After that incident, the five friends didn’t eat anymore. Despite the Western restaurant serving various aromatic soups and desserts, all five of them didn’t touch a bite. Even Chi Yingxue, who had a sweet tooth, resisted the temptation of the cake for the first time ever—it was a choice between the itching desire to eat and the painful thought of dying a horrible death. Comparing the two, avoiding pain by giving up sweets was preferable.
The members of the travel group ate and drank comfortably, as if nothing had happened.
They were like a group of emotionless NPCs—a concept the five friends had come to accept.
As lunch drew to a close and the restaurant was almost devoid of anyone but the travel group, the leader, having eaten his fill, wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up to announce, “My fellow travelers, you all must be tired from this morning’s activities. Next, I’ll take you to a leisure bath center to relax and ease your fatigue. Then we’ll head to a resort in the suburbs to enjoy the beautiful mountains and green waters of our city…”
“Great!” Someone in the group initiated a positive response, and the others quickly joined in.
The five friends exchanged glances, their spirits, nearly crushed by the various deaths, reignited slightly.
Bath center, Finnish bath, badge.
This death-filled challenge, dark from start to finish, was finally showing a sliver of hope, a direction they could pursue.
As the large group left the restaurant, Xu Wang subconsciously glanced at the badge manual again, which still indicated “Finnish bath”.
Wu Sheng understood his concern and reassured his captain. “All signs indicate that only our team is facing these challenges tonight. If the hint changes, it will only be because we have found the badge.”
“There are no absolutes in anything.” Xu Wang shook his head, cautiously following the steps of the travelers in front, lacking his usual swagger. “Being cautious is never a bad thing.”
Seeing him like this, Wu Sheng chuckled. “A flowerpot and a fork scared you?”
Xu Wang rolled his eyes reluctantly but had to admit, “Without you, a flowerpot and a fork would have killed me twice already.”
Wu Sheng said, “But you have me.”
Xu Wang turned to look at him.
Wu Sheng slightly tilted his head, giving Xu Wang his most charming angle, and smiled breezily.
Xu Wang wanted to tease him and also felt like kissing him, but in the end, he did neither, just curving his lips into a smile.
What is love? It’s when you want to write a book titled “100 Examples of Wrong Ways to Be Cool” for someone to memorize day and night, yet also find them irresistibly cute when they try to act cool.
“Aren’t you scared?” Xu Wang asked seriously.
Since the first death, even the usually calm and indifferent Chi Yingxue had shown a desire to survive, but Wu Sheng remained as composed, calm, and methodical as ever.
“As long as you see through the connection between the things around you and accidental deaths, all so-called emergencies become a fixed link in the chain of death calculations.” Wu Sheng looked ahead, unruffled. “When accidents are no longer surprising, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Xu Wang: “……”
Wu Sheng suddenly turned, raising an eyebrow. “Regretting it now, huh?”
Xu Wang was confused. “Regret what?”
Wu Sheng said, “Regretting not watching those thriller, suspense, horror, and detective movies with me.”
Xu Wang: “I could watch them eight times and still not reach your level…”
Was this a normal reaction to movies for anyone?
“No problem.” Wu Sheng shrugged. “It’s like you watched them when I did.”
Xu Wang’s silent retort stopped abruptly. He stared at Wu Sheng’s profile, outlined sharply by the afternoon sun.
“What’s up?” Wu Sheng felt a bit puzzled under his gaze.
Xu Wang gave him a gentle smile, speaking sincerely for once. “Suddenly, I think you’re quite handsome.”
Wu Sheng frowned slowly. “The word ‘suddenly’ seems oddly used.”
Xu Wang: “……”
Wu Sheng continued to look at him expectantly.
Xu Wang surrendered. “You’ve always been handsome—”
Advisor Wu was satisfied.
Xu Wang looked skyward in silence. Of course, he only did so for a second before immediately refocusing, keeping his vigilance radar up, watching ahead and both sides.
The three companions walking closely behind the leaders had to eat dog food for three minutes amidst their anxiety.
Kuang Jinxin enjoyed it, feeling a touch of happiness from their leaders’ harmony and intimacy, despite his vague understanding of love.
Chi Yingxue was indifferent, contemplating whether snatching the tour leader’s flag might trigger an interesting side quest.
Qian Ai, a single man yearning for a relationship, felt bittersweet, his heart aching with each step he took. The suspense and horror that had nearly driven him insane were inadvertently eased a bit.
The tour group entered a shaded path paved with asphalt, with mechanical work sounds coming from ahead.
Looking up, they saw four workers digging up the road surface within a marked area using handheld drilling machines. This is a common practice for repairing potholes or other issues on the road by removing the old surface and replacing it with new material.
The shaded path was about six meters wide, with the travel group walking on the right side. The work area was about seven meters long and three meters wide on the left front side. The road surface within this area was already half dug up, with broken pieces of the road not yet cleared away, left in their pried-up state.
The four workers, heads down, focused on their task, paying no attention to the passing travel group.
Xu Wang and Wu Sheng exchanged a glance, then Advisor Wu turned back to his team and warned, “No matter what happens, don’t listen, don’t look, don’t be curious, don’t gather around.”
Chi Yingxue returned a look, acknowledging the message.
Kuang Jinxin nodded vigorously.
Qian Ai said, “Understood. Just keep a steady pace and follow the leader closely.”
If there was any so-called safe zone in this challenge, it certainly revolved around the “immortal leader”.
With a unified mindset, Xu Wang and Wu Sheng quickly sped up to stay close behind the leader, and the other three companions immediately followed their pace.
In a moment, the five of them formed the first phalanx of the larger group, staying no more than one and a half meters behind the leader.
Soon, the large group brushed past the workers, divided by the centerline of the road.
Xu Wang tensed all his nerves, focusing only on the leader’s small flag, taking steady, measured steps forward.
The seven-meter-long construction area didn’t take many steps to cross, but for those on high alert, each second felt interminably long.
Finally, they followed the leader past the construction zone, seeing the road ahead become wide and smooth again.
“Ahh!”
“Eek!”
“Ahh—”
Suddenly, a series of screams erupted from behind them, very close, no more than two meters away!
The leader didn’t turn his head, acting as if he hadn’t heard anything.
Xu Wang was prepared for something to happen on this seemingly normal path with a construction crew. Thus, he didn’t falter in his steps. But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Wu Sheng flinch at the sound of the screams.
Xu Wang wasn’t prepared for this reaction. Concerned, he was about to ask what was wrong when Wu Sheng steadied himself, his stride firm again, as if the earlier falter was just an illusion.
Suppressing his doubts for the moment, Xu Wang continued to follow the leader closely.
They were at the front, with only the leader and two other travelers ahead of them and the rest of the group behind.
Whatever was happening behind them, Xu Wang really wanted to know, but he was determined not to look back, to stay alive.
After a dozen seconds, they reached the end of the shaded path. The leader suddenly stopped and turned around, as if he had just remembered he was leading a group. His concerned gaze passed over them to look behind.
Only when the leader turned did Xu Wang dare to twist his neck to see what had happened.
The once compact group had split into three parts.
One part was their group, following the leader in the first phalanx; another part comprised people who slowed down to watch the commotion. Due to the crowd slowing down, they were scattered and not in any formation. The last six, likely those who had screamed, remained near the construction area. Some were sitting on the ground, gasping for air, others were standing on one leg and shouting, all seemingly busy with something stuck to their shoes.
At that moment, a slight tremor emanated from the ground.
Then, with a thunderous “boom”, the entire section of the road within the construction area collapsed!
Xu Wang watched in horror as the four workers and the six tourists nearby were swallowed by the pit in an instant, without even a chance to cry for help!
The collapsed section was only a dozen meters away from where he stood!
The trembling of the ground didn’t stop with the collapse but grew even more intense.
“Not good, the whole road is going to collapse—” A traveler closest to the collapse yelled and started running frantically forward!
Seeing this, the other travelers also began to run.
The leader, already at the front of the group, sprinted away from the shaded path and onto a more open pedestrian street.
Wu Sheng wanted to remind his teammates not to move, but when he turned around, he realized there was no need; all his teammates had remained still, evidently “experienced” by now.
At the same time, a notification rang in their ears—
[Owl: Someone used [(Defense) Happy Moment of Levitation] on you~~]
This was one of Xu Wang’s stationery.
As the notification sounded, all the companions felt their bodies lighten, their feet slowly lifting off the ground.
Just a few seconds after they were airborne, the entire shaded path collapsed.
Except for them, all the surviving travelers had already run out of the path and joined the pedestrian walkway.
Xu Wang operated the defense stationery, leading his teammates to float through the last stretch of the path. Just as they caught up with the rear of the main group, a strong gust of wind suddenly blew!
A large advertisement billboard hanging outside a building in front was ripped off by the strong wind and crashed right in front of the group!
Of the five people in the first phalanx, except for the leader at the very front, the remaining four were all crushed under the billboard!
The wind stopped without any warning, just as suddenly as it had appeared.
The noise subsided, and the world returned to silence.
Blood slowly flowed out from under the billboard…
The five companions floated about twenty centimeters above the ground. Although they anticipated it, they were still frightened.
Had they followed the leader closely just now, they would have been the ones lying under the billboard.
In less than five minutes, ten people had died. The death toll had risen to sixteen.
After floating along the pedestrian walkway for about ten minutes, the five companions and the remaining travelers, led by their leader, arrived at the bath center.
Upon entering the lobby of the bath center, Xu Wang was about to deactivate his defense stationery. After all, it’s more convenient to walk in enclosed spaces. But before he could even close his eyes and concentrate, Wu Sheng stopped him. “Don’t deactivate it yet.”
Xu Wang was puzzled, but knowing Wu Sheng must have his reasons, he didn’t ask further. He just lowered their floating height slightly so that the five of them skimmed the ground, appearing as if they were walking with the main group.
Following the leader, they entered the elevator and went up to the 5th floor, where the men’s bath was located. Xu Wang didn’t deactivate his defense stationery until Wu Sheng gave him a nod in the changing room.
Finally, the five companions landed on the ground.
Several male travelers around them, including the leader, had already started undressing.
Xu Wang breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he could finally ask Wu Sheng the reason for them to remain floating. Unexpectedly, Qian Ai and Kuang Jinxin, who had been holding back all this while, spoke almost simultaneously—
Kuang Jinxin: “Sheng Ge, do you know what happened before the road collapsed?”
Qian Ai: “What did those people step on while walking on the shaded path? Why did they scream and then just stop walking?”
Xu Wang held his forehead, thinking that Wu Sheng hadn’t looked back when the incident happened. No matter how smart he is, he couldn’t have eyes on the back of his head.
Just as he was pondering, he heard Wu Sheng say, “They stepped on nails.”
Xu Wang looked at his advisor in surprise. “Did you see nails on the ground when you passed that section?”
“I didn’t see them.” Wu Sheng sat down on the nearest bench.
Xu Wang was confused. “Then how do you know?”
Wu Sheng crossed his legs, bent over to take off a shoe, and revealed a shining nail head on the sole. “Because I stepped on one too.”
Chi Yingxue, Kuang Jinxin, Qian Ai: “……”
Xu Wang widened his eyes. “Didn’t it pierce your foot?”
Wu Sheng pondered for a moment and said, “It did a bit.”
“Why didn’t you take off your shoe immediately?!” Xu Wang doubted the extent of “a bit”!
Wu Sheng shook his head. “Any unnecessary movement can distract and lead to accidental risks.”
Xu Wang wanted to hit him!
But what he did was pull down the other’s backpack and search for the medical kit.
Qian Ai stepped closer, looking at the shoe thrown on the ground. The tip of the nail protruding from the shoe was definitely more than “a little bit”. Just looking at it made his own foot hurt.
Chi Yingxue looked at the nail in the shoe, then at the unfazed Wu Sheng, somewhat surprised.
Kuang Jinxin expressed his concern. “Sheng Ge, later find a plastic bag to wrap it up. Don’t let it touch water. As soon as we leave the Owl, go get a tetanus shot.”
“Okay.” Wu Sheng readily agreed to the scientific suggestion.
“It would be nice to have healing stationery.” Qian Ai scratched his head in irritation. They had plenty of stationery in the team, but none for healing. It wasn’t that they were wasteful; injuries were just too frequent.
“It’s okay.” Wu Sheng didn’t mind. “Pain is good, especially in this challenge. It keeps people alert.”
Qian Ai: “……”
He finally understood why Wu Sheng could be a leader, find a partner, and show affection.
Watching the subway door close in on his chest, getting narrower and narrower, and feeling the safety door scraping against his back as it slowly closed, Qian Ai felt a chill from head to toe.
He absolutely did not want to die like this!
“Ahh— Ahh— Ahh—” With a burst of survival instinct, Qian Ai flung his arms forward forcefully while kicking back hard with one leg!
“Crack—”
“Crack—”
The subway door in front trapped his arms, and the safety door at his back caught one of his legs. Qian Ai, in a stance akin to a one-legged rooster throwing punches, managed to keep a sliver of space open in both doors!
As long as there was a gap, the subway couldn’t possibly move… right?
But then, a slight vibration indicating the train was about to start came from the subway door, trapping his arms.
…Could this get any more horrifying?!
“Xu Wang! Wu Sheng! Xiao Kuang! Xiao Xue—” Qian Ai shouted at the top of his lungs, almost breaking his voice. This situation, like being trussed up like a pig, was impossible to even describe!
And perhaps it was his imagination, but after trapping him, the doors didn’t trigger any alarms and seemed to be tightening even more? His arms and legs were now clamped so tightly that they were going numb!
“Hold on, Lao Qian—”
His captain’s voice came from beyond the layers of people inside the carriage.
Qian Ai felt like crying. “I can hold on, but the train is starting to move—”
“Xiao Kuang, press the emergency door release. The red one!” This time it was Wu Sheng instructing. Obviously, he couldn’t reach it himself and had to rely on Kuang Jinxin, who was closest.
But then came Kuang Jinxin’s anxious voice. “I pressed it. No response!”
The train began to move.
Qian Ai suddenly realized his initial assessment of his predicament was off. Given the current situation, the subway would pull his upper body along with it, while his legs, along with his lower body, would be trapped by the safety door. He wasn’t going to be twisted to death; he would be torn in two!
Closing his eyes, Qian Ai braced for death.
One second.
Two seconds.
Five seconds…
It felt like his arm was indeed moving with the subway, but the expected bodily twisting and breaking didn’t happen.
Confused, Qian Ai opened his eyes to see that the subway was indeed moving, but at a snail’s pace of maybe 1 millimeter per second. So from the time he braced for death to now, his arm had only shifted less than a centimeter with the train.
And perhaps it was an illusion, but it seemed like his arms were visibly thinning?
[Owl: Someone used [(Illusory) Time Slow] on you~~]
[Owl: Someone used [(Defense) Shadow Play] on you~~]
With these two notifications in his ears, the subway had moved a few centimeters. Qian Ai could distinctly feel his upper body moving with the train, but at the same time, his entire body had thinned to half its original thickness!
By the time the subway door and safety door were half open, Qian Ai had completely thinned into a paper-like shadow puppet!
As his arms thinned, the gap in the subway door was only a paper-thin slit!
Qian Ai, who had been waiting for this moment, swiftly slipped through the gap and into the carriage!
Once inside the carriage, the illusory and defense stationery used by his teammates were deactivated. Looking at the subway, it was already speeding away, and looking at his body, it was inflating back to its robust form!
Qian Ai, scared out of his wits, pushed his way through and sat on the ground, gasping for breath, relieved to have survived. Remembering his past experiences squeezing into subways, he was terrified. He swore that from now on, if he could board a subway, he would; if not, he would definitely wait for the next one. If anyone tried to squeeze him, he’d fight back!
Before he could catch his breath, Qian Ai sensed something was off. Alert, he looked up, and sure enough, through the dense ‘wall of legs’, he saw four familiar pairs of eyes.
His four companions, in two pairs, were squatting in front of him, peering through the gap with concern.
Xu Wang: “Lao Qian, are you okay?”
Qian Ai: “Still alive.”
Wu Sheng: “Don’t relax. Danger can come at any time.”
Qian Ai: “Understood.”
Kuang Jinxin: “Sheng Ge used [Time Slow].”
Qian Ai: “Thanks, Class Monitor.”
Kuang Jinxin: “Xiao Xue used [Shadow Play].”
Qian Ai: “…Cough, thanks.”
Chi Yingxue looked at him from a distance with an indifferent and silent gaze.
Qian Ai felt awkward. “Xiao Xue, if you don’t say ‘you’re welcome’ or ‘we’re teammates’, it’s going to be really awkward for me.”
Chi Yingxue said, “Wu Sheng didn’t respond just now either.”
Qian Ai sighed. “But it wasn’t awkward.”
Chi Yingxue quietly looked at him for a while, then suddenly said, “Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, Xiao Kuang, Xiao Xue.”
Qian Ai was a bit confused. “What?”
Chi Yingxue said, “That’s the order you called for help in.”
Qian Ai: “……”
Is he seriously arguing about who was called first?! Is he a preschooler?
“Well,” feeling obligated to appease him since he owed him a life-saving favor, Qian Ai tried to explain, “You don’t understand, the most important person is always called last, to anchor the formation!”
Chi Yingxue frowned, somewhat skeptical, then turned to look at Kuang Jinxin.
Kuang Jinxin didn’t help Qian Ai with his ruse, but sincerely assured him, “Next time I’ll make Qian Ge call you first and last—twice—you can take both the starting and anchoring positions!”
Chi Yingxue tilted his head, picturing the scene, and then shook his head with a frown. “No need.”
Qian Ai: “……”
Does he have to be so blatantly disdainful!
“Zzz—”
Suddenly, a harsh friction sound of the tracks erupted, jarring and piercing, as the high-speed subway abruptly stopped!
The entire carriage jolted violently with inertia. People piled on top of each other, tumbling forward, and cries of alarm erupted instantaneously.
Before everyone could get up and steady themselves, the lights in the carriage went out, and the air conditioning stopped.
The people, who were just exclaiming in shock, were silenced by the sudden darkness, plunging the world into a moment of pitch-black stillness.
Xu Wang’s heart sank.
Underground tunnel, power outage, enclosed carriage, lack of oxygen… The words that popped up in his mind grew increasingly terrifying.
Suddenly, someone grabbed his hand.
Despite not being able to see anything in the darkness, Xu Wang knew it was Wu Sheng.
The hand that grabbed his steadied him, and then he heard Wu Sheng’s firm voice. “Safety hammer.”
Xu Wang understood but was concerned. “Doesn’t this count as leaving the group?”
Wu Sheng said, “First, break the window to ensure air circulation. If the leader leaves, then we’ll follow.”
Soon, passengers regained their senses and started shouting again, causing chaos in the carriage.
However, it was too crowded, so it was mostly just mental chaos, as bodies were tightly packed like sardines.
Finally, the emergency lights in the carriage lit up. Though dim, they were enough for the eyes to adjust to the dark to make out the surroundings.
Xu Wang looked over countless heads, finally spotting the small flag of the leader at the connection between carriages.
