Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 186: Making a Wish
“Ding—”
[Cheat Sheet]: Badge scan has been completed and meets the requirements for the Wish Room to open.
A notification took away the 13 badges along with the hidden item inventory, all disappearing from the five companions’ [Stationary Box].
A teasing voice followed in their ears—
[Owl: Dears, the Wish Room will open in thirteen minutes. Think carefully about the wishes you want to take to the next ten levels~~]
The feeling of emptiness brought by the forced amnesia of 13/23 still lingered, and the new prompt was so closely connected that it didn’t give them any time to think. It took a while before Xu Wang realized they had really arrived.
Looking up, the lake-blue door was like a clear azure sky.
He had no wishes to take to the next ten levels; he just wanted to close the Owl. Longing for it, hesitating for a long time, and now standing in front of the door, he found himself without a second of hesitation, so certain it surprised even himself.
Standing in front of the door, Wu Sheng turned back, as if he felt his gaze and mood.
Xu Wang, as if making up his mind, let out a long sigh and gave him a playful smile.
Wu Sheng looked at him, feeling as if he could never get enough. The light in his eyes seemed to be saying, “I’d catch the moon and net the stars for you.” His lips moved silently, conveying three clear words without sound: I’m with you.
If you want to leave, I’m with you. If you want to close, I’m with you. Just do what you want to do. Even if you charge forward recklessly, I’m here.
Xu Wang felt the warmth in his heart spreading to his eyes.
“I can’t stand it anymore. When exactly do you two plan to talk?” Qian Ai sat cross-legged on the carpet, frowning and glaring impatiently, like an angry Buddha.
“Ah? Talk about what?” His thing with Wu Sheng? Was there even a need to talk about it? They were practically wearing matching couple outfits!
Captain Xu’s clueless face made Qian Ai even more irritated. “Aren’t you two planning to close the first 13 levels? The Wish Door is about to open, and you’re still keeping us in the dark?”
Kuang Jinxin and Chi Yingxue didn’t speak, but they automatically sat in solidarity with Qian Ai, clearly showing their stance.
Xu Wang indeed discussed more than once with Wu Sheng about closing the first 13 levels, but no one knew what price it would entail. He himself was unsure, so how could he discuss it with his teammates? Moreover, Mr. Fan said that the choices in the Wish Room are independent; he could choose to close, and his teammates could choose to leave. He didn’t want his teammates to pay for his whims.
But the current question was: how did the news leak?
Xu Wang first looked at Wu Sheng with a sharp gaze.
Advisor Wu flashed back with a look of confusion, as if every hair on his head was screaming “wronged”.
“Speak up.” Qian Ai could see their eye exchange and urged them impatiently. “At this point, are you really planning to keep it a secret till the end, with just the two of you going to be bloody heroes?”
Xu Wang gave up guessing and asked directly, “How did you know?”
Qian Ai, who had been standing on the high ground, suddenly felt uneasy with the question and could only betray his teammate. He turned to Kuang Jinxin. “He told me.”
Xu Wang’s gaze swiftly moved to Kuang Jinxin.
Caught off guard, Kuang Jinxin immediately turned to Chi Yingxue. “He eavesdropped.”
Xu Wang’s gaze shot towards Chi Yingxue.
Chi Yingxue followed his seniors’ example and turned his head… but there was no one else.
“Um, I eavesdropped.”
Xu Wang, Wu Sheng: “……”
No one spoke for the time being.
Until thirteen minutes passed, the lake-blue door slowly opened. Qian Ai pulled Kuang Jinxin and Chi Yingxue closer and linked their arms with each other, representing their teammate group. He made the final decision. “After going through all the difficulties1 together, now at the end of fetching the true scriptures2, you thought you could leave us three behind? Dream on!”
1Eighty-One Trials/sufferings. It’s a metaphor referring to numerous hardships suffered. This comes from Journey to the West.
2This is referencing Journey to the West, where the party goes through many hardships (eighty-one trails) in order to find scriptures.
The universe and starry sky were utterly quiet and beautiful.
Nobody expected that beyond the lake-blue door would be such a place. The five felt like they were entering the vast universe, and they were simply specks of dust floating in this endless sea of stars.
[Owl: Welcome to the Wish Room…]
The voice in their ears seemed to come from the depths of this universe.
[Owl: As a reward for entering the next ten levels, I can fulfill one wish with limited conditions for you…]
[Owl: Dears, state your wish…]
Xu Wang stepped forward and turned back.
Wu Sheng smiled and nodded.
Kuang Jinxin clenched his fist in encouragement.
Qian Ai kept gesturing with his chin in urgency.
Chi Yingxue blew a puff of air upward.
Turning his gaze back forward, Xu Wang’s voice was clear and firm. “I want to talk to Owl. I want to talk to Owl. I want to talk to Owl—”
The “universe” suddenly vibrated, with shooting stars streaking across the sky, burning the serene beauty to ashes with their fiery tails.
Once the five regained their balance and their vision cleared, the vast, starry river was gone.
They were in a room with four walls, like an empty house or a prison.
An image slowly appeared on one wall, starting with an owl head, then fading away to reveal two choice boxes.
