
Wu Sheng laughed. “How could there be a feeling about that?”
“Why can’t there be a feeling? Look at me. I can feel that I like… men.” The last word was so quiet it could only be understood through lip-reading.
Wu Sheng actually read them, and his heart skipped a beat.
He looked at Xu Wang, trying to feel as the other said…
Xu Wang looked at him eagerly, unaware that his gaze was betraying his nervousness and hope.
Wu Sheng looked down subtly, feeling helpless. Whether he was married or not, he couldn’t tell, but the more he looked at Xu Wang, the more he felt unsettled.
Xu Wang started to worry. Was it that bad—thinking so hard it gave him a headache?
He had planned a whole series of questions. If Wu Sheng felt he was single, Xu Wang would make him feel out his orientation. He always thought straight men wouldn’t come up with the idea to use a kiss to dispel suspicions from the guy in a baseball cap. So, if Wu Sheng could feel even a bit of a “preference for men”, Xu Wang wanted to get his number, line up, and once things ended and life returned to normal, if there really was no one by Wu Sheng’s side, he’d make his move.
“Never mind.” Wu Sheng shook his head in resignation, looking at Xu Wang. “If there’s another reset, I can just ask my employees, right?”
“…Right.” Xu Wang blinked, finally catching on. He wondered how he forgot they could just ask directly.
From the moment they met until now, Xu Wang had always been sharp. Suddenly becoming muddled, Wu Sheng found himself unable to look away.
On the other side, Qian Ai and Chi Yingxue also ran out of things to talk about.
The finance room quieted down, with only the wall clock’s hands dutifully moving.
13:30.
14:00.
14:30.
15:00.
In doing nothing, time always seems to pass very slowly. Monotony and silence brought drowsiness and sleepiness, with some of them nodding off or already asleep.
Xu Wang had a soft dream, like falling into marshmallows or breaking into a cloud kingdom. He didn’t remember the specifics—only the floating, soft feeling.
“Knock knock.”
Why would there be a knocking sound…
“Knock knock.”
Xu Wang jolted awake and looked at the clock on the wall in disbelief. 12:00.
Outside, the blood-red number had turned to 6.
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Kinky Translations 
some kind of instant kill bomb?
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