Five minutes later, the two struggled to reach the safety hammer. Wu Sheng took the hammer without hesitation and smashed it against the carriage window!
The glass was instantly covered in cracks.
Wu Sheng decisively struck a second and third time!
The entire pane shattered and fell away, bringing in a cool breeze and instantly easing the stuffiness of the carriage.
After breaking the window, the two moved away from it, retreating to the center of the crowd to avoid any potential accidents.
Half an hour later, the impatient passengers began to climb out the window, one by one, walking along the underground tunnel to the next station. The five companions didn’t move, only watching the leader.
Finally, when only a third of the passengers remained in the carriage, the leader waved the small flag. “Let’s go.”
The tour group walked for about twenty minutes in the underground tunnel, with the five companions on edge the entire time, until they finally reached the next station. They climbed up to the platform and returned to the surface.
Seeing the sunlight again was overwhelmingly emotional.
“Everyone must be hungry. Let’s go to the restaurant for lunch,” the leader announced the next activity to the gathered travelers without mentioning the subway incident.
The tour group members, seemingly unfazed by the startling events, eagerly discussed what delicious food to have upon hearing about lunch.
If the sense of horror had seeped into the bones of every companion, then a great sense of absurdity, like a cover, enveloped the entire world of this ordeal.
The leader took everyone to a Western restaurant that was elegant in appearance and stylishly decorated. Upon entering, a handsome man was playing the piano by the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The arrival of the tour group nearly filled two-thirds of the restaurant. The five companions sat at one table, still in the middle of the tour group’s tables, with the leader at a table three tables away to the left, chatting lively with a few travelers.
As soon as they sat down, Wu Sheng collected all the knives from around the companions’ plates, wrapped them in a napkin, and pushed them far away, leaving only forks for everyone.
Xu Wang gave him an approving look, and then the waiter brought the appetizer—salad for each person.
Xu Wang, already with a chilled heart, had no appetite for the cold dish. However, the torment of the journey had drained too much energy. If he didn’t eat something soon, he would starve to death rather than of fright.
Luckily, the seafood pasta arrived soon, its steaming aroma enticing. The five companions immediately pushed away the salad and focused on eating their pasta.
After eating about half the plate and feeling somewhat full, Xu Wang slowed down, picking at the noodles while quietly discussing with Wu Sheng. “Who do you think is the most suspicious?”
Wu Sheng looked around at all 27 members of the group and finally said cautiously, “Hard to say.”
Xu Wang was persistent. “There must be some range of suspects, right?”
Wu Sheng pondered for a moment, his gaze landing on the leader.
“You suspect him?” Xu Wang hesitated. “He’s the leader, leading the way, and he’ll surely survive till the end. But isn’t it too obvious? Can it really be that simple?”
“That’s why I said, it’s hard to say. We have too few clues for now,” Wu Sheng replied, his gaze shifting to a table next to the next one, where four girls were taking selfies.
Xu Wang keenly recognized that two of them were survivors from the earlier road crossing incident!
At that time, due to the sound of an engine, five people quickly ran to the opposite sidewalk. Then, after the electric scooter collision, the chef, a young girl, and another person were thrown back onto the motorway and hit by a sports car. The two who ended up on the sidewalk and ultimately survived were them!
Knowing that Xu Wang had recognized them, Wu Sheng didn’t elaborate further, just saying, “Currently, these are our only two suspects, but the evidence is too flimsy to conclusively point to anyone.”
Xu Wang glanced at the restaurant clock. “It’s already half past twelve.”
Their deadline was before sunset.
Wu Sheng fell silent, scanning the entire place again, intending to review each member of the travel group. Suddenly, an argument erupted from the table next to the next one.
“What did you say? Say that again!”
“I said you’re shameless!”
As the argument escalated, both participants stood up, revealing themselves as the two surviving girls whom Wu Sheng had suspected.
Everyone in the restaurant stopped and looked towards the source of the noise, even those who were halfway through their meal.
Xu Wang’s alarm bells were ringing. He immediately warned his companions, “Everyone, be alert.”
But they didn’t need his warning; any sudden incident was already linked to death in everyone’s mind. Even Qian Ai put down his pasta and was on full alert.
“You’re the one who’s shameless!” One of the short-haired girls, infuriated, grabbed a glass and splashed lemon water in the face of the girl opposite her!
Not to be outdone, the long-haired girl retaliated, throwing her drink back!
But the first girl was prepared, dodging smoothly, and the lemon water ended up on the floor.
Not willing to give up, the long-haired girl grabbed another glass of lemon water and continued the assault!
This back-and-forth exchange continued until they had used up all the lemon water on their table and the adjacent ones. Finally, they were persuaded to sit down by the other two at their table, still huffing angrily, but the “water festival” came to an end.
Xu Wang was tense throughout; his heart was already stuck in his throat. He only let out a long, relieved breath long after the girls sat down.
Time to resume eating pasta to calm down.
Xu Wang twirled some noodles onto his fork, about to eat, when he suddenly remembered the incident at the intersection. After the red sports car passed, they thought it was over, but then the electric scooter and blue sports car followed in quick succession.
With this thought, he turned to Wu Sheng, asking anxiously, “This isn’t another sequence of events, is it?”
Wu Sheng turned to look at him, but his gaze only lingered on Xu Wang’s face for half a second before shifting to his diagonal rear. Puzzled, Xu Wang was about to look back when he saw Wu Sheng’s expression change.
In the next second, Wu Sheng suddenly snatched the fork with noodles from Xu Wang!
Before Xu Wang could react, he heard a slipping sound from behind. Instantly, he felt a massive force pushing against the back of his head, smashing his face into his own hand, and then down into the plate of pasta!
Everything went dark for a moment—his nose stinging and his brain blanking out.
Only when the pressure lifted did he, in confusion, raise his head, not minding the spaghetti sauce smeared on his face and forehead, and angrily turned back to see who was responsible.
The culprit was a burly waiter.
Apparently, he had slipped on the lemon water spilled on the floor, losing his balance and tumbling onto Xu Wang’s back. Now, the disheveled waiter was looking anxiously at the next table.
Xu Wang’s table was very close to the adjacent one. Sitting at the edge, he was only about twenty centimeters from the person at the nearest seat of the next table, who, like Xu Wang, now also had their face and hand stuck in a plate of spaghetti.
Understanding the situation, Xu Wang realized the waiter’s sturdy build had caused both of them to be crushed.
“Are you alright, sir?” Seeing that the customer hadn’t gotten up, the waiter, now worried, leaned in, asking while gently tapping on the customer’s shoulder.
“Clang—”
The customer slid to the floor.
A fork was embedded in his right eye, almost entirely, leaving only a bit of the handle visible.
Xu Wang, looking at the body on the floor and then at his own fork that Wu Sheng had timely snatched away, felt a chill run through his body.
The Demon King Child’s method of attacking people was easy to figure out. He would first use illusions to confuse his opponent, making them see countless children and unable to discern which one was real. Once successful, he would approach his enemy at high speed and then use his ultimate move, “Love Slap”.
With the combination of illusions and high speed, the Demon King Child’s strike was extremely difficult to avoid. However, Zhou Qian’s weapon had two abilities that were naturally the nemesis of these tactics.
The Rib of God, in itself a divine artifact for creating illusions, hadn’t yet fully unleashed its power due to the limitations of Zhou Qian’s own stats. But against such monsters, it was more than enough, allowing Zhou Qian to momentarily come to his senses and identify the real Demon King Child amidst the illusions. Zhou Qian’s ability to control time, effectively slowing down speed, was the trump card against the Demon King Child.
Thus, Zhou Qian had easily killed the Demon King Child with a short knife. But, as expected, the situation wasn’t that simple—the child could resurrect.
Zhou Qian’s time-slowing skill was very powerful, but it also drained MP quickly.
He had tried to conserve his MP but still used up 15% of it. It had taken him about a minute to kill the Demon King Child once.
But in the next 29 minutes, he could use such a tactic at most six more times before running out of MP. If the Demon King Child could resurrect without limit, Zhou Qian would be completely unable to resist him. To make matters worse, when the time was up, the Demon King Father would awaken.
Currently, it seemed that the child’s resurrection was related to his father. Perhaps the father’s “womb” was a medium capable of transferring life points, allowing his son to continuously resurrect.
The system mentioned that the life points of the Demon King Father were unknown. Perhaps this number was infinitely large, allowing him to provide endless life points to the Demon King Child.
Should Zhou Qian try to kill the father first? But given his seemingly infinite life points, that seemed too difficult.
Waking him up prematurely would only lead to a dire two-on-one situation without any other benefit.
Moreover, the system had specifically emphasized at the beginning not to easily awaken the Demon King Father, whose attack power was unfathomable. It was very likely that upon waking, the Demon King Father would directly unleash a powerful move.
This meant that the moment Zhou Qian woke him up would be the moment of death, as his basic stats were too weak to withstand a major attack from a big boss.
Lacking attributes, Zhou Qian resorted to using items. Before the Demon King Child launched his next attack, Zhou Qian hastily equipped his small dragon with armor and himself with a full-body protective device.
Additionally, to save MP, he put on shoes that increased his speed to 200% for up to 10 minutes.
Just a minute later, the Demon King Child recovered and quickly launched a second round of attacks on Zhou Qian.
Accompanied by the piercing cries of the child, the illusion surged, and layers of child-like afterimages interwove into a giant web around him, slowly tightening as if to strangle Zhou Qian to death.
With the Rib of God firmly in his left hand and leveraging the power of the weapon, Zhou Qian identified the real Demon King Child within a thousandth of a second and then quickly found the right direction to retreat with the help of the speed-boosting shoes.
Even though his speed was fast enough, it was still too late—
Just as Zhou Qian retreated ten steps, the Demon King Child, with palms combined, rapidly struck at his face! But at that moment, Zhou Qian’s right hand holding the short knife didn’t even have time to swing!
In this critical moment, Zhou Qian had to repeat his tactic and slow down time again.
With the speed-boosting shoes, he didn’t slow time down too much this time and only consumed 7% of his mana to successfully counter-kill the Demon King Child.
However, the golden light on the Demon King Father’s belly soon brightened again.
The lifeless body of the child lying on the ground quickly came back to life!
……
When Zhou Qian chose to enter this instance, high-level gamblers once again gathered to watch.
Initially, they weren’t interested in Zhou Qian playing such instances, always feeling he would clear them easily.
But as the situation developed, they too became somewhat nervous.
It seemed that fighting alone wasn’t Zhou Qian’s strong suit.
[Wait, I think this pair of bosses isn’t too hard to beat! Am I alone?]
[You’re not alone. I thought of it too. The key problem might lie in the father’s “womb”. Players indeed can’t kill the father in one blow, but piercing and destroying his womb should be doable.]
[Exactly. Without the womb, the father shouldn’t be able to resurrect the Demon King Child. Then, players can kill the child and focus on fighting the father.]
[But according to the system’s hint, the father might unleash a big move upon waking. How will Qian Ge dodge it?]
[Doesn’t Qian Ge have a pet? Use it to bait the big move!]
[Right, pets are for sacrifices, after all!]
[Right! So, Qian Ge’s correct approach should be: attack the father’s womb, severing the life connection between him and his son; meanwhile, let the pet dragon take the brunt of the father’s powerful move! Once the father has used his ultimate move, there will surely be a cooldown period, which Qian Ge can use to deal with the Demon King Child!]
[Reliable plan. After killing the Demon King Child, the next consideration is how to kill the Demon King Father.]
[But still… Even if the son dies, the father is tough to deal with, with all his stats unknown and thus unfathomable. From a numerical perspective, he completely overwhelms the player in every aspect! How can this be fought?]
[The father can keep resurrecting the child indefinitely. He’s immortal—impossible to defeat!]
[Yeah, I was wondering why Qian Ge didn’t think of destroying the womb earlier. Qian Ge is truly Qian Ge. He wouldn’t act rashly for a reason.]
[No, I think Qian Ge is wrong this time. If it were me, I would have let the dragon bait the ultimate move first. Dealing with one monster is always better than two!]
After a long discussion without a conclusion, the gamblers watched as Zhou Qian had already killed the Demon King Child three times, with less than 70% MP remaining.
At this point, everyone turned their attention to Priest.
[Priest, we need an answer. How do we solve this?]
[We initially thought attacking the father’s womb was the way to go. But the more we discuss, the more we feel it won’t work. Even if we sacrifice the pet to kill the child, it’s useless. The father’s life points are infinite… This puzzle is unsolvable!!!]
Hearing everyone’s words, Priest slowly said, “100 people enter, 10 die from the Demon King Child’s first attack; of the remaining 90, 10 will choose to attack the Demon King Father, fail, and get killed by the father and son combined—”
[And the rest?]
[Damn, what’s the answer?]
“Only 15 people clear the dungeon successfully, so 65 people will make the same mistake—”
“Like you, they think of destroying the Demon King Father’s womb to cut off the connection between father and son. But according to the system’s hint, this means waking up the father and very likely triggering his ultimate move; even if they survive the move, they still have to deal with these two…”
Priest continued, “They hesitate, not daring to make an immediate decision, only to kill the Demon King Child over and over again in their indecision and contemplation.
“Perhaps after killing the Demon King Child ten times, they finally make a decision—continuing like this isn’t the way might as well go with the initial plan—destroy his womb first and then adapt as things unfold.”
Pausing for a moment, Priest added, “Of these 65 people, about 30 will die in the combined attack of the father and son after waking the father by removing his womb, leaving 35 alive.”
“But at this point… these 35 people don’t have enough MP to face the real monster.”
“So ultimately, all these 65 people die.”
Smiling at the image on the tablet, Priest said, “These numbers are actually quite objective. The foolish or those with low combat power are eliminated at the beginning, about 20%; those who clear it are 15%; and those who die slowly in between make up 65%. You can calculate, does it approximate a normal distribution?”
[I get what Priest means.]
[Me too. He’s mocking us for being part of that 65% majority.]
[If we were in that game, we could avoid the early attacks and think of removing the womb, but we belong to the majority who hesitate, delay, and ultimately die due to lack of MP.]
[Wow, shh, quiet, look! Qian Ge is making his move!]
[!!! He’s really going for the Demon King Father’s womb!]
[Why?! He didn’t let the dragon bait the ultimate move?!]
[Ah, then he himself will have to face the ultimate move… This can’t be good! He’s finished…]
[Ah, the Demon King Father is waking up!]
……
In the game.
Zhou Qian tightly gripped the Rib of God in his left hand to slow down time, and while the effect of his speed shoes hadn’t worn off, he used his extreme speed to reach the Demon King Father before the Demon King Child could catch up.
The Demon King Child seemed to sense something and suddenly shouted, “Daddy!”
Some fear of losing his father probably triggered him, and suddenly, he charged at Zhou Qian with unprecedented speed, his palms creating numerous palm prints, all striking towards Zhou Qian’s back!
Zhou Qian leaped up, his back, abdomen, and legs all stretched out straight, almost parallel to the ground. This way, he narrowly avoided a few palm strikes and then adjusted his posture as he landed, eventually flipping halfway and returning to the ground in a kneeling position on one knee.
The wind created by his landing fluttered the hair on Zhou Qian’s forehead, revealing a pair of cold and slightly mocking eyes.
Meanwhile, he reversed his grip on the short knife and thrust it downward with force. As the cold light vanished, the tip of the knife pierced straight into the meatball on the Demon King Father’s belly.
Purple blood splattered on Zhou Qian’s pale, thin chin. He raised his knife-wielding hand, thumb up, casually wiping his face, and then stood firm without retreat or avoidance.
“Ah—! How hateful!! Pay with your life!!”
The Demon King Father woke up, immediately letting out a tremendous roar.
That roar was filled with endless hatred and murderous intent, as if determined to chop into a thousand pieces the one who woke him up and even destroyed his womb!
However, facing this hatred, Zhou Qian remained calm and composed.
While slowing down time, he slightly sidestepped to avoid a slap, merely dodging the Demon King Child attacking from the side as usual.
[What is Qian Ge doing?]
[Why is he so calm?]
[The Demon King Father is about to unleash his ultimate move, right? Wuwuwu, I’m scared]
[Hasn’t Qian Ge dodged yet?]
[Hey, look, the Demon King Father didn’t unleash his ultimate move!]
At this moment, Priest spoke up. “He can’t unleash it.”
The gamblers said in unison, “Why?”
Priest, with a faint smile, said, “At this moment… he doesn’t have an ultimate move at all.”
On the screen, Zhou Qian looked at the Demon King Father with a pleased smile on his face.
“The system says he has unknown vitality, unknown defense, unfathomable attack power… Initially, everyone would think his health points are incredibly high. But who would have thought that he would actually be easy to kill.”
After finishing his words, Zhou Qian reversed his grip on the knife and mercilessly slashed at the Demon King Father’s neck.
“Maybe you also have fast speed and astonishing attack power. But under my slowed-down time, all of that is of no use.”
Zhou Qian watched with a smile as the purple blood slowly spilled out and climbed up the knife, but this smile didn’t reach his eyes.
Staring into the eyes of the Demon King Father, Zhou Qian’s gaze was extremely cold and ruthless.
Only when he saw the Demon King Father’s data on the system panel did his eyes show a bit of satisfaction.
“Your unknown vitality is because it’s merely a thousand points. I’m already at Rank S, with a life value of 50,000. It turns out ‘unknown’ can also mean very small, so small it can almost be ignored. Indeed, it’s a trick of the system.”
The Demon King Father’s life points quickly bottomed out, and he lay motionless on the ground.
Zhou Qian turned to look at the Demon King Child.
The Demon King Child, caught in the drastically slowed-down time, seemed to be moving very slowly. But he seemed to sense something, his eyes becoming watery.
Tears were accumulating in his eyes but couldn’t flow out, merely because they were constrained by time.
“The key to clearing the dungeon is in the word ‘cooking’.”
Zhou Qian said to the Demon King Child, “Your father is skilled in childbirth, childcare, and cooking. But what was he cooking? Of course, it was cooking a delicacy for himself.”
“So, it’s not that he has endless vitality and can transfer it to you upon your death. The real situation is the opposite—”
“The one who is truly immortal and has endless life is you. He nurtured you, raised you, and in the end, he was going to cook you and eat you to absorb your power.”
“As for that golden light… It’s also a trick to deceive the players.”
As he spoke, Zhou Qian reached into the broken belly of the Demon King Father and felt a golden pill-like object.
Shortly after it was in Zhou Qian’s palm, it emitted a golden light, flickered a few times, and then went out.
Its intermittent glow wasn’t the Demon King Father transferring life to his son; rather, it was absorbing life from his son.
Why?
Only because his own life force was extremely weak.
In fact, he needed to rely on his son to live.
Shortly after securing the golden pill, Zhou Qian received this prompt—
[Player Zhou Qian obtains item: Taotie* Golden Pill]
*An ancient Chinese mythological creature that is one of the “four evil creatures of the world.” It is one of the four that’s opposed to the holy four creatures (Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise). Notably, it’s known for its gluttony (thus the word (饕餮) can mean glutenous).
[Effect: The Taotie never knows satisfaction, and it loves to absorb people’s life force the most, so under certain circumstances, it can help you absorb someone else’s life force.]