- Close 1/23-13/23.
- Leave early, never to return.
There were no “dings” or ear-prompt tones. Even the projection on the wall wasn’t clear. This segment was so rudimentary that it didn’t seem like the Owl at all.
But the more it was like this, the more it felt different from other places.
This place originally didn’t belong to the Owl, or rather, not to the now perfectly repaired Owl. It belonged to the Owl that only found brief freedom in the gaps of bugs—this rudimentary choice room had exhausted all its energy.
Yet, it still couldn’t stop the erosion, letting the Owl’s built-in strong repair ability forcibly insert an option 2.
No one spoke.
One hand covered option 1, followed by the second, third, fourth, and fifth.
Each of their palms covered the back of the others, all unified, one heart.
The image on the wall blurred, like an old TV with a disrupted signal, and then suddenly disappeared.
The room returned to silence.
Soon, a faint voice appeared in the air, with a familiar electric sound.
[Owl: Finally… you came…]
Xu Wang suddenly tensed. “This voice, the one that spoke to me ten years ago. It’s this voice!”
Ignoring the shock, Wu Sheng hurriedly asked, “How can we close the Owl?”
[Owl: Can only… close the first thirteen levels… The rest… are different…]
“What’s the way to close the first thirteen levels?” Qian Ai was dying of curiosity, almost unable to control his anxiety. “Could you turn the voice speed up to eight times?”
[Owl: For the first thirteen levels… each level… has a piece of Owl Jade… find them… smash them…]
Wu Sheng: “Owl Jade?”
As if to answer him, a purple, transparent crystal board slowly appeared on the wall. The five companions widened their eyes; this was definitely not their first time seeing this object.
Qian Ai: “Isn’t this what Wangwang dug up in the Aeroplane Chess level?”
[Owl: Thirteen pieces of Owl Jade… find them all… in one night… and smashed…]
“The same night?” Kuang Jinxin blurted out, then shut up, but his mind was full of questions. Not to mention their current standings fixed at 13/23 couldn’t be changed, even if the other levels were truly open to them, they could at most split into five ways.
“We only have five people.” Qian Ai also spotted the issue. “Or do you mean you can let us move freely between each level at any time?”
[Owl: Cannot…]
Qian Ai: “……”
“Does ‘the same night’ mean between 0:00-5:00? Must we find all the Owl Jade of the thirteen levels within this time frame and then smash them?” Wu Sheng asked more precisely.
[Owl: Yes…]
[Owl: Owl Jade… is connected to the external… energy source… must be destroyed in the same night… leaving even one… can reopen the other levels…]
The five companions were stunned, then suddenly realized. No wonder, after the little calico smashed the crystal plate, they couldn’t enter the Aeroplane Chess level the next day because the pathway was cut off. It needed energy from other levels to recover.
It’s like a parallel circuit; one line breaking is not a problem as the other lines still have electricity. To completely cut off power, all lines must be broken.
And they had to be quick; a moment’s delay, and Owl would be fully revived.
This self-repair function was terrifying.
[Owl: The location of each Owl Jade…]
Xu Wang was about to ask this when he noticed Owl was already addressing it, so he immediately perked up his ears.
The other companions also held their breaths in anticipation. Understanding that this was crucial. Without a map, coordinates, or hints, let alone one night, they might not find a single Owl Jade in a hundred nights.
[Owl: …The location… is… is… is…]
The electric current sound unexpectedly surged.
This was a critical moment, leaving the five companions clenching their fists in frustration, unsure where to exert their force.
The wall displayed thirteen extremely blurry maps, resembling thumbnails that hadn’t been fully opened, with such low resolution that all five stared until their eyes nearly went blind, unable to discern any of them clearly.
“Do you even want our help?” Qian Ai became impatient. “Even with a microscope, these maps are…”
Wu Sheng stopped him. “No, there’s a problem.”
The Owl continued to repeat “is…”, under the cover of the noisy electric current, sounding like a computer stuck on a loop.
“It’s being interfered with.” Wu Sheng kept his eyes on the wall, watching the thirteen maps that began to clarify slightly, only to suddenly revert. “By the real Owl.”
His words seemed disjointed, but his companions understood.
The Owl speaking to them just now seemed like a small, independent consciousness that had separated out, hiding in option 1, lying in wait. The real Owl had been repaired ten years ago and had been operating up to now.
Since the latter could insert option 2 into the former, disrupting option 1 a bit also seemed feasible.
But choosing this moment to do so was infuriating; they hadn’t seen the maps clearly yet, and they had a belly full of procedural questions to ask!
“Hiss…” Suddenly, Xu Wang’s arm burned with pain, making him inhale sharply.
A light shadow flew out from his arm, landing at the base of the wall. “Meow—”
The burning sensation vanished.
The light dispersed, and little calico looked at them, tilting its head.
“Wangwang…” Xu Wang softly called out.
The little calico pawed at its face, then softly meowed again. “Meow…”
This sound seemed to carry a hint of reluctance.
The electric current noise gradually faded, and the Owl’s voice became clear again. The maps on the wall began to sharpen, while the little calico’s faint outline started to disappear.