[Player Zhou Qian unlocks the complete story: —
A man on the brink of death from a severe illness obtained a Taotie Golden Pill from an old Taoist and swallowed it. The pill could absorb the life force of people around the man, allowing him to hang on to life.
But the life force of ordinary people was limited and couldn’t satisfy the man’s needs, so he began searching for ways to extend his life.
Hearing that there was a spiritual woman on Purple Mist Mountain with a robust life force, the man spent his days searching for her on the mountain. His goal was to kill her and absorb her spiritual power.
After successfully meeting the spiritual woman, the man realized her power was too strong for him to kill directly, and even the golden pill couldn’t actively absorb her power.
So, the man began to deceive the woman, making her fall in love with him and eventually marry him.
He bought an apartment in Blue Harbor City, claiming he wanted to bring the spiritual woman into the world to live an ordinary life. He cared for her in every way, and the spiritual woman, unsuspecting, willingly bore his child, and the two became a loving couple in the eyes of others.
Unbeknownst to the spiritual woman, while she was pregnant, the man used an old Taoist to cast a spell on the child in her womb.
Thus, each day as the child grew, it consumed more of the mother’s spiritual power.
By the time the child was four months old, the spiritual woman’s spiritual power and life force had been completely consumed by the child, leading to her eventual death from depletion of her spiritual energy. She transferred all her spiritual power and life force to the child.
While the child’s physical body wasn’t fully developed, it could provide limited life force to the man, enough for him to live another hundred years. However, if the child was carefully nurtured, absorbing the essence of Purple Mist Mountain and turning into a spirit monster, upon reaching the age of four, the man could eat its flesh and blood to become immortal and god-like.]
“Your father deceived your mother’s feelings, using her womb as a tool or vessel to create an elixir of immortality, and the medicine cultivated in this vessel was you.”
“He was skilled in cooking—not to cook food for you, but to cook your flesh and blood, making you his delicacy. He raised you to four years old to eat you.
“Such a scoundrel; he deserved to die. I have avenged you and your mother.”
Quickly scanning the story sent by the system, Zhou Qian spoke to the child before the slowed time ended. “So, when the system initially said that the Demon King Father would wake up from his sleep in 30 minutes, it really meant that in 30 minutes, you would turn four years old.”
“Why did the system say the Demon King Father was unfathomable?”
“Because 30 minutes later, when he woke up, he would eat you and then become immortal.”
“Probably that’s why so many players couldn’t clear the dungeon. Many of them faced the Demon King Father, who had become immortal.”
“The system’s so-called unbelievably strong Demon King Father actually referred to him after becoming immortal, that is, after waking up and eating you.”
“Indeed, who could beat him in that situation? So, the system wasn’t really lying, right? I’m tired of these little tricks from the game designers. But I never expected—”
“To encounter the power of the Taotie here. Speaking of which…”
Zhou Qian smiled, holding the golden pill, and patted the small dragon on his shoulder. “Dragons have nine sons, and the Taotie is one of them. What kind of dragon is your father? Are you related to him?”
Yawning, Zhou Qian began to think of ways to delay time.
Actually, only about 10 minutes had passed in normal time.
Zhou Qian estimated that if he could delay another 20 minutes, he should be able to directly absorb the Demon King Child’s life force with the golden pill in his hand and then clear the dungeon.
However, in the next 20 minutes, Zhou Qian couldn’t really kill him. According to the setting, after absorbing all the spiritual woman’s power and turning into a spirit monster on Purple Mist Mountain, he would resurrect time and again.
His life force was endless and invincible, only absorbable by the golden pill.
Zhou Qian brought out all sorts of items: the Universe Teleportation Mirror, Flying Ropes, even Flash Smoke Bombs, and more. Now that the Demon King Father was dead, Zhou Qian’s MP was almost depleted.
Surviving the next 20 minutes against the Demon King Child wouldn’t be easy.
Zhou Qian decided not to kill the Demon King Child futilely. He would hit and run, simply biding time.
With so many items, plus using the small dragon for cover, even though he might be heavily injured upon leaving, clearing the dungeon wasn’t a big problem.
Unexpectedly, just as Zhou Qian prepared all his items and planned everything for the next 20 minutes, the small dragon, staring at the golden pill in his hand, suddenly made a move.
The golden pill suddenly rose into the air and hovered. The next moment, the small dragon opened its mouth, and the golden pill flew into it and was swallowed.
“Little Dragon, you—”
Zhou Qian blinked and saw it surrounded by a golden glow, rapidly growing in size, quickly becoming the length of an adult, rising into the air, and hovering.
From the data panel, its strength had increased significantly, and the system even offered options to increase its skill values.
Considering the current situation, Zhou Qian immediately increased all its skills to speed, granting the small dragon extremely high agility.
Essentially, Zhou Qian still considered the small dragon a part or incarnation of Bai Zhou, and after dividing his spiritual power with the small dragon, he could control it as a Shepherd.
“Not bad at all.” Zhou Qian patted its head. “Even the incarnation has upgraded so quickly. Then—”
After cleaning the bloodstained knife and putting it away, Zhou Qian switched the Rib of God to his right hand. Narrowing his eyes at the Demon King Child not far ahead, he waved his left hand forward. “Little Dragon, cover me!”
Time resumed its normal pace.
Zhou Qian’s MP was down to 5%, but he didn’t care.
The small dragon swooped in, and he leaped up, mounting it.
The infant’s crying sound rose again, and countless illusions immediately surrounded Zhou Qian. After identifying the real Demon King Child coming from the left with the Rib of God, Zhou Qian thought of dodging to the right. The small dragon swiftly received the signal from his brain and immediately moved to the right.
Two palms fiercely struck the ground, the force so great that it tore open the earth.
But the dragon had already carried Zhou Qian away in advance, soaring lightly like a drifting cloud, rising several feet into the air, facing the Demon King Child from a distance.
“Ugh—!”
The Demon King Child furiously slapped the ground again, causing it to crack open instantly.
Stepping on the battered ground, he leaped up, lunging towards Zhou Qian in mid-air.
In mid-air, however, a deep blue dragon tail swept across, hitting the Demon King Child’s head and flipping him harshly to the ground.
Zhou Qian’s voice echoed in the air. “Didn’t you understand what I said? Your father is the one who harmed you. I’m the one avenging you.”
The Demon King Child didn’t listen, his health dropping to the lowest and then instantly restored to full, as he roared and charged at Zhou Qian again.
Zhou Qian shook his head.
It seems the child’s mind was completely altered by his father.
He must think his life is for his father.
Maybe when his father wanted to eat him, he would willingly sacrifice himself.
“Without me, there would be no you. Your life was created by me, and you should serve me, offering all your flesh and blood to me.”
Sitting on the small dragon’s back, Zhou Qian looked down at the Demon King Child with a piercing gaze. “Did your father brainwash you with this line?”
“But have you ever thought about your mother?”
“Maybe she willingly gave birth to you. Maybe she was willing to share her life force with you. But did she want to give it to your father? She was harmed by him for her entire life.”
The Demon King Child couldn’t understand Zhou Qian’s words at all.
Under the curse, from birth, he lived for his father.
Even his daily cultivation, eating fruits and animals rich in spiritual power, was to make himself tastier.
He was pitiable, but beyond saving.
Zhou Qian patted the small dragon’s head. “Your dad and I wouldn’t do that to you. Don’t fight him head-on. He can’t die. If we wait until 30 minutes, we should be able to use the golden pill to absorb his life force.”
On January 20th, the filming for <Youth of Wuling> wrapped up.
On the day of the wrap, a thin layer of snow fell in Xi’an, quickly melting as it touched the ground. Ran Lin and Tang Xiaoyu squatted on the snowy street, munching on Roujiamo stuffed with vegetables. Tang Xiaoyu’s had green pepper and shredded potato, while Ran Lin’s had the secret recipe with dried flowers. They ate joyfully together, their breaths forming white mists in the cold air. A sense of liveliness and vigor emanated from them amidst what would typically be a dreary scene.
This was an early scene in the script, but since it takes place in winter, it was scheduled to be the last to shoot.
“Cut! That’s a wrap!” The director’s voice rang out like a melody. Ran Lin and Tang Xiaoyu jumped up in excitement, and the entire crew cheered and rejoiced.
After nearly four months of hard work, the project was finally complete.
At the wrap party, Tang Xiaoyu insisted on drinking with Ran Lin, a fitting celebration for the close brothers they portrayed from <Sword of Fallen Flowers> to <Youth of Wuling>. Ran Lin, who genuinely considered Tang Xiaoyu a good friend, happily agreed.
An hour later, Tang Xiaoyu realized challenging Ran Lin to a drinking contest was the biggest mistake of his life. Thankfully, Ran Lin, considerate of their friendship, didn’t push him too hard and eventually helped the unsteady Tang Xiaoyu back to the hotel, assisting his assistant in settling him in.
The next day, Tang Xiaoyu returned to Beijing, while Ran Lin flew straight home—just in time for Chinese New Year’s Eve, which he hadn’t properly celebrated at home for years. This time, planning a surprise, he didn’t inform his parents of his arrival.
Reaching his family’s bun shop around noon, the place was lively with a few tables of customers. Wearing a cap and mask, Ran Lin chose a corner table to sit.
The young waiter promptly handed him the menu, which listed various buns, sides, and drinks.
Ran Lin looked at the menu, and the waiter looked at Ran Lin, curiously wondering when this customer would remove his mask. After all, everyone comes to the shop to eat buns, and it’s unusual for someone to keep their mouth covered after sitting down.
Yet, this customer actually placed an order while still wearing the mask.
The young waiter, though full of thoughts, maintained a welcoming smile and quickly turned to place the order.
Ran Lin’s gaze followed the waiter, not really on him but looking towards the kitchen.
However, from the front, he couldn’t see into the kitchen at all; he could only see the waiter flashing by with the order, disappearing down the corridor leading to the kitchen.
Familiar tables and chairs, familiar scent of steamed buns.
As a child, Ran Lin often darted into the shop because it was surrounded by lively activities and lots of things to play with. He would usually pick an empty table to do his homework, then, after finishing, throw his backpack into the cashier area and run out to play.
Everyone in the street knew him, and his parents weren’t worried about his safety, so they let him be.
It can be said that this shop and this street carried all of Ran Lin’s childhood.
They say childhood experiences affect one’s entire life, but there wasn’t anything significant in Ran Lin’s childhood. So, the only lasting impact was his consistent breakfast of buns and soy milk.
Taking a deep breath, the familiar aroma seemed to have a calming effect, relaxing him inside and out.
It felt like coming home, shutting the door, and being at peace regardless of the storms outside.
Suddenly, he felt a stir of emotion.
Ran Lin took out his phone and took a picture of the shop’s interior, sending it to Lu Yiyao without any text, just the photo.
As the waiter brought the steaming hot buns, as if timed perfectly, Lu Yiyao’s reply came—[Is this your family’s shop?]
Ran Lin was surprised that Lu Yiyao could guess it was his family’s shop from a photo that didn’t show any buns, or anything explicitly related to a bun shop. They must have a special connection!
Ignoring the fact that he should have informed his partner he was safely on his way home from the airport, Ran Lin, caught up in the sweet moment, laughed, and took a second photo—this time with the buns.
Just as he was about to send the enticing photo of the hot, plump buns, his phone was suddenly snatched away.
Ran Lin looked up instinctively and saw his mother standing beside him, looking down with a frown, “What’s so interesting about our buns that you need to take pictures?”
Ran Lin, surprised, looked down at his new black long down jacket, touched his hat and mask, and wondered if there was any problem. Finally, he took off his mask and looked up, asking, “I’m covered up like this, and you still recognize me?”
Lu Qing rolled her eyes. “I gave birth to you and raised you. I could recognize a hair of yours on the barber’s floor.”
Ran Lin: “…Mom, one should be humble.”
Lu Qing pinched her son’s face and then, unable to contain her joy, turned and shouted towards the kitchen, “Lao Ran, our son is back—”
Lu Qing’s voice was melodious and clear. It was pleasant when she spoke softly but had strong penetrating power when she shouted.
Ran Lin wanted to tell his mother not to shout since there were other customers in the shop and it might affect the business, but as all four tables of customers looked over, he understood why his mother was so at ease.
“Auntie He, Uncle Wang, Auntie Zhang…” Among the four tables, three were old neighbors. Ran Lin quickly nodded and greeted each of them.
When he looked at the last table, which turned out to be new customers, two young men, he thought to just give them a smile, but to his surprise, they both exclaimed in astonishment—
“Ran Lin?!”
Ran Lin thought they recognized him as an artist, but one of them stood up and came over, expressing genuine fondness and admiration for him. They discussed his various roles from <Sword of Fallen Flowers> to <Chronicles of Winter>, then <Dyeing Fire>, and even talked about <The Legend of Lantern Blossoms>!
Ran Lin knew he had sister fans, but he didn’t expect to have brother fans as well. As the door remained open to welcome guests, the news of his presence quickly spread, and soon the shop was bustling with customers. Before Ran Lin could even see off his brother fans, more and more patrons entered, filling the shop with an energetic atmosphere.
Ran Yimin finally came out from the kitchen, hands cleaned of flour, to find his son surrounded by a crowd so thick he couldn’t even see his head. Although he couldn’t see his son, the extent of his popularity was evident, bringing a foolish grin to Ran Yimin’s face, glad that he hadn’t gone out for a drink with his friends.
With the surge in popularity came an increase in orders; after all, occupying a spot in the shop without ordering anything wouldn’t be proper.
Lu Qing quickly pushed the still gleeful Ran Yimin back into the kitchen and followed to help with the work.
Ran Lin, fully dedicated to his family’s business, eventually removed his hat and mask and sat behind the cash register like a mascot. With Ran Lin there, the shop’s popularity didn’t wane all day.
Even if the shop was full from morning to evening, they wouldn’t make a significant profit since it was a small business. However, Lu Qing and Ran Yimin were thrilled that their son was so well-liked, and Ran Lin was happy to make his parents proud.
All parents and children around the world are alike.
Parents always hope their efforts will lead to their children’s success, and children always wish to make their parents proud.
It wasn’t until the shop closed for the day that Lu Qing finally had a moment to ask, “Why didn’t you let us know you were coming? Why sneak back?”
“…What kind of words are those?” Ran Lin questioned his mother’s choice of words, suspecting she had been watching too many dramatic TV shows.
“Your mother is so happy she’s lost for words,” Ran Yimin interjected, floating past the mother-son duo with a comment.
Lu Qing, too busy to deal with her husband, focused on understanding her son’s situation. “How long are you staying this time?”
Ran Lin grinned at his mother. “Until the 15th day of the first lunar month.”
Lu Qing was momentarily stunned, not expecting her son to stay for the entire Chinese New Year celebration. Her heart burst with joy, but the more excited she got, the less she knew what to say, eventually patting her son on the shoulder. “The company you signed with this time is quite considerate. I like it!”
Ran Lin smiled and decided to tell Lu Yiyao later that evening that, though he hadn’t made an appearance yet, he had already made a good impression.
But after his joy, he felt a bit nervous. This visit wasn’t just about celebrating the New Year; it was also about coming out to his parents. Ever since realizing he was gay, Ran Lin had been preparing for this moment, but now that it was here, he felt anxious.
By New Year’s Eve, Lu Qing had started bustling around in the kitchen early in the morning, while Ran Yimin, after finishing pasting up the couplets, wandered around the house restlessly, trying to help with this and that, a typical case of being too idle but wanting to contribute.
Since Ran Yimin wasn’t much help to Lu Qing, Ran Lin, even less so, was promptly shooed out of the kitchen. He wasn’t skilled with plants either, so he ended up sitting on the sofa with his phone, playing the part of a child waiting to be fed.
However, this “child” was brewing a significant matter. From the morning, he couldn’t calm down, his palms occasionally sweating.
[Were you nervous at the time?]—He reached out to his experienced partner for some moral support.
After a long wait, the reply from his partner was just two words—[It’s okay.]
Ran Lin squinted his eyes and typed back irritably—[What does ‘it’s okay’ even mean!]
After a bit of silence, the reply came—[Just like you are now.]
Ran Lin was frustrated; that clearly meant extremely nervous!
As if hearing his complaint, the phone vibrated again—[If I admit I was nervous, it would undermine my image as a business tycoon. 😊]
Ran Lin—[That image of yours with no public recognition can fall apart for all I care…]
Lu Yiyao—[I just want to pull you close and give you a big kiss regardless of what you say.jpg]
Ran Lin—[Why are you busy making memes on New Year’s Eve instead of working?]
Lu Yiyao—[Are you sure you want to talk about it today? It’s a big day after all.]
Realizing the conversation was getting back on track, Ran Lin paused, then replied.
Ran Lin—[The atmosphere is good during the New Year, and we have a saying here. You can’t hit children during the New Year. 😊]
Lu Yiyao—[Scheming boy.jpg]
Ran Lin saw this meme for the first time, featuring a figure with a cunning smile, looking utterly cheeky.
…What was his partner thinking when he made this meme!
Before Ran Lin could comment, his phone vibrated three times in quick succession—
Lu Yiyao—[Don’t worry, I’m with you.jpg]
Lu Yiyao—[As you say, parents are always at their children’s mercy.jpg]
Lu Yiyao—[Go for it, Xiao Ran Lin.jpg]
Memes are indeed weapons of mass destruction. At any rate, Ran Lin’s heart turned as soft as peach juice, and his nervousness sweetened by the sentiment.
Ran Lin—[Lu Yiyao.]
Lu Yiyao—[…Why so serious all of a sudden? 💦]
Ran Lin—[I love you.]
The phone was quiet for a long time, so long that Ran Lin wondered if his partner had just put down the phone and missed the message, until it finally vibrated again—
Lu Yiyao—[Yeah, I know.]
Ran Lin gritted his teeth at the response, deciding they needed to discuss “how to properly respond to a partner’s declaration of love” when he got back.
At 8 p.m., the Spring Festival Gala began, and the Ran family’s New Year’s Eve dinner officially started.
Ran Yimin, who only got to drink once a year without being scolded, happily took out the Maotai wine his son had gifted him and poured himself a glass.
After pouring his own, he attempted to pour for Ran Lin, but Lu Qing intervened. “If you want to drink, just drink, but don’t always lead your son down the path of alcoholism.”
Ran Yimin frowned, disagreeing with his wife’s comment. “I may be a drinker, but my son is not. He has a talent for drinking, but it’s always you holding him back. His talent is being buried!”
Lu Qing rolled her eyes. “What talent? It’s just genetics. If you had listened to me and quit drinking when we were trying for a child, Ran Lin wouldn’t be like this now.”
“……” Ran Lin really wanted to ask what his current situation was. Although he wasn’t particularly fond of alcohol, he quite liked his hidden talent of never getting drunk.
“Son, you see?” Ran Yimin, unable to win against his wife, turned to his son for support. Although he might seem quiet over the phone, whenever the family of three gathered, he became quite chatty—a performer who thrived on the spot. “Your mother always bullies me like this at home. It’s not easy for me to have endured until now.”
“It’s me who has it tough.” Lu Qing raised her voice by an octave, drawing her son’s attention back to her. “Marrying your father was the greatest hardship of my life…”
The Spring Festival Gala on TV dazzled with song and dance.
But the Ran family enjoyed their own harmony and joy off-screen.
This was the New Year’s Eve night Ran Lin missed the most: lively, festive, filled with the warmth of family. Even his parents’ bickering sounded cheerful to him.
Rarely sticking to the tradition of staying up late, the family was unusually spirited and managed to stay awake until the clock struck twelve. At that moment, Ran Lin stood up from the sofa and loudly wished, “Dad, Mom, Happy New Year.”
Lu Qing and Ran Yimin’s smiles were filled with happiness, every wrinkle a testament to their joy.
As it was just family, there was no custom of exchanging red envelopes, so after the New Year’s greetings, the celebration was considered complete.
Lu Qing yawned, ready to get up for some rest, but she noticed her son, who had just finished his New Year’s greeting, still standing in front of them, motionless.
Lu Qing looked up, the smile slowly fading from her face, replaced by a slight confusion. “Hm?”
Ran Yimin, less sensitive than his wife, looked at her first, thinking she might have some instructions.
It was only when Ran Lin spoke that Ran Yimin realized it wasn’t his wife who had something to say, but his son—
“Dad, Mom, I have something to tell you.”
Seeing the serious expression on his son’s face, Lu Qing knew it was something significant and immediately muted the TV with the remote.
The living room fell into sudden silence.
“Speak,” Lu Qing said succinctly.
While the gala continued on the TV, the contrast only made the atmosphere in the room more solemn.
Ran Yimin looked at his son, then at his wife, confused about the situation.
Thump.
Ran Lin knelt down without warning. “Dad, Mom, I’m sorry.”
Lu Qing was stunned, speechless for a moment.
Ran Yimin was shocked, his voice trembling with concern. “Son, what are you doing? Did you do something wrong? Don’t scare your parents…”
“No!” Ran Lin quickly denied.
Before even coming out, he was nearly labeled a criminal by his own father.
“Then just spit it out already!” Lu Qing’s lifetime hatred was for unfinished sentences, and only her son was an exception. If it were Ran Yimin, she simply couldn’t tolerate it.
“I’m gay.” Ran Lin had rehearsed countless versions of coming out—subtle, roundabout, indirect, and full of hints. But now, facing his parents’ genuinely concerned eyes, all his tactics failed him, leaving only two dry words.
But isn’t that the core of it, just those two words?
It was hard to say, but once said, it was out there.
“I like men. I have since I was little. I’ve been hiding it from you. I’m sorry… Mom, you always hoped I’d settle down soon. I’ve found the person I want to be with. We’ve known each other for four years and been together for three. I know it’s hard for you to accept right away, but I promise, I haven’t gone bad. I’m still me.”
After pouring his heart out, Ran Lin looked at his parents with immense trepidation and a sliver of hope.
If Lu Qing and Ran Yimin were initially confused by the term “gay”, by now, even the slowest would understand.
But understanding didn’t make it any easier to speak.
Silence spread like wild grass, erasing the festive mood that filled the room just moments ago.
Ran Lin, watching his parents’ continued silence, felt his tiny hope extinguish, giving way to a prickling bitterness.
“Dad, Mom.” Ran Lin’s voice cracked, barely suppressing a sob. “Please, say something…”
Ran Yimin put his arm around his wife’s shoulder, patting gently, then finally spoke to his son with an unexpectedly calm voice. “What do you want us to say? You’re not asking for our opinion. You’re just informing us.”
“This isn’t something that can be discussed.” Ran Lin shook his head gently, pained by the hurt he caused his parents, yet feeling unjustly aggrieved. “It’s innate. I can’t change it… I used to write with my left hand, and you could make me change that because I have two hands. But I only have one heart. I just like men. I can’t switch this heart for another…”
“Enough.” Ran Yimin frowned, clearly uninterested in poetic explanations. “Just tell me, is this really something that can’t be changed?”
“Really,” Ran Lin replied without hesitation.
Ran Yimin’s chest heaved, obviously suppressing strong emotions, yet his arm still held Lu Qing’s shoulder, fearing any relaxation might lead to her breaking down.
“Why can’t you just let us have a peaceful New Year…” Lu Qing finally spoke, her voice slightly shaky, but she didn’t cry.
Ran Lin didn’t know what else to say, so he just kept repeating. “I’m sorry…”
“We don’t need your apology.” Lu Qing’s voice tightened. “We’re afraid you won’t be true to yourself. Two men can’t marry, have no children, no legal protections, no ties. If you break up, it’s over. You’re young now and unafraid, but what about when you’re old, old? When you’re alone, what will you do?”
Ran Lin expected to face fundamental rejections like “two men together isn’t normal,” but instead, every word from his mother was for his consideration.
Tears couldn’t be held back anymore.
Ran Lin wiped his face, but tears kept coming. He tried to breathe deeply, but it was of no use.
Seeing her son cry, Lu Qing’s own long-held tears fell. “Why are you crying? If anyone should cry, it’s your dad and me…”
Her words might have sounded harsh, but said through tears, they lost all their force.
Ran Yimin watched his wife and son crying together, his heart a mess. He couldn’t hold back his own tears, but fortunately, neither his wife nor his son noticed. He blinked hard and managed to push the tears back.
“Say something!” Lu Qing, on the verge of breaking down, snapped at Ran Yimin, who seemed as silent as a gourd.
Ran Yimin felt wrongly accused but understood that his wife needed someone to vent on. With their son, a grown man, crying like that, of course, she couldn’t bear to scold him.
With a heavy sigh, Ran Yimin resignedly said to Lu Qing, “This can’t be changed. I can’t even quit drinking myself, and this is something intrinsic to him. How can he change it.”
“I’m not forcing him to change.” Lu Qing sniffled, taking several deep breaths to steady her voice, but it choked up again as she continued, “But how will he manage in the future? People expect to have a companion in their old age. Who will take care of him when he’s old?”
“Mom…” Ran Lin cried it all out and felt as if the heavy stone pressing on his chest had been shattered by tears. It hadn’t completely gone away, but at least the suffocating pressure was no longer there. “Even married people get divorced these days, it’s so easy now. Having a marriage certificate doesn’t guarantee anything. Besides, you have to trust my judgment. Lu and I… we’ve been together for three years now. He’s even told his parents, and they said they want to invite me to dinner…”
“His parents want to invite you for dinner?!” Lu Qing exclaimed, eyes wide.
“Yeah.” Ran Lin wiped his face again, finally stopping the flood of tears.
“My precious son, how can you be so naive!” Lu Qing shook off Ran Yimin’s arm, got up, and walked over to fiercely tap her son’s forehead. “That’s them wanting to meet you in person to talk seriously. Mark my words, they’re probably going to tell you to stop bothering their son.”
“……” Ran Lin looked up at his mother, deciding he definitely needed to monitor her drama-watching list in the future. What a bunch of convoluted plot twists!
“Get up. It’s the New Year. What are you kneeling for.” Lu Qing grabbed her son’s clothes, pulled him up, and tossed him onto the sofa. Then she leaned in close, staring into his eyes as if she were a lie detector. “You’ve really been together for three years?”
Ran Lin nodded firmly.
Lu Qing watched him silently, her eyes reddening again, but this time she didn’t cry. “Mom doesn’t understand all this, but I just want you to be happy.”
Ran Lin hugged his mother tightly. “I am happy, very happy.”
……
For half a month, Ran Lin followed his parents like a little helper, visiting relatives, meeting friends, acting as a mascot when the shop was open, and trailing home after closing. Occasionally, he even showed his mother the impressive figures in his mobile banking app.
Finally, on the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, after eating a glutinous rice ball, his mother, tired of his explanations, waved her hand impatiently. “Okay, I understand now. I’m not stopping you from pursuing your dreams and freedom. Can you just sit down and eat a glutinous rice ball quietly?”
Ran Lin chuckled, scooped up a black sesame one, and popped it into his mouth, only to burn his tongue.
At first worried, Lu Qing rolled her eyes when she saw he was okay. “Serves you right, talking non-stop all day.”
Ran Yimin chimed in, “Your son’s been talking for half a month, you’ve been nagging for a life…” The last “time” was cut off by his wife’s sharp glare, swallowed back down.
The bowl of glutinous rice balls didn’t take long to eat, but with everyone silent, just the sound of spoons clinking against the bowls, the minutes stretched out unusually long.
Although his mother didn’t want him to keep talking, Ran Lin was still uneasy and was about to say something more when he was preempted—
“After the fifteenth day of the first month, the New Year’s celebrations are considered over.” Lu Qing looked up at her son, her voice grave. “So from now on, let’s not bring up last year’s issues. You live your life well, and that will be the greatest filial piety to your father and me.”
Ran Lin felt a warmth in his heart and a sourness in his eyes. A myriad of emotions condensed into a single word. “Yeah.”
“And…” Lu Qing put down her spoon, deciding to give a final lecture. “Next time you have something to say, just say it. Don’t flop to the ground and kneel at every turn; we’re not in a TV drama…”
“Of course, ideally, there won’t be a ‘next time’.”
“Oh right, we made you switch from using your left hand to your right because we were afraid of you smudging your homework with pencil lead and ink. We thought if we didn’t push you to change, the school teachers would. It’s not like we were full and had nothing better to do than worry about which hand you used! That’s an old matter from years ago, and you’re still bringing it up. Why do you hold grudges…”
On New Year’s Eve, Ran Lin came out, and by the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, his mother was dredging up old grievances.
…But who’s really holding the grudges here!
……
On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Ran Lin returned to Beijing, first going back to his rented apartment, and only when night fell did he drive to Lu Yiyao’s villa.
As he opened the door, the house was pitch dark; neither the main lights nor the night lights were on, and it was eerily quiet, as if no one had been there.
Ran Lin frowned. He and Lu Yiyao had agreed to spend the night here, and Lu Yiyao had said he’d come straight here after work.
Could he still be working overtime?
Puzzled, Ran Lin naturally moved to turn on the entrance light, but before his hand could touch the switch, he was suddenly pinned against the wall, and the next second, lips claimed his.
The familiar scent calmed Ran Lin down. He wrapped his arms around the other’s neck, deepening the kiss.
The chill of just entering was gradually dispelled by the fervent kiss, but as Lu Yiyao’s hand slipped under his shirt, Ran Lin shivered anew.
“Welcome home.” The kiss finally ended, and Lu Yiyao whispered with a smile.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Ran Lin stared unblinkingly at him, guessing, “Is there good news?”
Lu Yiyao lightly nipped his nose. “Doesn’t successfully coming out count?”
Ran Lin raised an eyebrow. “I told you on New Year’s Eve, aren’t you a bit too prolonged in your excitement?”
Lu Yiyao’s smile widened, leaning close to whisper in his lover’s ear. “<Youth of Wuling> has been sold.”
Ran Lin was surprised. “Already? The post-production isn’t even done yet.”
Lu Yiyao explained, “Two satellite TV stations we talked to the year before just confirmed the deal yesterday. It’s actually considered slow. Some dramas are sold right when they start filming, stations don’t even look at the content, just the cast.”
Ran Lin: “Are you implying I still need to work harder…”
“……” Lu Yiyao was speechless. Thinking too much can indeed be worrisome.
Ran Lin didn’t know much about TV series distribution, but seeing Lu Yiyao so happy, he knew it must be a good result. But when he asked about the selling price…
“So you’re still going to lose a few million?”
Lu Yiyao shook his head. “That’s just satellite TV. There’s still online platforms. It won’t be a loss.”
Ran Lin breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good.”
Lu Yiyao held Ran Lin tight, nuzzling his neck gently. “It’s already very good. I originally planned for the show to be a loss leader, but now we’re not just breaking even. We’ve made a profit. It’s an unexpected joy.”
Ran Lin shared his happiness. “You really are suited for business…”
Lu Yiyao lightly bit his neck. “Mainly because I chose the right lead actor…”
Ran Lin wanted to be modest, but the gentle biting on his neck made him weak and relaxed.
By the time he came to his senses, he was already being carried upstairs by Lu Yiyao.
Ran Lin hadn’t had dinner yet, so he indulged Lu Yiyao first. By the end, he didn’t have the energy to move a finger.
Lu Yiyao, however, was full of energy, turned on the light, and went down to make a late-night snack for his lover.
Ran Lin felt like a human-shaped power bank, exclusively for Lu Yiyao.
It was late at night, and Lu Yiyao didn’t make anything too complicated—just two bowls of noodles. He brought them into the bedroom, setting up a small, foldable table on the bed to eat with his lover.
While slurping noodles, Ran Lin detailed the entire coming-out process to Lu Yiyao.
After he finished, Ran Lin genuinely reflected. “That tactic of ‘fatigue bombardment and brainwashing popularization’ that Mengmeng used should be promoted.”
Lu Yiyao smiled. “You can tell her yourself.”
The dinner date had already been set for this weekend.
Ran Lin pursed his lips and, after a while, softly said, “I’m a bit nervous.”
Lu Yiyao knew that Ran Lin wasn’t nervous about Lu Yimeng and held his hand, saying, “Don’t worry, my parents are very…”
Lu Yiyao considered words like “kind,” “gentle,” “good-tempered,” each with its calming effect, and finally chose—
“Very reasonable people.”
“……” Ran Lin felt like he hadn’t received much comfort.
The day of the dinner quickly arrived.
Before meeting Lu Yiyao, Ran Lin had never imagined sitting down to eat with his boyfriend’s parents, but when the day actually came, he imagined countless scenarios of how it might unfold.
In pessimistic moments, he envisioned endings with arguments or even overturning the table. In optimistic moments, it was awkward silence or subtle verbal sparring.
But, like with his coming out, none of the imagined storms happened. It was just a very normal dinner, casual eating and chatting, as if friends were visiting.
Ran Lin didn’t know how much groundwork Lu Yiyao had laid behind the scenes, but as the beneficiary of these efforts, he felt as happy as he had told his parents.
Of course, the “casual chatting” wasn’t entirely without substance. In fact, Lu Yiyao’s parents, like his own, were worried and uneasy, though they masked it in seemingly casual conversation—
“What are your plans for the future?” Lu Guoming asked.
Ran Lin answered honestly. “I love acting, so I’ll probably continue to act until I can’t, or no one wants me anymore.”
“And in life.” Lu Guoming paused. “I mean, about the two of you.”
Ran Lin saw Lu Yiyao about to speak and pressed his hand under the table, knowing his parents were clear about their son’s thoughts and now wanted to hear what their son’s partner really thought.
“Our relationship can’t be made public for now,” Ran Lin said calmly. “Maybe in the future, if the environment allows, we might, or maybe not. But it won’t affect our life together.”
Lu Guoming asked, “Hiding it for a lifetime, won’t it be too hard?”
Ran Lin pondered for a moment. “It will be, but it’s worth it.”
Lu Guoming had no further questions, just looked steadily at him, as if he could see his son’s future in his face.
Fan Li hadn’t spoken much, but she listened intently when her ex-husband spoke. She wasn’t thrilled, but at least she felt more grounded. Ran Lin gave her a clearer picture and direction for her son’s partner’s “wild thoughts”. Ran Lin’s “honesty” and “stability” also steadied her wavering heart a bit.
Lu Yimeng, unable to hold back any longer, leaned in with the most gossipy question of the meal—
“Ran Ge, what do you like about my brother?”
Ran Lin, who was sipping soup, almost choked at the question.
Of course, he could list what he liked about Lu Yiyao, but it felt a bit awkward in front of his parents.
Seeing Ran Lin’s hesitation, Lu Yiyao felt a slight pang. “Is it that hard to answer?”
Ran Lin, feeling helpless, glanced at Lu Yimeng, then at Lu Yiyao, seeing both siblings full of anticipation. He took a deep breath and began listing his lover’s qualities for his future sister-in-law. “Your brother is upright, open, diligent, dedicated to his work, ambitious, and self-reflective, which is actually quite rare. He might not seem very warm to friends, but he holds them in his heart, says less but does more, and…” The more he praised, the smoother he got, even recalling their first meeting, that Lu Yiyao who managed a smile despite being furious, felt like just yesterday. Thinking of this, Ran Lin couldn’t help but smile. “He’s got a good temper.”
“Mm,” Fan Li, who had been quiet, suddenly agreed. “He got that from me.”
Lu Yiyao: “…”
Lu Yimeng: “…”
Lu Guoming: “…”
Feeling the sudden silence, Ran Lin decided it was safer to remain quiet and continued drinking his soup quietly.
Xu Wang never felt that fifteen minutes could be so long.
He was huddled with his little companions in the main group, following in the footsteps of those ahead without deviation, not because of the rules but out of sheer desire.
But no matter how cautious you are, an intersection will invariably appear in front of the group.
It was an eight-lane intersection with a wide road. At that moment, the light was red. The longitudinal traffic was stopped, and the lateral traffic was moving in an orderly manner.
Xu Wang’s throat tightened, and he felt a sense of dread.
Now, at every intersection, he felt as if dark clouds hovered above, and the road signs seemed to spell out ominous paths.
The sound of the ding was like a lifesaver. Xu Wang immediately activated the protective gear he had been longing to use!
[Someone used [(Defense) Golden Bell Shield] on you~~]
[Someone used [(Defense) Righteous Energy Shield] on you~~]
[Someone used [(Defense) Unmovable Umbrella] on you~~]
As soon as he activated one stationery, three notifications sounded…
Xu Wang, Qian Ai, Chi Yingxue, the three fastest, or rather, the most desperate to survive, looked at each other in silence.
Wu Sheng, who almost used his stationery, retracted his hand from the [Stationery Box]. He was glad that he always played it safe, not chasing false speed. Otherwise, he would have had quadruple protection now.
Kuang Jinxin looked up at the sky-blocking [Unmovable Umbrella], then turned to look at the swirling [Righteous Energy Shield] and the shining, reflective [Golden Bell Shield], and immediately felt a sense of security.
“Three is good. Better to be safe.” Thinking of this, Xu Wang felt relieved.
With the stationery activated, the five of them and the other travelers around them maintained a safe distance, but they still followed the leader’s route, staying within the group.
The fellow travelers seemed indifferent to the sudden appearance of the defense stationery. They had become accustomed to oddities. Even if someone died right in front of them, they would continue on unfazed. What’s an extra umbrella or shield?
With the stationery in hand, Xu Wang’s anxiety eased slightly. He then remembered the man who had spoken to him before the gas explosion.
“Do you suspect he’s the demon?” Wu Sheng understood the captain’s intent as soon as Xu Wang brought it up.
“It’s not suspicion.” Xu Wang looked back at the man who had fallen to the back of the group. “It’s just that he mentioned the restaurant smelled good, and then it exploded. That’s too much of a coincidence.”
Wu Sheng also glanced at the man, who was now chatting happily with a petite, delicate girl.
Turning his gaze away, Wu Sheng said, “Let’s not think about it for now.”
Xu Wang was puzzled. This was their mission. What else should they think about?
Just as he was about to ask, the group suddenly stopped. Xu Wang looked up and understood what Wu Sheng meant.
They had reached the intersection.