[Owl: The location of the Owl Jade… is on… the map…]
The maps started to become completely clear, and the last remaining faint outline of the little calico also disappeared.
This was the energy given to him by Owl of those years, and now it was taking its energy back to resist the invasion of the repair force.
Xu Wang understood but couldn’t help feeling a slight pang in his heart. He seldom called out Wangwang, fearing that too frequent appearances might affect its lifespan. He knew this thought might seem silly, but every time he saw the icon in his [Stationary Box], his heart would warm. It had always been with them, he knew.
Perhaps because the little calico provided enough energy, the Owl no longer fluctuated. Wu Sheng reviewed all the maps once, memorizing them, while the other four companions divided up the maps into 3-3-3-4 among themselves for a second memorization as a double precaution.
After everyone had memorized them, the maps still remained.
“Um, we’ve memorized it,” Xu Wang tentatively said.
The wall’s image slowly disappeared.
Xu Wang inexplicably sighed in relief, but the Owl was still there. “I have another question. If the first thirteen levels are closed, what will happen to the next ten levels?”
[Owl: It won’t affect… the first thirteen… The next ten… are two different… places…]
“But the number of people in the next ten levels won’t increase anymore because we’ve cut off the source, right?”
[Owl: Yes… no more people will be involved… Those already involved… as long as their score… is still in the first thirteen levels… can leave immediately… never to return…]
“What about the people in the levels? I mean, those living in the levels.” Xu Wang knew they might just be a bunch of energy or data, but when they were indistinguishable from real people, it was hard to tell what was real and what was not.
[Owl: Destroying… the pathways… not the levels… The levels and everything within… still exist… but… they will be freed…]
The five companions exchanged looks, trying to grasp the meaning.
[Owl: Never again… day after day… day after day… day after day…]
Owl’s tone didn’t change, but somehow it felt sad.
“What if, I mean if, we fail?”
[Owl: Forever… at 13/23… or… in the Endless Sea…]
“What?” Qian Ai felt a chill run down his spine. “Can’t leave? Stuck in the Owl forever?”
[Owl: 0:00… 5:00… time remains unchanged… never ending…]
Qian Ai breathed a sigh of relief. That seemed negotiable. He could just pretend that he never cleared the game and just check in every night… Damn, he suddenly shivered, realizing he was almost resigned to Owl’s torment!
They couldn’t fail; they had to succeed!
[Owl: Time… is up…]
It seemed time had indeed run out. The Owl didn’t give them a chance to speak further as a wave of dizziness struck.
The five companions awaited the thud of landing on some unknown street, but as they waited, only the dizziness remained, without the fall.
The light faded, and they were still in that rudimentary room.
“What’s happening?” Qian Ai looked around. “Not another bug, right?”
They hadn’t even started the battle and were already caught in a loop?
“Captain…” Kuang Jinxin suddenly spoke up, trembling. “Your arm…”
Xu Wang looked down. His [Stationary Box] had opened automatically, and [Cao Chong Weighing the Elephant] was emitting a strange purple light.
He had almost forgotten about this piece of stationery!
[Owl: I can fulfill one wish within certain conditions…]
The prompt came from Xu Wang’s arm.
Without a trace of jest, it sounded very much like the Owl from ten years ago, but without the intermittent weakness.
What was more astonishing was the content of the prompt, which they had heard upon entering the Wish Room. They had ignored it and directly called out to the Owl from ten years ago. Now, were they back to square one?
But that wasn’t right; the breathtakingly beautiful universe didn’t reappear. The Owl didn’t mention it as a reward for entering the next ten levels, and more importantly, that was an inner-ear prompt, audible to each individually. If they had truly wished to continue to the next ten levels at that time, each could have made a wish. Now, however, Owl seemed to be speaking to only one person.
[Owl: State your wish…]
The voice methodically continued, the script identical to that of the Owl upon entering the Wish Room, except for not calling them “Dears”.
“Close the pathways between the first thirteen levels and the outside world,” Wu Sheng suddenly said.
[Owl: Does not meet the specified conditions.]
Xu Wang looked at him, puzzled.
Wu Sheng grabbed his hand, looking at the “Cao Chong Weighing an Elephant” glowing above. “To possess the ability to traverse all levels at any time.”
[Owl: Does not meet the specified conditions.]
Wu Sheng: “Just the first thirteen levels, or perhaps the next ten?”
[Owl: Does not meet the specified conditions.]
After a moment of contemplation, Wu Sheng stepped back. “To have the ability to communicate at any time with any challenger in any level.”
[Owl: Possible for the first thirteen levels. Does not meet the conditions for the next ten.]
Wu Sheng’s tight lips finally curved into a smile. “Then, I want it for the first thirteen levels.”
[Owl: As you wish.]
“Cao Chong Weighing an Elephant” disappeared. The purple light formed a faint band, wrapping around Xu Wang’s arm for a long while before slowly fading.
The real sensation of weightlessness arrived.
In the whirlwind, Xu Wang finally understood—the Owl had stored two things with him ten years ago: a cat and a wish.
The author has something to say:
The final battle is about to begin, roar (～￣▽￣)～
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Wangwang!!
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