This was a critical juncture. It was crucial to focus on saving their own lives. As for the demon, let someone else worry about it.
There were 20 seconds left on the red light.
The travelers at the front of the group stopped and almost completely blocked the side of the road. Xu Wang and others in the middle part were essentially the second layer of the crowd. Despite this, Xu Wang felt uneasy and, protecting his teammates, retreated two steps back, blending with those originally at the end of the group to form the last layer of people waiting for the red light. They were at least two rows of people away from the roadside, a distance of one and a half meters.
10 seconds left.
The traffic flowing sideways seemed normal.
5 seconds.
4 seconds.
3 seconds.
2 seconds.
1 second…
Xu Wang’s heart rose to his throat, almost holding his breath at the last second.
The red light went out, and the green light came on. The lateral traffic had cleared, and no new cars came. The vertical traffic began to move slowly.
The leader raised the flag and stepped onto the pedestrian crossing, calling to the group to keep up…
Xu Wang sighed in relief, following the group slowly, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
The eight-lane road was wide, but with 60 seconds of green light, they had enough time.
The travelers at the front walked a bit fast, but the group of five wasn’t in a hurry. They walked steadily forward. The five travelers at the back, including the chatty cook and the girl, were even more leisurely.
So, when the leader and half of the travelers had already reached the opposite sidewalk, walking a few meters away, Xu Wang’s group still had two lanes of traffic to cross.
At that moment, a sports car’s engine roared from the right. It sounded like it was speeding through a red light!
Xu Wang finally understood why there hadn’t been a single car in the lateral direction for so long. The road was clear for this deadly sports car!
Driven by instinct, he unconsciously wanted to run forward to cross the remaining lanes as quickly as possible.
But in the moment he lifted his leg, he hesitated.
His alert nerves made him turn his head to the right. The fiery red sports car, approaching rapidly, was targeting the last lane!
At the same time, Wu Sheng also stopped Qian Ai from running forward, and Chi Yingxue restrained Kuang Jinxin—Advisor Wu’s rational instinct and Chi Yingxue’s wild instinct sensed danger.
However, the few people at the back of the group, upon hearing the engine, quickened their pace and suddenly overtook the five friends!
“Don’t…” Xu Wang wanted to shout for them not to run, but it was too late.
As they reached the last lane, the fiery red sports car also arrived!
Xu Wang’s breath caught!
Unexpectedly, the cook at the back, in a split-second decision, opened his arms and pulled himself and the four others onto the sidewalk!
The fiery red sports car passed behind those five people and in front of Xu Wang’s group, creating a gust of wind!
The five who narrowly escaped death barely stabilized themselves, turned around, and watched the dust raised by the car, both shocked and relieved.
Xu Wang also took a deep breath, as if he had just brushed past death himself.
“Make way, hurry!” Suddenly, an anxious shout came from the sidewalk.
Xu Wang was startled and saw an electric delivery scooter speeding along the sidewalk. Before he could get a clear look, the scooter crashed into the five people who had just stepped onto the sidewalk!
Two of them fell to the side, while the cook, the petite girl, and another person were knocked back into the last lane of traffic.
They fell in a jumble, unable to get up. Just as Xu Wang was about to help, he felt a breeze from the right.
Instinctively turning his head, he only caught a glimpse of blue.
Then, with a “bang”, the three people in the lane were hit and sent flying.
At the same time, Xu Wang felt a huge impact on his [Golden Bell Shield], almost knocking him off balance.
The blue sports car’s windshield shattered, but it sped past Xu Wang’s group without slowing down.
Unlike the red car, it was silent from beginning to end, like a ghost.
The three people hit were scattered across different lanes, all bleeding onto the road. The cook, who had spoken to Xu Wang earlier, lay lifeless, his head half-crushed.
Xu Wang turned away, unable to bear the sight, feeling nauseous.
The green light turned red again.
The five friends finally stepped onto the sidewalk.
These last few meters felt like a walk through hell.
The death toll rose to five.
The [Golden Bell Shield] was broken, and the [Unmovable Umbrella] was gone. Only Qian Ai’s [Righteous Energy Shield] remained.
Following the group for a while, Xu Wang finally calmed down.
“Protection isn’t infallible…” He told his teammates with a grave expression.
Qian Ai patted his chest, like a guardian. “Don’t worry, at least my [Righteous Energy Shield] is still here.”
Wu Sheng glanced at him. “That’s because the attributes don’t match.”
Qian Ai: “Huh?”
Kuang Jinxin: “Righteous qi against evil qi, Qian Ge, your armor is clearly meant for defense against supernatural attacks.”
Xu Wang: “So, it can’t prevent collisions, nor will it be destroyed by impact forces.”
Qian Ai: “…Then why didn’t you remind me when I used it before?”
Kuang Jinxin: “I thought you were using it to guard against demons and ghosts.”
Xu Wang: “As a complement to physical defense for me and Xiao Xue.”
Wu Sheng: “I was almost about to praise you for your thoroughness.”
Qian Ai despaired. “You guys are overdramatizing this…”
“Stop chattering.” The leader had come over at some point and chided them. “Did you hear anything I just said?”
The five companions were stunned.
The leader sighed with irritation, saying, “It’s too dangerous on the road. In just a short while, so many things have happened.”
The five companions were just about to comment on the danger-awareness of the leader!
But the leader smiled like a spring breeze. “Next, we’ll take the subway.”
The five companions: “……”
Qian Ai: “Wait, leader, maybe reconsider? The surface is dangerous, but underground is even more unsafe!”
Leader: “The subway is the safest mode of transportation.”
Xu Wang: “Safety is useless. We could die just crossing the street at a traffic light!”
Leader: “You don’t need to cross streets in the subway.”
Wu Sheng: “Think about it again.”
Leader: “I’ve already considered it thoroughly.”
Chi Yingxue: “Can we leave the group?”
Leader: “No.”
Kuang Jinxin: “We’ll run on the surface.”
Leader: “The subway fare is included in the group fee. It’s a mandatory expense.”
During the conversation, the group arrived at the subway station entrance. Excluding Xu Wang and his group, there were still twenty-seven people left.
In such a situation, any further nonsense could lead to distraction and death, so the companions didn’t dare to argue with the leader any longer. They focused entirely, stepping down the stairs and entering the subway station.
The sun had reached its highest point. It was noon.
Despite it being midday, the subway station was crowded, like during the morning rush hour, teeming with people, bustling, and packed tightly.
The sunlight from above didn’t reach inside the station. Instead, the cool air from the central air conditioning was quite strong, chilling people’s backs.
The tour group squeezed into a boarding area in the middle of the platform, with the increasing number of waiting passengers behind them, unconsciously or consciously pushing the people in front.
“Stop pushing. The train hasn’t arrived yet—” Qian Ai yelled, frustrated, but to little effect.
However, they were in the middle of the waiting crowd, with layers of people ahead and safety doors on the platform, so even those at the very front, at most, would just be pressed against the safety doors, not in danger of falling onto the tracks.
But such crowding made it really suffocating.
A gust of cold air came from the empty subway track’s end—the subway was arriving.
The pushing force of the waiting crowd suddenly increased. Those at the front couldn’t bear it any longer, continuously shouting, “Don’t push, don’t push”…
In this noisy and chaotic scene, the subway roared in.
Finally, when the train stopped and the safety doors and train doors opened almost simultaneously, the waiting passengers swarmed and squeezed in, while those wanting to get off struggled to make their way out.
Fortunately, not many were getting off, and soon it became a lively scene of everyone squeezing in.
The five companions were pushed apart. Although they were at the same door, their positions were scattered. Chi Yingxue and Kuang Jinxin somehow got to the front, Wu Sheng and Xu Wang were in the middle, and Qian Ai ended up at the back.
As the four got on the train, Qian Ai was still squeezing from outside. Seeing the carriage already full, boarding became increasingly difficult. Almost all of the tour group had boarded, making Qian Ai anxious.
If he couldn’t get on, he would definitely be left behind!
Determined, he took a deep breath, and with a “huff—” he pushed forward with force!
With Qian Ai’s push, the row in front was pushed into the subway, and the already packed carriage somehow squeezed in five or six more people.
It was now completely full. Qian Ai, pressed against the back, was stuck outside the subway door, just a body’s width away from getting in!
The door closing warning sound beeped.
Qian Ai panicked, instinctively stepping back.
He thought, even if he had to leave the group, it was better than getting caught between the safety door and the subway door. If the train started, he would be crushed!
But as he stepped back, his body didn’t move an inch!
Qian Ai turned back sharply. Those who couldn’t get on the train were still desperately trying. They didn’t care about the doors closing and continued to press against him!
The doors of the subway and the safety doors both began to close slowly…
The tour leader patiently waited for them to join the group. Once the five of them blended in with the main troop, the leader waved the small flag and smiled brilliantly. “Stay close. Don’t stray from the group.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the five received a new prompt—
[Cheat Sheet]: Leaving the group is prohibited, or else it will be considered a failed submission.
[Cheat Sheet]: Stationery can be used after 15 minutes. Countdown starts now.
They had to wait fifteen minutes to use stationery? During the countdown, they could only rely on their bare hands?
Xu Wang opened his stationery box, and indeed, it was all grayed out.
The main group had started moving again, continuing along the pedestrian path. Without time to think further, Xu Wang hurriedly led his team to catch up.
They were in a mixed commercial and residential area, bustling with traffic and an array of quaint and elegant shops. Walking in the middle of the group, with the road on their left and the shops on their right, Xu Wang’s small team, though standing shoulder to shoulder, had no leisurely spirit of sightseeing. What bound them tightly together at this moment was a single factor—their will to survive.
[Any event that breaks habitual behavior could be a precursor to a deadly accident.]
This was the universal survival formula Wu Sheng had summarized, applicable in any environment.
Since joining this tour group, this phrase had been echoing in their minds, serving as a prominent alarm bell.
What does “breaking habitual behavior” mean?
For example, if you’re walking normally and suddenly there’s an empty can on the ground, you could choose to step on it, kick it, or avoid it. But whichever you choose, it breaks your initial habit of walking at a consistent pace, and hence, it poses a danger.
By extension, many seemingly trivial things could be deadly traps.
The more Xu Wang thought about it, the heavier he felt. He didn’t notice when the tour leader had moved back to the middle of the group until Wu Sheng greeted him first. “Leader.”
Xu Wang looked up to see the leader’s concerned smile. “You don’t seem very excited?”
If it were you facing the threat of death at any moment, you wouldn’t be happy either!
Xu Wang muttered in his mind but still put on a brave face, smiling at the leader. “We’re not familiar with everyone, so we’re hesitant to just start talking.”
Survival was their first priority, and finding the accident-causing demon was the second. Since the leader had approached them, Xu Wang certainly couldn’t miss this opportunity.
Sure enough, the leader opened up. “Everyone here is young and easy to get along with. This group regularly organizes these backpacker activities. The group number is XXXX…”
The leader was almost about to reveal the whole history of the tour group. However, there was hardly any useful information, especially regarding the backgrounds of each person in the group.
“Leader—” Someone from the front of the group called out.
The leader quickly stopped talking and hurried to the front.
Xu Wang watched his back, deep in thought.
Wu Sheng, noticing, asked, “What’s wrong?”
Xu Wang pursed his lips. “Don’t you think he’s a bit too enthusiastic?”
Following his gaze, Wu Sheng also watched the leader. After a while, he said, “Usually, the one who first seems suspicious isn’t the culprit.”
Xu Wang looked at him and nodded. “Right, the movies haven’t been watched in vain.”
In addition to writing formulas, their advisor had been binge-watching thrillers, mysteries, horrors, and detective films for the past three days, with a dedication akin to preparing for a crucial exam.
Behind them, Kuang Jinxin was absorbed in his thoughts, staring at his arm.
Chi Yingxue noticed and leaned over, saying coolly, “Xiao Sijin, watch the road, not your hand. Otherwise, you won’t even know how you die.”
Being too absorbed in his own thoughts, Classmate Kuang didn’t hear Chi Yingxue. He suddenly looked up, walked quickly to Xu Wang, and asked, “Captain, what is a Finnish bath?”
The Finnish bath was the hint for this level’s badge. The hint had been the same for the past few days.
Xu Wang naturally assumed his teammates understood it, so he hadn’t discussed it further. Now asked by Kuang Jinxin, he realized the generational gap between him, in his thirties, and the younger team member in his early twenties.
In his childhood, Finnish baths were common, later replaced by steam saunas, and now sweat steaming was popular.
“It’s a dry sauna without steam,” Xu Wang explained to his teammate in detail. “It’s a small wooden cabin with hot stones. You pour a ladle of water on the stones, and with a sizzle, the room temperature rises…”
“Captain, I’ve experienced it. I just didn’t match the name…” With Xu Wang’s description, vivid imagery struck Kuang Jinxin, stirring his memory.
Chi Yingxue and Qian Ai also felt the vividness of the description.
The former was indifferent, but the latter imagined a dire death scene—a closed, small wooden cabin at a high temperature. It seemed very dangerous!
“Wait.” Xu Wang suddenly grabbed Wu Sheng.
Wu Sheng, who was listening attentively, was startled, not understanding why he was suddenly involved. Turning around, he saw Xu Wang looking worried.
“Do you think,” Xu Wang asked seriously, “Xiao Kuang suddenly asking me about the Finnish bath could be a suspicious event breaking habitual behavior?”
Wu Sheng was momentarily stunned.
The next second, a woman’s scolding came from above their heads. “Marrying you was the biggest mistake of my life—”
They instinctively looked up. It was a resident on the fourth floor above the shops, the only one with open windows adorned with potted plants. The cozy atmosphere contrasted starkly with the argument inside.
“Regret it? Then remarry—” A man’s voice roared back defiantly.
The entire group stopped, looked up, and listened to the excitement.
The woman seemed to be driven to a frenzy by anger, letting out a series of shrill screams!
Screams came from inside the house, spilling out from the windowsill. In an instant, the woman had already rushed out half of her body and was about to jump!
Her husband must have rushed over, holding her waist tightly. “I was wrong. I was wrong. Just calm down—”
“Let me go—” The woman, now crying and exhausted, refused to go back inside. With a forceful swing of her arms, she pushed a flowerpot off the outer windowsill!
The flowerpot came crashing directly towards Xu Wang’s head!
Wu Sheng, with quick reflexes, pulled Xu Wang into his arms!
“Crash—”
The flowerpot shattered at their feet, spreading debris and soil all around.
“Don’t look anymore. Let’s go!” Wu Sheng urged, pulling Xu Wang and calling out to the other three teammates.
Xu Wang, still dazed from his near-death experience, followed Wu Sheng mechanically.
The other three quickly caught up.
The main group remained stationary, still engrossed in the spectacle, making their departure seem abrupt. However, moving from the middle to the front of the group didn’t break any rules.
Chi Yingxue, trailing behind, had just moved a meter away from where the flowerpot had fallen when he heard a whizzing sound above, like a sharp blade cutting through the air.
Before he could look up, a scream rang out next to him, so piercing it didn’t sound human.
Turning his head, he saw, just a few steps away, a fellow tourist who was watching the excitement with a kitchen knife embedded in his skull.
The knife had sliced through his head like a watermelon. The blood was blocked by the blade, unable to spurt out, and only trickled down from his forehead to his brow.
He stared at Chi Yingxue, mouth agape, but beyond that initial scream, he couldn’t utter another sound.
The arguing couple on the fourth floor looked down to see the deadly consequence of their dispute. Their lips trembled, and their faces turned pale.
The young man who was struck collapsed to the ground.
His head landed right next to Chi Yingxue’s feet.
The tourists, however, remained indifferent. Seeing the argument had ceased, they became disappointed and regrouped around the leader, not sparing a glance at the fallen body.
Chi Yingxue looked down at the corpse, lost in thought.
Kuang Jinxin approached, not daring to stare directly at the body like him, and asked, “Do you think dying like this is quick and painless?”
Chi Yingxue didn’t respond.
“This challenge really means death.” Kuang Jinxin sighed. “Don’t take it lightly.”
With no time for further discussion, he pulled Chi Yingxue to catch up with the others.
Ahead, Xu Wang and Wu Sheng were already being engaged in conversation by a fellow tourist.
As they approached a small restaurant, the delicious aroma wafting out led a man about Xu Wang’s age to strike up a conversation. “Smells good, huh? Wonder what they have for lunch today.”
Xu Wang, preoccupied with identifying the demon, was instantly on guard, engaging in the conversation while cautiously sizing up the man. The more he observed, the more he found the man suspiciously talkative.
Having gone through so many levels, Xu Wang had never been so wary of any NPC, often finding them friendly in many levels. But here, he couldn’t trust anyone; everyone seemed like they could be the demon.
“I’m a chef, so I care about food.” The man chatted merrily on his own, laughing heartily.
Wu Sheng, who had been observing, suddenly frowned, sniffing the air as if he detected something.
Seeing his reaction, the man joked, “You think it smells good too, right? Haha.”
Wu Sheng’s gaze fell on the restaurant door, and his expression darkened. “Gas!”
Xu Wang and Qian Ai together: “What?”
Without time to explain, Wu Sheng shouted, “Get down—”
The three instantly hit the ground. Kuang Jinxin, still confused, was pushed forward by Chi Yingxue, and they too fell flat on the ground!
Just as they landed, a massive explosion occurred, so close that it hurt their eardrums and their bodies could feel the shockwave!
With his head pushed down by Chi Yingxue, Kuang Jinxin couldn’t see anything. He only heard the sound of shattered glass and debris flying around.
Something brushed past their heads, bringing with it the chilling sensation of the wind, making Kuang Jinxin’s hair stand on end.
Choking smoke enveloped the area for a while before gradually dissipating.
The tourists, who were slow to react but narrowly escaped harm, began to stand up.
The five friends also got up.
The once fragrant restaurant was now unrecognizable in the aftermath of the gas tank explosion.
The façade and windows were completely destroyed, and the interior had caught fire. Although the dust from the explosion had settled, the smoke from the burning continued to billow relentlessly.
Kuang Jinxin clutched his racing heart and turned to look at Chi Yingxue, teasing him. “You were quick this time.”
Chi Yingxue dusted off his clothes, pulled out his phone from his pocket, and started fiddling with it very seriously… pretending not to hear.
Kuang Jinxin looked at him with a mix of annoyance and relief. It seemed that a bit of fear sparked Chi Yingxue’s will to survive.
“Why are you messing with your phone here? It doesn’t even work in this place.” Qian Ai slowly got up as he breathlessly responded, still shaken.
Chi Yingxue looked at his phone again and again, finally breathing a sigh of relief. “Good.”
He then put it back in his pocket, looking relieved.
Qian Ai suddenly realized that Chi Yingxue had never turned on his phone and had a moment of realization. “Damn, are you using it as a mirror at a time like this?!”
“……” Kuang Jinxin couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head. He had been wondering why Chi Yingxue was holding his phone, only to realize it was to check his appearance.
Seeing Chi Yingxue casually regain his composure, Kuang Jinxin felt for the first time a stark difference between him and Yan Wang.
In a situation like today’s, if it had been Yan Wang, he would have been thrilled. That person loved facing more dangers and tougher battles but never cared about his appearance.
Chi Yingxue wasn’t just vain; he also liked cakes, leisure, and making sarcastic comments in his mind that occasionally slipped out, provoking Qian Ai to almost start a fight.
Chi Yingxue, Yan Wang.
Two completely different personalities yet living in the same body. To this day, Kuang Jinxin found the concept of split personalities fascinating. He always unconsciously wanted to get close to Chi Yingxue to ask him what it felt like to have two personalities and how it all worked.
But the captain had said it was impolite to pry into someone’s privacy, so he held back his curiosity and kept his questions to himself.
“Thud—”
Another person collapsed behind them.
The five friends froze, and the main group they were following turned around as well.
At the back of the group, another person had fallen. A triangular piece of glass had pierced his neck, severing an artery. Blood gushed out and flowed along the cracks in the tiles, painting a stark red at the feet of the five.
Kuang Jinxin felt a chill run through his body.
If Chi Yingxue hadn’t pushed his head down just in time, the shard that had grazed their scalps might have been lodged in his neck.
The person who fell to the ground slowly stopped breathing but still had his eyes wide open.
The wind had ceased.
The sun continued its climb towards its zenith.
In less than fifteen minutes, two people had died.
Nol brought the doll’s head close to his ear, as if the spit from Witch Lynn was about to traverse space and spray onto his face.
Ben, who had keen hearing, got startled and tumbled down from Nol’s knee, scrambling up Teest’s leg.
“Why didn’t you take the initiative to contact us, huh?” Lynn raised her voice angrily. “It’s bad enough you told Anakin about the ‘Demon King’ matter, but what’s with sending someone to relay your message?”
“I wasn’t sure if your magic could be eavesdropped on, so I didn’t dare to use it recklessly,” Nol replied in Country C’s language. “Now that I know it’s safe, sister, please calm down…”
Lynn’s volume didn’t decrease in the slightest. “Everyone is worried about you! Let me tell you, I’ve put you on speaker. Anakin has informed me about the situation. You’re handling such an important matter all by yourself?”
In the background, Officer Luo’s “yes, yes” and Dr. Zhu’s agreement could be heard, along with the distinctive smacking sound of Uncle Ma.
All of them had witnessed his mental breakdown, and the urgency in their tones didn’t seem feigned.
Nol felt a warmth in his heart and couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Teest. “I’m really fine. It’s just been a couple of days. Rather than hiding and crying, I’d prefer to expose the mastermind behind this… I’ll tell you guys some insider information. I actually have a clue now.”
He hesitated for a moment, ultimately not revealing the truth about the four eyeballs. Such information would only add to their stress. It was better for him to handle it alone.
Thanks to someone, Nol’s mindset had indeed stabilized significantly. That “someone” was currently resting on his shoulder, with ears stretched long, blatantly eavesdropping on the conversation.
Just in case, Nol didn’t divulge everything to Anakin. As a supplement, he briefly explained the “world will authorization” of the two worlds and his plans for the future.
“…We’ll first head to Ice Rock City to completely escape the Temple’s surveillance. Then I can return home for a visit,” Nol said earnestly. “After that, we must make a trip to the Dragon’s Lair. There are neighbors there, and I have some matters to investigate.”
Such as why there was only one moon over the Dragon’s Lair and the origin of Kando’s dragon blood.
With some luck, the dragons might even provide more clues—as formidable immortal beings, they had lived from the emergence of Tahe World to the present, serving as living historical records.
“You said you didn’t like going on business trips, right? I thought you would stay to support the Lost Tower… Never mind, on the way there, just set up a few more surveillance dolls for me, and I’ll continue my work.” Lynn sounded like she was gritting her teeth.
“Of course,” Nol readily agreed.
“Be careful of Eugene and Golden Sword,” Lynn emphasized at the end.
“What language is that?” Nol had just ended the call when Saint Bernard curiously asked.
To the locals of Tahe, the language of Country C was completely encrypted. Inside the carriage, not just the baffled Knight Saint Bernard but also Painter and Fischer could only exchange bewildered looks.
“It’s the home language of Noli. Her family is really attached to her.” The height difference between them was subtle yet comfortable, so his head was seemingly stuck to Nol’s shoulder. “Communication was poor at the seaside earlier. She was just checking in.”
He seemed to be answering Knight Saint Bernard, but his gaze swept over Painter on the opposite side.
Nol nodded. In a sense, Teest’s explanation wasn’t wrong.
“Oh.” Saint Bernard nodded seriously, without doubt.
Suddenly, the carriage shook violently. Knight Alaskan raised his voice. “I smell Ice Rock Giants—!!!”
Saint Bernard’s fur bristled. “Here?!”
Ice Rock Giants, monsters made of rock and voodoo clay, belonged to the golem category. These creatures were usually not wild. There must be a Player behind them—without system assistance, natives simply lack the capability to create them.
In the setting of “Tahe World”, only Alchemists, Swamp Wizards, and Archaeologists could create them. Ice Rock Giants were high-level, excellent killing machines, even capable of besieging cities.
The shadow wolf’s fur stood on end, making a purring sound. However, the remaining four—especially Nol and Teest—showed no sign of tension or movement.
These humans certainly didn’t understand the severity of the situation. Saint Bernard’s paws touched his sword. “It’s Demons, definitely the Eternal Church’s Demons!”
“Isn’t the border defense of Shiva very strict?” Nol asked curiously—despite swallowing a potion to change his voice, it didn’t sound too out of place. However, he still wasn’t used to it, preferring not to speak unless necessary—a true “shy type”.
“It’s strict. Those Demons must have killed the border guards to enter. Anyone can stop those crazy humans in Ice Rock City, except those Demons… Even if we chopped up those Demons, they can’t be killed!” Saint Bernard’s tone was full of hatred, his teeth bared.
“They might not necessarily be coming for us. But if things go south later, don’t worry about us. Just run as far as you can!” He added firmly.
[I also don’t think they’re coming for us.] Teest hugged Nol, pretending to be scared, but he sent his thoughts languidly. [At a guess, something must have happened to the First Regiment, making them a target for those people—like the captain being away, or recent personnel changes—things like that.]
Ben shivered and jumped back onto Nol’s knee, squeezing into the gap between the two. However, Nol ruthlessly picked him up by the nape of the neck and placed him back on the cushion.
You’re stronger than an Ice Rock Giant. What’s there to fear?
Ben looked puzzledly at Teest, who was clinging to Nol in “fear”, and let out a whimper of grievance. Nol had no choice but to pet it a couple of times, letting it stay at his feet.
[We’ll see how things go,] Nol said, his fingers brushing over the letter opener in his pocket.
A few plumes of gunpowder smoke appeared not far away. Knight Alaskan decisively halted. Unfortunately, he underestimated the Demons’ taste for mischief—the earthquake grew closer, and just as the goat carriage turned around, two figures flashed in front of the snow goats.
“Ah, it’s a puppy,” a man’s voice said cheerily. “Can we take them back to play? I’ve kept Alaskans before.”
“Let’s see what they’re here for first.” Another voice approached the carriage, straightforwardly poking his head in. “Let me see, let me see… oh, the Evergreen Nuns! Two girls, jackpot.”
The man looked to be in his twenties, with a very ordinary round face and excessively developed muscles, looking like a weathered potato. The high aesthetic standards of Tahe’s art department for warrior equipment seemed oddly matched by this person’s earthly taste.
Nol: “……”
“What girls?” The other man, curious, also leaned in.
This guy had a donkey face that he thought was handsome, but it looked more like a beginner’s overconfident 3D model. Seeing his Swamp Wizard outfit, Nol could roughly guess the source of the Ice Rock Giant… but this man had added quite a few gaudy gems to his plain wizard’s attire, and the pointed hat was adorned with a star, shining like a cheap Christmas tree from a street stall.
Watching these two paper tigers, Nol’s eyes began to hurt.
“How are these two considered girls?” Donkey-Faced Christmas Tree said, his gaze sweeping over Fischer with disdain. “One old lady and one country bumpkin—only the other two look decent.”
Fischer looked at them with a gaze that was almost full of pity.
Muscle Potato was already climbing into the carriage. “Which one do you want? I—”
“What have you done to the Knight Order?” Nol couldn’t stand the possibility of sleazy remarks and took the initiative.
Potato paused, then chuckled twice. “Still counting on the Knight Order? Those guys were beaten black and blue and couldn’t even save themselves. As long as you behave… Fuck!”
Knight Saint Bernard suddenly moved, biting the hand he extended. The dog-headed beastmen’s bite force was so strong that it snapped Potato’s wrist right off. He reacted very quickly, immediately jumping out of the carriage with an extremely ugly expression.
Magical light flashed, and a new hand sprouted from the wrist.
Seizing the opportunity, Knight Alaskan created a snowstorm to disrupt their vision, driving the goat carriage to flee madly. The carriage hadn’t managed to get ten meters away before two explosions were heard. The wheels completely shattered, and the carriage crashed heavily to the ground. Knight Alaskan, trying to stabilize the course, didn’t dodge in time. He slammed into the ground and was knocked unconscious.
“Kill those two damn dogs.” Muscle Potato cursed. “Later, let someone dig up their hometowns. We’ll go in for a batch of dog skins—what’s it to you if I mess with some women? Looking for death?”
“The guests haven’t been handed over yet.” Saint Bernard helped up Painter, who looked the oldest, with blood still dribbling from his mouth. “We are responsible for our guests.”
His voice was mixed with angry growls.
Donkey-Faced Christmas Tree sneered. The Ice Rock Giant behind him took two steps forward and threw a punch at Saint Bernard and Painter. Teest glanced at Nol, about to make a move, when the warm body in his arms suddenly disappeared.
The agility of a Demon King was no joke. Nol teleported in front of the Ice Rock Giant’s fist, raising his right hand. The fist, as large as a house, was forcibly stopped mid-air.
The frail “nun” stopping the monster with a slap was too surreal, leaving both Demon Players and Knight Saint Bernard dumbfounded.
In their bewildered gaze, the black-haired nun’s fingers slowly tightened. The Ice Rock Giant’s fist made a cracking sound under the strain. The spider web-like cracks spread rapidly along its arm from the hand. In less than five seconds, it exploded into ice shards and rubble on the spot.
The still-glowing core of the golem clattered to the snow, flickering on and off.
At this moment, Nol felt more contemplation than relief.
Throughout this journey, thanks to the curse of “Physical Destruction”, he had been constantly hammered into the ground by formidable enemies, barely surviving each time. Thank god, he could finally experience what it was like to be “a monster”.
The two Demon Players lost any inclination to mess around, almost simultaneously activating their magical items, ready to flee. However, the moment their thumbs were about to press the buttons, they found themselves unable to push them down.
In the snow, delicate golden threads glinted faintly.
“So, you weren’t planning on letting them go after all.” Teest deliberately reverted to his male voice. “You could’ve said so earlier.”
Muscle Potato’s face turned extremely ugly. “Fuck, a damn tranny… Argh!”
Before he could finish cursing, the letter opener was deeply stabbed into his shoulder. Potato’s body frighteningly swelled, and the next second, he vanished into thin air right before melting completely.
Done.
Nol withdrew his hand.
For some skill tests, he had been suffering from a lack of test subjects. Like his “seal”—that was, system custody—whether it could work on pure Earthlings. Since the Demon Players willingly came knocking, he wouldn’t miss this excellent opportunity.
Now, it seemed the answer was affirmative. Even Earthlings, without a trace of game elements, could be “saved” by the system, which was quite interesting.
Nol pondered this as he turned to the remaining Donkey-Faced Christmas Tree.
To Christmas Tree, the opponent’s move was nothing short of terrifying. That strange nun had merely stabbed his teammate with a small knife, and the next second, his teammate’s body swelled like a bubble and disappeared into thin air.
Not only that, but their team relationship also vanished! Even the name in his friend list was gone!
Impossible. Christmas Tree shivered. Aren’t Players supposed to be immortal?
Seeing the terrifying black nun turn towards him, Christmas Tree almost pissed his pants. Unfortunately, he was a magic class, not cut out for close combat with enemies.
“Explain the situation.”
The black nun was beautiful, but her voice was ice cold. The small knife in her right hand still had blood on it, and at that moment, the thin letter opener was more intimidating than a Berserker’s ax.
“How many of you are there? Why did you attack the Knight Order? What is the current situation within the Eternal Church?” she asked, word by word. “You’d better answer me directly. If you dilly-dally, I’ll have to let this person deal with you.”
“Don’t.” The cross-dressing… man? Boy? chimed in. His eyes curved, circling the black nun. “You look even better when you’re interrogating, honey.”
This guy seems to be using gold thread?Although the age doesn’t quite match, but—
Thinking of that notorious Mad Monk made Christmas Tree tremble even more. All the bright gold decorations on his outfit clanged wildly. “I’ll talk. I’ll tell you everything!”
“I heard the captain of the First Regiment went to Eternal Day City.” Christmas Tree glanced quickly at Teest, whispering, “We just took the opportunity to have some fun.”
“Enlightening.” Painter smiled. “I heard the intelligence security of the Investigation Knights is very good… So, you all kept a close watch on the Knight Order’s intelligence and movements, daring to sneak into the Shiva just to play games with the Order, huh?”
Christmas Tree was sweating bullets.
“Alright.” He cleared his throat. “It was the Eternal Church’s orders! They somehow got information and sent us to disrupt the Order, to dampen the spirits of the Temple of Life. We were just following orders… It was all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding…”
“You’re so loyal to the Church?” Fischer interrupted with a sneer. “Unless there’s a shared interest, Demons wouldn’t lift a finger. You guys wouldn’t even pass the soy sauce at the dining table, but now you’re all about ‘orders’.”
Christmas Tree’s sweat was about to freeze on his skin. What’s the deal with this bizarre nun group?
These people were so outrageous, they couldn’t possibly be high-level Players from the Temple, right?
…But Temple Players wouldn’t know so much about the Church…
“Last chance,” Nol said calmly, the letter opener in his hand flashing with a hint of snow light.
“I-I can’t.” Christmas Tree turned pale. “I have a contract. All my assets are mortgaged to the Church… If I talk, it’s all over, all over.”
Fischer’s expression blanked for a second. “Oracle.”
“Only an oracle could make you agree to such a deal.”
Christmas Tree stared blankly at Fischer.
“What oracle? God’s selection prophecy, God’s feedback, or what…?” His reaction had already proven everything, and Fischer relentlessly pursued.
Teest said nothing, idly playing with a small clump of corruption. The corruption, like a living object, crept up on the bright gold decorations, making them instantly decay and wither.
Not Temple Players.This group is definitely not Temple Players, not even normal Tahe people.
Christmas Tree had a flash of insight. He looked at the corruption, then at the inscrutable black nun in front of him, somewhat dazedly saying, “The Demon King’s army…”
Nol smiled at him.
Christmas Tree’s eyes welled with tears. Gone was his earlier bravado. He opened his mouth, his voice terrifyingly small. “The Temple of Life is searching everywhere for the heroes who defeated the Demon King. The previous divine route was disrupted by the Temple…”
“The day to heed the oracle is coming. The Pope hopes we can carve out a new divine route, passing through Shiva…”
Before he could finish, he suddenly choked, and his tongue swelled terrifyingly in his mouth. Christmas Tree’s face turned purple, his eyes desperately rolling—this was probably some kind of contract curse. Nol felt a clear wave of dark magic.
But it didn’t matter. They got the information they needed.
The letter opener’s light flashed, and the convulsing Christmas Tree began to melt on the spot, then was firmly sealed by Nol into the system. While he was dealing with Christmas Tree, Teest’s corruption crept over the fragments of the Ice Rock Giant, corroding it into nothingness.
From the two Demon Players’ attack to the complete disappearance of all traces, the whole process took less than ten minutes. Knight Saint Bernard stood dumbfounded in place, turning into a dog-headed knight statue.
What to do?
The guest needs protection… but the guest is strong and doesn’t need protection…
The guest is dangerous… but the guest saved him, never showing hostility…
Knight Saint Bernard tilted his head, unsure of what to decide. If only the village chief was here, it thought in distress. The chief would know how to deal with humans.
While it was deep in thought, Nol approached.
“Please forgive our secrecy,” he said softly, “We have our reasons, but I swear to Sheepskin Ball Village, we bear no ill will towards Shiva. You just need to hand us over to the Temple of Life—once we get our identity verified, we’ll leave Shiva immediately.”
“That Demon said ‘Demon King’…”
“We tricked him. It was all an illusion.” Teest quietly retracted the corruption. “We just came back from the Endless Sea and were tainted with the scent of corruption, so he was fooled.”
“I see.” Knight Saint Bernard tried to think, while Nol looked at it with a gentle gaze.
Although “altering memory” was an option, memory modification had certain side effects. He really didn’t want to harm these fluffy good knights.
Besides, this seemed to be just a human internal issue. The races of Shiva were mostly of gentle nature and not prone to causing trouble.
Sure enough, Knight Saint Bernard scratched his head, deciding to give up thinking. “Uh… okay, but I have one condition!”
“Say it.” Nol stood up straight.
“Let my friend go back first.” He pointed to the unconscious Alaskan, moving his nose slightly warily. “The two of you don’t need our protection, so I alone as a witness is enough.”
Painter walked over to the Alaskan promptly, the gentle light of healing magic shining. The wounds of Knight Alaskan healed quickly, and soon he opened his round eyes.
“Ah!” He got up alertly, his nose twitching wildly.
With a snap, the “timid” Teesti stuck to Noli. Nol also instinctively shrank, assuming a defensive posture. They all sensed the presence—very cleverly hidden, but still exposed due to the vast difference in level.
A knight in red armor rode towards them, the hooves of his horse emitting faint magical waves, making no sound. As he got closer, they realized it wasn’t red armor—the knight was covered in blood. The originally silver-white armor was stained with blood.
The horse was also covered in bloodstains, emitting a strong smell of blood.
He stopped in front of them, quickly dismounted, and surveyed the situation. Then he took a few steps forward, approaching the seemingly oldest “Sister” Painter and the “injured” who hadn’t yet managed to stand up.
“Good afternoon, respected madam.”
The Blood Knight took off his helmet. Nol was about to gasp but was preemptively restrained by Teest.
This is bad. Eugene Malloy came faster than they had imagined.
“Please do not be afraid.” He extended his hand politely to Painter. “The situation is under the Temple’s control. I am just here to pursue deserters. Madam, did you encounter Demons?”
“Pfft…” Seeing the “affectionate” scene between sworn enemies, Teest almost laughed out loud, but was pulled back in time by Nol.
Painter hadn’t yet had the chance to bluff when Alaskan jumped up.
“Saw them!” He cried out sadly. “Two Demons, one with an Ice Rock Giant. They blew up our cart, and the goat—two goats!”
“I can’t smell them. They must have run back the same way!”
The author has something to say:
The dog can’t figure it out, so the dog stops thinking! Anyway, humans fighting humans. As long as it’s not the Demon King, it’s fine.
Lu Yimeng stared blankly at the phone screen that she had unlocked. Her desire to investigate had vanished, replaced only with a profound sadness.
She knew her brother had always hoped for their parents to thaw their icy relations. Even if they couldn’t completely reconcile, at least they could sit down and talk amicably. Indeed, this was her wish too, but it was only now that she realized underneath her hope lay casual acceptance, whereas beneath her brother’s hope lay deep hurt.
0602.
Lu Yimeng silently repeated this now vague date in her mind, gradually recalling that on the day before their parents divorced, she and her brother had just celebrated the happiest Children’s Day.
“Who do you want to be with?”
A strange question suddenly broke into her ears, pulling Lu Yimeng out of her memories. She looked towards the source and found it was her dad asking her brother.
Hadn’t her mom shared the information with her dad? As Lu Yimeng wondered, she heard her brother’s resigned voice. “Mom already asked me this, and I’ve told her, whoever the person is, it has nothing to do with my orientation.”
Lu Yimeng felt puzzled; something seemed amiss…
“I know you’re worried we might go after him. So here, I promise you, your mom, and I will absolutely not disturb him,” Lu Guoming said, pausing before continuing earnestly, “We just want to know who you’re with now. You liking men has already worried your mother and me to death, and now we don’t even know who you are with. You keep telling us to relax, to accept. How can we relax? What are we supposed to accept?”
“Would you accept it if I tell you who he is?” Lu Yiyao felt his dad’s words seemed reasonable yet elusive, unsure of the depths as he was still outmatched in wits by his father.
“It depends on the kind of person you choose.” Lu Guoming ignored his ex-wife’s frown and continued calmly, “If he’s completely unreliable, then your mom and I wouldn’t need to work so hard to convince ourselves to accept your choice. But if he’s as upright as you, at least your mom and I won’t worry about you running into trouble when we can’t see.”
Lu Yiyao had never expected such a logically tight conversation with his father. At this moment, Lu Guoming wasn’t the father who’d bang the table at the slightest disagreement but rather a calm and wise businessman.
Lu Yiyao gazed into his father’s eyes, unable to decipher his thoughts. Lu Guoming concluded, “We don’t oppose for the sake of opposing; we just want you to be healthy and safe.”
Lu Yiyao sensed an underlying implication in the phrase “oppose for the sake of opposing”, and glancing at his mother’s subtly rising discontent, he knew his intuition was right. His father was subtly negating his mother’s original stance and pulling her towards his “rational” camp.
But… Lu Yiyao frowned. Healthy and safe was a strange pairing.
“Don’t parents usually wish for their children’s health and happiness?” Not often able to discuss emotional topics, Lu Yiyao seized the opportunity to ask.
Lu Guoming glanced at him and scoffed. “You make your mother so upset, and you still expect happiness? Dream on.”
Lu Yiyao: “……”
Was his dad genuinely unable to accept his homosexuality, or was he here to support his mom?
“Alright, no need to be secretive. If I really want to find out, I can,” Lu Guoming said. “Also, by hiding it like this, you think you’re protecting him, but have you considered that this also makes us doubt him? Well think, since you can negotiate with your parents for him, why can’t he stand by you?”
Lu Yiyao was at a loss for words.
This argument was too powerful, logically impeccable, and devoid of right or wrong—just human nature. Even if he found it unreasonable for his parents to lower their impression of Ran Lin, he couldn’t deny the inevitable logic from their perspective.
“Ran Lin.” Lu Yiyao didn’t expect to capitulate so soon, revealing his lover’s name. Unlike his firm refusal when facing his mother, perhaps his father’s genuine approach gave him a sense of potential dialogue.
Lu Yiyao hoped this wasn’t just wishful thinking.
Lu Guoming nodded, turned to his ex-wife, and sighed. “I told you, just lay out the facts and reason, and our son is approachable.”
Lu Guoming’s tone seemed to express relief towards his son, but upon closer listening, there was an unnoticeable pride, as if saying to his ex-wife—see how useful I am.
“Ran… Lin?” Lu Yimeng, who had approached at some point, clutching her brother’s coat as if for security, was taken aback. “Isn’t it Gu Jie?!”
Lu Yiyao, bewildered, looked up at his sister. “What?”
Fan Li was about to remind them about Gu Jie, but then remembered Gu Jie’s advice—if Lu Yiyao knew she’d gone to him, he’d undoubtedly be hurt and angry. So, she swallowed her words.
Her son’s friend had nobly kept their secret, and Fan Li, unusually, conceded. As for the secret, it would forever rest in her heart, occasionally brought out to serve as a warning to not act impulsively and to understand respect.
In fact, she understood all the principles Lu Guoming had spoken.
Yet she couldn’t get over that one hurdle in her heart.
As Fan Li was distracted, Lu Yiyao had already grabbed his phone, showing photos of his lover to his dad and sister. Lu Yimeng didn’t need to see the photos to know who Ran Lin was, but the direct impact of the handsome, fresh-faced young man in her brother’s photo added to her perplexity.
Her brother’s serious expression didn’t seem like a joke, and he wasn’t one to use friends as shields, so Ran Lin must be the genuine sister-in-law.
So…
How had she mistaken the person? And why had she become increasingly convinced?
Lu Yimeng sat blankly on the sofa, lost in a daze, thinking that with her own intelligence, she might not be able to handle the huge business her mother runs…
Among the entire family, Lu Guoming was perhaps the only one whose heart wasn’t much disturbed. He didn’t have his ex-wife’s dark history or his daughter’s major blunder. He naturally took his son’s phone and examined it carefully.
But, in truth, he couldn’t make much sense of it. All he knew was that he was looking at a young man who was very clean and pleasant to the eye. For more information, he had to ask his son. “Is he an actor?”
Naturally, it was impossible for his father to know about the entertainment industry as well as his sister, so Lu Yiyao honestly replied, “Yes.”
Lu Guoming continued, “What about his family situation?”
Lu Yiyao responded, “A happy family of three.”
Lu Guoming: “……”
His ex-wife and daughter might not be so clear on Lu Yiyao’s resentment toward the lack of family completeness, but Lu Guoming understood it all too well—a large part of it being his own past stubbornness. So, seeing that he was about to enter a sensitive topic, he swiftly changed the subject. “What kind of person is he?”
This was the right question to ask Lu Yiyao, who needed no time to think. “Kind, tolerant, sincere, hardworking, considerate of others, not too concerned about gains and losses, ready to go through fire and water for friends. He is clearer about his goals than I am. He loves acting and has been striving on this path. It’s also because of him that I figured out what I really want to do.”
Lu Guoming watched his son’s face from beginning to end, not missing any detail. Yet, he found his son to be very serious and sincere, without a hint of exaggeration. But what he heard seemed like something else, as if his son was turning the man into an angel.
He couldn’t conclude what Ran Lin was like, but it was evident that his son was in a state of “confirmation”. In such a case, no matter how much they persist, it would not change his son’s mind.
No, perhaps as early as when his son chose drama and acting, he had already accepted this reality. So, about his son liking men, consciously or unconsciously, he had been convincing himself to accept it.
Fan Li had already snapped out of her blunder, and seeing her ex-husband’s current state, it was obvious he was ready to resign himself to the situation, which was incredibly frustrating. She had brought him to be a united front, but now, it seemed more like he was muddying the waters.
“Bring him over one day to meet us.” Lu Guoming handed the phone back to his son, somewhat helplessly yet with a hint of emotion. “Some things can’t be resolved by just talking about them, because that’s like building castles in the air. If you want to solve it, you need to face it head-on, clash, and grind it out in reality.”
Fan Li’s eyes widened. This wasn’t muddying the waters; this was outright switching sides! Lu Yiyao was surprised too, but fearing a late response might lead his father to rethink, he quickly agreed. “Okay! He’s currently on set. Once he’s finished, I’ll arrange it!”
Today must be an auspicious day, Lu Yiyao thought, good for reunion, communication, and harmonious conclusions. Fan Li had lost her will to argue. After all the efforts of dropping her pride to summon her ex-husband, it turned out to be in vain. She left the room tiredly and went back to her room. The sound of the door slamming reverberated from the second floor to the living room, carrying a sharp edge.
As Lu Yiyao gradually calmed down from the initial joy of seeing his parents together, he looked at the firmly closed door on the second floor, feeling quite uncomfortable.
“Your life is your decision but allow us some time to accept it.” Lu Guoming regained his authority without his ex-wife, finally reverting to his usual state.
But Lu Yiyao was already immune to this, smiling bitterly. “I thought it would be mom who would agree first. I didn’t expect…”
“You should have known,” Lu Guoming replied. “Especially when it comes to ‘the son being disobedient’, I have more experience.”
Lu Yimeng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Mom’s influence is indeed powerful, making dad know how to joke and tease now.
“Have you really thought this through?” Lu Guoming looked intently at his son. “This path is not easy, especially since you both are in the entertainment industry. You might face many challenges in the future.”
Lu Yimeng pondered for a moment, then met his father’s gaze firmly. “I have thought it through.”
Lu Guoming leaned back on the sofa, his mouth twitching slightly, seemingly resigned. “Then there’s nothing more I can say.”
Passing the hurdle with his father was much smoother than Lu Yimeng had expected. So much so, that when his father finally gave his tacit consent, he felt an unreal sensation. “I thought you’d insist on grandchildren or that I at least have a son even if I don’t get married…”
“How can I expect your son to accept my business when even you don’t?” Lu Guoming replied with slight irritation.
“……” For the first time, Lu Yiyao seriously reflected on the indelible trauma he had caused his father.
Rubbing his temples, Lu Guoming stood up, somewhat reluctantly. “I should go back now.”
Lu Yiyao and Lu Yimeng, of course, didn’t want their father to leave, but they also understood that their parents’ issues wouldn’t be resolved immediately, especially with Lu Yiyao’s situation. They didn’t stop him.
As he reached the door, Lu Guoming turned back with a concerned look and said to Lu Yimeng, “Go check on your mom later. Try not to let her stay alone and brood.”
“Don’t worry,” Lu Yimeng replied understandingly.
“And you,” Lu Guoming directed at his son. “Better not go up for now. You’re considered hazardous material at the moment.”
“Got it.” Lu Yimeng never thought his father could be so detailed, adapting his approach based on the person.
After seeing off their father, Lu Yiyao took a deep breath and went back to the living room, sitting down on the sofa, finally feeling a wave of exhaustion. He had thought the encounter with his father would be light, but only now did he realize he had been on edge the whole time. Even seeing his parents together had been uplifting, but the weight of coming out never really lifted from his heart.
“Brother…” His sister’s voice suddenly broke his reverie.
“Hm?” Lu Yiyao turned, seeing Lu Yimeng fiddling with his phone, scrolling through pictures, those of a certain individual…
“Ran Lin is really handsome,” his sister commented sincerely.
Happy to hear compliments about his partner, Lu Yiyao was pleased but also remembered the earlier confusion. “Can you now explain the mix-up…”
Lu Yimeng never felt so embarrassed in her life, and worse, she had led her mother astray. But on second thought, she wasn’t entirely wrong. After all, she had guessed someone close to her brother…
Five minutes later, after hearing his sister’s “deduction”, Lu Yiyao didn’t know how to react. After a while, he just said, “Next time you have doubts, don’t deduce on your own. Just ask the person involved directly.”
The famous detective Lu Yimeng nodded fervently.
……
Later, when Lu Yiyao returned home to rest and the villa’s lights dimmed, Lu Yimeng pushed open her mother’s bedroom door. As expected, the light was still on.
Fan Li sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard, looking down at something.
“Mom…” Lu Yimeng softly called as she approached, only to discover her mother was looking through a photo album.
Lu Yimeng was familiar with this album because she had scanned and archived all the photos in it the year before last, boasting to her mother that even if the photos were damaged, they wouldn’t need to worry anymore because of the backups.
“Are you wondering how such a handsome boy ended up growing up so differently?” Lu Yimeng joked as she sat down beside her mother to look at the album together.
On the page they turned to, a young Lu Yiyao was seen swinging his short, chubby arms as he learned to walk, his silly laughter almost audible through the photo.
When her mother didn’t respond, Lu Yimeng casually flipped to the next page, revealing almost exclusively photos of the siblings; one just learning to walk, the other not yet walking, both frolicking together, some pictures indiscernible as to whether they were playing or fighting.
The entire album was filled with hers and Lu Yiyao’s childhood.
A tear dropped onto the album. Lu Yimeng was startled and quickly raised her hand to wipe it for her mother. Fan Li turned her face away, sniffing slightly with a barely noticeable sob, and asked gruffly, “What are you doing here?”
“Don’t be mad at me. I’m not the one who came out.” Lu Yimeng protested innocently.
Fan Li glanced at her sideways. “Don’t think I don’t know; you and your brother are always in cahoots.”
Lu Yimeng raised her hands, as if surrendering, and swore, “I’m absolutely neutral this time.”
After scrutinizing her daughter for a few seconds, Fan Li finally relaxed slightly, her voice softening. “Don’t worry, your mother is not that fragile.”
“Typical CEO Fan.” Lu Yimeng chuckled. “I didn’t even have to say anything, and you knew I came to comfort you.”
Fan Li sighed deeply, embracing her daughter’s shoulder, finally feeling some support and less isolated. Men are unreliable, especially her ex-husband; daughters are more considerate…
Lu Yimeng continued, “Mom, actually homosexuality is quite normal, just like some people are naturally left-handed. Let me show you some information…”
“Goodnight!” Fan Li cut her off.
“Mom, don’t lie down… Fine, I’ll sleep with you tonight!”
“……”
“Mom, just look at this picture first. This is Ran Lin. You barely looked at him downstairs. Isn’t he handsome…”
“Lu Yimeng—”
“Mom, you might not get to hold your own grandchild, but you can still hold a grandchild from outside the family. After all, even if Brother has children, they won’t carry your surname. There’s no difference between grandkids outside the family, right…”
……
Ran Lin only found out about Lu Yiyao’s coming out to his family in December. By then, the broadleaf trees on the streets of Xi’an had shed all their leaves, leaving only bare branches, a stark visage of early winter.
There was no dramatic process, just a message from his lover—[I’ve told my family about us. After you wrap up filming, my parents would like to invite you to dinner.]
Ran Lin received this message on his way back to the hotel after work, completely stunned.
It wasn’t until he returned to the hotel that he eagerly connected to a video call with Lu Yiyao—
“Just like that?” Ran Lin asked incredulously, feeling like his lover had omitted some important details.
“It was definitely not easy to accept at first, but with more explanation, more communication, oh, and Mengmeng bombarding my mom with all sorts of educational materials.” Lu Yiyao smiled slightly, seemingly recalling his mother’s helpless expression in the face of the “forced education”. “Anyway, it went relatively smoothly.”
Lu Yiyao’s words seemed casual but Ran Lin could hear the underlying difficulties. After a few seconds of silence, he said somewhat sadly, “Because parents are always powerless against their children.”
Lu Yiyao knew Ran Lin was thinking of his own parents, understanding the guilt of causing one’s parents’ distress. With that thought, he said, “When you’re ready to come out, remember to include me.”
“No.” Ran Lin looked at him a bit resentfully. “You didn’t include me when you came out, so I won’t include you.”
“Is this… retaliation?” Lu Yiyao grinned.
Ran Lin looked at him innocently, accepting the accusation.
Both understood each other’s reasons. Ran Lin knew why Lu Yiyao hadn’t included him—it was to spare him from facing his own parents’ reprimands. Lu Yiyao also understood why Ran Lin refused; they were both driven by the same motive.
“Wait.” Ran Lin finally realized what had been bothering him from the conversation. “Your parents ‘together’ are inviting me to dinner?”
Lu Yiyao paused, then smiled. “Yeah.”
Ran Lin tilted his head. “But you said they…”
“Because of my coming out, they ended up sitting together again.” Lu Yiyao found this outcome quite miraculous; he certainly hadn’t expected such a turn when he came out.
“This…” Ran Lin was at a loss for words, finally managing to say, “Is this a blessing in disguise?”
Lu Yiyao shook his head. “It’s joy upon joy.”
Ran Lin paused, then smiled. “Yeah.”
Coming out, no matter how difficult, is not a disaster but a joy—a step towards a more authentic life.
……
After the video call with Lu Yiyao, it was nearly 11:30 p.m. Ran Lin took a quick shower and got into bed, intending to scroll through Weibo before sleeping.
But then he saw a trending topic that caught his eye—Zhang Beichen was rumored to be kept by someone.
Ran Lin was shocked, his sleepiness vanishing as he clicked to read more—
[Zhang Beichen’s shocking sugar daddy rumor! A source claimed he’s been living with a high-level executive from an entertainment company for some time, and it’s with this mysterious partner’s help that he smoothly landed a role in <Mint Green>…[Read full text]]
[Zhang Beichen’s prime roles all thanks to “mysterious boyfriend”?! [Images][Images][Images][Video link]]
[Zhang Beichen embroiled in fresh gay rumors, spotted returning to an apartment with a mysterious man. Old intimate photos with another man resurfaced…[Read full text]]
Although the wording used by various marketing accounts in their reposts was not entirely the same, the material they used was strikingly consistent—all were a thirty-something-second secretly filmed video from an underground parking lot. The video was dim and blurry—it could be said to show Zhang Beichen and a mysterious man, or just any two passersby; it was too blurred to make out clearly. As for the photos included in the marketing accounts’ posts, they were either screenshots from the video or old “intimate photos of the same sex” that had been circulated before.
Though the evidence seemed flimsy, given Zhang Beichen’s prior “gay rumors,” the rhythm started by the marketing accounts was aggressive.
Ran Lin checked the earliest entertainment account that broke the news and found it was around six in the evening, chosen precisely as the traffic on Weibo started to peak.
Ran Lin wasn’t sure if this was the result of some paparazzi studio’s “hard work” or if someone had instructed the studio to dig up “dirt”, but the rhythm had already taken off, with the onlookers settling in early, munching on melon seeds—
[Whether you believe it or not, I do. Watching entertainment gossip for years, my experience is that any scandal mentioned over and over again is mostly true.]
[Zhang Beichen seems to have been quiet since <Mint Green>, and suddenly there’s this news. Is there a new project coming up?]
[I’m not a fan, but I feel like the picture is so blurry that not even his mother could recognize him, and they even have to draw a red circle to point out it’s Zhang Beichen. Feels a bit like a setup…]
[Waiting for the HD video.]
[What era is it? Who cares if he’s gay, as long as he acts well. The paparazzi have too much free time.]
Compared to the spectators’ enthusiasm and indifference, and even many expressing tolerance towards “gays”, Zhang Beichen’s fans reacted more vehemently—
[If this kind of video can be considered evidence, then I can randomly shoot a video of two people in a dark place and call it a scoop! This is already defamation!]
[Chen fans, no need to argue with them. Just report this kind of thing!]
[My idol has been so low-key this half year that he almost disappeared, and now he’s being slandered like this!]
[I just want to know who Zhang Beichen offended? Half a year of silence, and as soon as he hits the hot search, it’s this crap. It’s too much!!]
[So what if they went to an underground parking lot together? Don’t you visit your friends’ houses? Haven’t you ever stayed overnight at a friend’s place? Before, it was easy to spread rumors when opposite-sex friends hung out together, now even just hanging out with a buddy is called gay. What should celebrities do? Just stay home and play with cats?!]
Netizens and fans, of course, can only react based on their own emotions.
But Ran Lin knew about the situation between Zhang Beichen and Mr. Qin. He didn’t know Mr. Qin and couldn’t confirm if he was the “mysterious man” captured in the video, but according to what he had heard before, Mr. Qin had been involved with many celebrities and had never been in trouble, and when Ding Kai asked him to keep it a secret, he also mentioned that Mr. Qin didn’t like trouble. Therefore, allowing such negative information to come out was unreasonable.
Even if some reckless marketing accounts leaked it, it should have been suppressed immediately. Now, not only had it not been suppressed, but it has also escalated to trending, indicating that no one was pressing it down but rather someone was pushing it up.
Ran Lin suddenly remembered what Lu Yi Yao had said: Zhang Beichen had already broken up with Mr. Qin, but it was not a happy parting, so Mr. Qin used his connections to suppress him. Could it be that merely suppressing him wasn’t enough, and they wanted to completely ruin Zhang Beichen? How deep must the hatred be to push someone to the brink?
Until Ran Lin was too tired and put down his phone to sleep, there was still no response from Zhang Beichen’s side.
Ran Lin had a night of messy dreams, remembering nothing clearly, just a vague impression of time flowing backward to a memory of Drifting, but it was too blurry, and when he tried to catch it, he couldn’t.
On the way to the set, Ran Lin called Yao Hong to ask if she knew about Zhang Beichen’s situation.
Yao Hong had obviously seen Weibo and pondered for a moment. “He must have offended someone.”
Ran Lin: “You mean someone is deliberately targeting him?”
Yao Hong: “Yes, it’s obvious it’s a concerted effort to slander him. Otherwise, that short video wouldn’t have caused such a stir.”
Ran Lin said, “But even with slander, it’s insufficient evidence. That video is completely unclear who is who.”
“That person didn’t want to completely ruin Zhang Beichen,” Yao Hong mused. “If it were really Zhang Beichen in the video, the person who took the video would have had the opportunity to get a clearer shot. This kind of video, which can be blackened with a hint or whitewashed with a wash, is mostly meant as a warning or a lesson.”
Ran Lin: “Mr. Qin?”
Yao Hong: “Possibly, because Zhang Beichen hasn’t been working much in the past half year, it’s unlikely he’s made any new enemies.”
Ran Lin couldn’t understand this logic. “He’s already used his connections to suppress Zhang Beichen. Isn’t that enough?”
Yao Hong thought for a moment and analyzed objectively. “That depends on his motives. Everyone has their own reasons for doing things. If his goal was to make Zhang Beichen disappear, then suppression would have been enough. If he wanted to completely ruin Zhang Beichen, having been together for so long, he could have released even more damaging information…”
“A warning and a lesson are neither intended to make someone disappear nor to ruin them, but to make someone… obey.” Ran Lin felt like he was catching on to some truth. “Does he want to get back with Zhang Beichen?”
Yao Hong cautiously said, “I can’t be sure.”
Ran Lin realized he was bothering Yao Hong and quickly said, “Sorry, Hong Jie, for calling and asking you all these questions early in the morning.”
“It’s okay.” Yao Hong now felt towards Ran Lin the same way she felt towards Lu Yiyao back then—almost like her own child, naturally concerned. “How’s the filming going? Can you handle it?”
Half a month ago, Yao Hong, who had been staying at the set, returned to Beijing to deal with company matters. It was from that day that the weather turned colder, making shooting summer scenes increasingly challenging.
“Don’t worry, everything is going smoothly.” Ran Lin patted his chest.
Yao Hong laughed. “I’ll come over next week. Don’t let me find you’ve lost weight. Otherwise, I’ll have to explain to the boss for a long time.”
Of course, Yao Hong’s reference of “the boss” could only be President Lu.
Ran Lin used to think of Yao Hong as a gentle and nurturing figure, but now that he was working one-on-one with her, he truly understood why she had always held the upper hand in her long-standing rivalry with Wang Xi. There was definitely a reason for her success.
Fortunately, Ran Lin arrived at the film set, so he no longer needed to worry about how to fend off his agent’s teasing and promptly initiated the exit procedure. “Hong Jie, I’ve reached the set. Gotta go now.”
“Okay.” Work always came first, so Yao Hong was ready to hang up, but she suddenly remembered something else. Considering Ran Lin had called early in the morning to inquire about Zhang Beichen’s situation, she added, “Oh, right…”
Just as Ran Lin was about to hang up, he heard her and quickly put the phone back to his ear. “Yes?”
Yao Hong said, “Zhang Beichen and Wu Xuefeng have terminated their contract.”
Ran Lin: “Who is his agent now?”
Yao Hong: “None.”
Ran Lin was puzzled. “What do you mean ‘none’?”
Yao Hong: “It means he currently has no team. Wu Xuefeng almost took the entire studio with him.”
Ran Lin: “……”
Both Zhang Beichen and Xia Xinran’s contracts expired simultaneously, and neither renewed, both forming their own studios. Xia Xinran’s original agent stayed with the original company, whereas Wu Xuefeng left with Zhang Beichen. However, Zhang Beichen might have already been on bad terms with Mr. Qin by then, so after forming the studio, he also didn’t receive any significant notices, and there were no splashes in movies or TV dramas. Such artificially caused “suppression” made it useless for the studio members to be capable; it’s normal to have the intent to leave, but the entire team leaving with Wu Xuefeng was a bit…
Perhaps knowing what Ran Lin might be thinking, Yao Hong added, “Zhang Beichen initiated the termination. It should be said that he fired Wu Xuefeng, so the latter taking the entire team with him might be a bit of retaliation. However—” Yao Hong’s tone shifted. “Wu Xuefeng’s reputation in the industry hasn’t been too good these past two years. It’s hard to find someone else to elevate a talent to Zhang Beichen’s level.”
“Ran Ge.” Liu Wanwan came over to remind. “Makeup is waiting.”
Ran Lin nodded, hurriedly wrapping up the call with a few brief sentences.
The rest of the day, Ran Lin was fully immersed in his role, busy shooting, with no time to think of anything else.
Only on the way back to the hotel after work did he have the opportunity to open Weibo and found that “Zhang Beichen was being kept” was still trending, with the comments section fermenting freely, showing no signs of public relations efforts.
When someone steers the narrative, the direction of public opinion will solidify towards a particular viewpoint, but if no one does, the public opinion will be diverse. Marketing accounts used to creating sensationalism for attention almost dug up all of Zhang Beichen’s past, and “National First Love Drifting Story” naturally became a topic of discussion.
Especially since they had just appeared together at a film festival in September, the photos were still fresh. Thanks to the marketing accounts, “Drifting Group Missing One” also quietly entered the top twenty trending topics—
[Drifting Group’s brotherly love runs deep, often meeting up, but why is Zhang Beichen always missing?… [Images]]
[#DriftingGroupMissingOne At the film festival, four members of the Drifting Group appeared together, Zhang Beichen had no interaction with the other three… [Video link]]
“National First Love Drifting Story” was already a variety show from years ago, and considering the rapid turnover in the entertainment industry, the fact that it was still remembered and frequently mentioned was rare. However, for the audience and fans, these were all old news, lacking in interest, so without someone specifically spending money to stir up the topic, it just lingered around seventeenth or eighteenth place on the trending list without causing much of a stir.
Now, looking at these, Ran Lin didn’t feel much, just occasionally opening screenshots from the show and sighing at how things had changed.
Zhang Beichen’s Weibo hadn’t yet responded, with the latest post being from a long time ago. Ran Lin clicked on the comments and, as expected, found new fans coming in to offer support.
Exiting Zhang Beichen’s page and returning to his own homepage, he was notified of a few new posts and casually scrolled down, unexpectedly coming across a fresh post from Zhang Beichen.
Ran Lin’s first reaction was that it was too coincidental; just as he was thinking about how Zhang Beichen would respond, he stumbled upon a brand-new post. But after reading the entire long post, he was momentarily stunned, unable to snap back to reality for a long time—
[This time, I really want to take a break. I debuted on a talent show at eighteen, and it’s been nine years now. I’ve gained a lot and lost a lot. In the past few years, I’ve only focused on moving forward, and only this year have I started to look back, but now I can’t see the path I came from clearly. I don’t have much literary talent, so I can only make this somewhat abrupt announcement. To everyone who cares about and likes me, I’m sorry. I’m leaving the entertainment industry. This is a decision I’ve made after careful consideration. I want to take a break and live life differently. Lastly, I want to thank all the friends who have sincerely been with me. You are the most precious memories of these nine years. And to everyone I’ve hurt, I can’t make it up to you. I can only say I’m sorry.]
The cheerful group slowly walked away, soon disappearing at the end of the road, merging into the bustling traffic under the bright sunshine.
The friends quietly watched them leave, remaining silent for a long time.
The sunlight was warm, but it couldn’t dispel the chill shrouding their hearts.
After a while, Xu Wang let out a sigh, relaxing his tense nerves. He turned to talk to Wu Sheng, only to find him, at some point, busily writing on paper with a pen.
“What exactly are you trying to solve?” Xu Wang asked as he leaned in to look.
He had seen Wu Sheng busy the night before and, not wanting to interrupt his thoughts, had patiently waited without asking. Today, however, his curiosity got the better of him.
Wu Sheng was engrossed in writing and didn’t respond.
Xu Wang looked directly at the paper.
An A4 sheet, already half-filled by Wu Sheng, listed a series of harrowing deductions—
1) Intersection + Red Light + Horizontal Heavy Vehicle = Death
2) Intersection + Green Light + Horizontal Electric Bike = Scraping → Falling → Horizontal Vehicle → Death
3) Auto Repair Shop + Doorway Tire Inflation = Explosion → Air Pressure Impact → Death
4) Store = Falling Signboard → Death
5) Manhole Cover = Loose Manhole → Flipping → Falling to Death
6) Bus Stop = Uncontrolled Bus → Death
7) Bridge = Breaking and Collapsing → Death
8) ……
The more Xu Wang read, the colder he felt. By the end, even his curiosity had vanished in the chilly wind.
Although they knew dangers could lurk everywhere, being in the safe zone of the café, their first and most direct reaction to the street view was visual pleasure, followed by a gradual rise in vigilance.
But after reading what Wu Sheng had written, Xu Wang felt as if everywhere he looked was shrouded in darkness, marked with skulls.
Finally finishing the last point, Wu Sheng put down his pen and sighed heavily. He then briefly introduced his findings to Xu Wang, calling them “Death Formulas”.
“……” Although Xu Wang had already guessed the content, hearing Wu Sheng confirm it still left him with mixed feelings.
Qian Ai came over, picked up the formula sheet, and felt as if the gates of hell were opening slowly towards him. “You really listed them all out… Intersections, manhole covers, stores, bus stops… Isn’t there anywhere safe to stand? We can’t just fly the whole time, right?”
“Low altitude flying might hit power lines, high-altitude flying might collide with drones,” Chi Yingxue casually added from his seat, not joining the group but clearly understanding the conversation, helpfully supplementing Qian Ai’s concerns.
Qian Ai glared at him. “You speak as if it doesn’t concern you. Don’t blame me for not warning you. With your head in the clouds, you’re most likely to fall into a trap.”
Chi Yingxue tilted his head, looking innocently at Qian Ai. “Are you cursing me?”
Qian Ai: “……”
To agree would seem uncaring towards a comrade; to disagree would mean succumbing to evil forces. It was an impossible choice!
“Xiao Kuang, stop sitting idly, come over and memorize these formulas.” Qian Ai decided to involve Kuang Jinxin instead.
Chi Yingxue watched them tussle, remaining expressionless. However, seeing Kuang Jinxin eagerly cooperating and rushing to learn about the “Death Formulas”, his brows involuntarily furrowed.
Oblivious, Kuang Jinxin focused on the formulas.
“This is just a preliminary list, based on our previous experiences and the most obvious dangers in daily life,” Wu Sheng explained. “But the challenge won’t be this straightforward and crude. I’ll continue to sort out more complex, coincidence-dependent death traps later.”
Listening, Xu Wang admired Wu Sheng’s intellect. “Fortunately, you’re a good person…”
If he were evil, with that brain, he’d be a terrible force to reckon with!
Wu Sheng looked at Xu Wang uncertainly. “Is this… a compliment?”
“Absolutely,” Xu Wang affirmed decisively.
Wu Sheng was satisfied, and the corner of his mouth raised a smile in relief. “Then my effort tonight was worth it.”
Xu Wang eyed him skeptically, doubting his true motivation. “Are you sure you’re not just enjoying the process of tackling these problems?”
Wu Sheng immediately admitted seriously, “Of course, that’s part of it…”
Xu Wang: “……”
Bullshit! He was certain Wu Sheng was completely absorbed in his obsession with the problems!
“Captain.” Kuang Jinxin gently tugged at Xu Wang’s sleeve, advising, “Don’t be jealous. In the human world, you’re definitely first in Sheng Ge’s heart.”
“Thanks, Xiao Kuang.” Xu Wang patted his teammate’s head. “But that just made me feel worse.”
Wu Sheng stood up and walked around the table to stretch and clear his mind.
The Death Formula could only create awareness of dangers. To really succeed in the challenge, they needed a Survival Formula. But if every scenario required one or multiple specific survival formulas, the data would be overwhelming. Finding a universal formula applicable to all environments would be ideal…
While Advisor Wu was brainstorming, Chi Yingxue somehow got hold of the Death Formula sheet. He glanced through it and nodded in approval. “Pretty good.”
Qian Ai curled his lips upon hearing this. “There’s never a bad tactical note from Wu Sheng.”
Chi Yingxue explained, “I meant these ways of dying are pretty good. Clean, quick, not too painful.”
Qian Ai uncomfortably retorted, “No matter how quick, it’s still death.”
Chi Yingxue: “But it won’t hurt.”
Qian Ai wanted to scream. “You’re dead, no life, no pears to eat, get it?”
Chi Yingxue: “…….”
Kuang Jinxin originally intended to join the discussion but now gave up, sitting in a corner, eavesdropping, and chuckling to himself.
……
Three days later, at midnight, after not encountering any other teams for three consecutive days, the five of them felt as if they were on a solo mission. So when they finally decided to start the challenge and met familiar faces at the real-world coordinates, Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, Kuang Jinxin, and Qian Ai were all stunned, their faces a picture of shock.
Only Chi Yingxue remained calm.
But his calmness only excited the others more.
When ten people stepped into the purple vortex together, reappearing behind the open-air café, Yue Shuai’s first words were, “You really recruited him as a new teammate?! When I saw the overall scores, I thought it was someone with the same name!”
Yue Shuai hadn’t intended to start with that. Friends reuniting should be warm and cordial. But the impact of seeing that familiar face was too strong.
Xu Wang said, “With such a nice name, it would be hard to find someone with the same one.”
Yue Shuai: “……”
Wu Sheng, Kuang Jinxin, Qian Ai: “……”
Chi Yingxue, hearing his captain’s unintentional praise, smiled satisfactorily.
But before he could enjoy the moment for two seconds, he was met with a hostile gaze. Chi Yingxue looked towards the source of the gaze and asked the question he had been wanting to ask. “Have we met before?”
Wei Tianhang was instantly infuriated. “You almost blew our tires out, and you just forgot about it?”
Chi Yingxue blinked in bewilderment.
“At the amusement park, your captain shouted, ‘Chi Yingxue, shoot the car’,” Su Mingzhan clarified with clear logic and rich detail. “Remember now?”
Chi Yingxue suddenly realized, and looking at Ye Tianhang, he knew where the memory discrepancy was. “You had braids that day.”
Today, with no intention of going through the challenge, Ye Tianhang had let his hair down. “…You remember people by their hairstyles?”
“Not entirely,” Chi Yingxue seriously said. “Only when someone’s looks are really unremarkable do I remember their hairstyle.”
Ye Tianhang: “A’Su, don’t stop me. I’m going to kick him to death today—”
While members of the two teams displayed their “unity and friendship”, the captains of both teams had already moved on to the main topic. After all, the choice of teammates was an internal affair, and Yue Shuai had only made a passing comment. In contrast, information sharing was the real deal.
However, once they began sharing, both captains realized a problem—both teams’ best achievements were up to this point, with no knowledge about the subsequent levels.
Yue Shuai held his forehead. “I thought I could get some information from you guys.”
“Don’t be disappointed just yet,” Xu Wang said. “This is your first time here, right? But it’s our second time. At least for this challenge, we have experience.”
Yue Shuai perked up. “Really? What exactly is this challenge about? Tell me.”
Xu Wang became serious. “Death lurks around every corner.”
Yue Shuai despaired. “I just told a ghost story in the last challenge.”
Xu Wang shook his head. “This time it’s not ghosts, but accidents…”
In just a few minutes, Xu Wang roughly explained the content of the challenge, concluding, “That’s all we know. Last time, we didn’t even make it past this street before we were all wiped out.”
“That’s enough.” Yue Shuai said sincerely, “Thank you.”
“Let’s not be formal with each other.” Xu Wang patted his shoulder. “Our teams, if you think about it, are like childhood sweethearts.”
Yue Shuai looked at him with mixed feelings. “Where do you come up with these phrases? But then again, damn, they kind of make sense.”
Xu Wang grinned. “That’s the art of language.”
“Enough with the banter. Aren’t you planning to go through the challenge today? Hurry up,” Yue Shuai urged them, mindful of the time.
Seeing that he wasn’t planning to join them, Xu Wang asked, “Aren’t you going through today?”
Yue Shuai frowned. “I can’t compete with you guys. It would be like fighting my own family!”
Xu Wang raised an eyebrow, sizing up this “family member”. “Please be honest.”
After a long stare, Yue Shuai reluctantly admitted, “Alright, dealing with NPCs is hard enough. I don’t want to deal with you guys as well.”
Xu Wang: “Can you guarantee you won’t meet other teams tomorrow?”
Yue Shuai: “Other teams coming in will at least observe for a day, right? It’s the eighth challenge. No one would rush in blindly.”
Su Mingzhan: “And even if we do engage in PK, it’s better against other teams than against you guys.”
Yue Shuai: “Exactly. With our relationship, I can’t bring myself to do it.”
Su Mingzhan: “Mainly because even if we did, the chances of winning are not high.”
Yue Shuai: “Captains are talking. The rest should not interrupt!”
Su Mingzhan: “Angry but still handsome.”
Yue Shuai: “……”
Tao Anan: “Captain, aren’t you forgetting something?”
“Oh right, I’ve been waiting to meet you guys to talk about this.” Yue Shuai slapped his forehead and quickly opened his hidden item bar on his arm. “This badge, we got it on 5/23. As soon as we got it, the hidden item bar appeared. Looking at the number of slots, I suspect there’s a badge for each challenge from 1 to 13.”
Xu Wang: “……”
Yue Shuai: “Why are you looking at me when I’m showing you the badge?”
“Not just the badge, but also a manual.” Xu Wang revealed his own badge manual without reservation.
Childhood friends might be a joke.
But some things are real, and without even realizing it, they naturally take on a warm form.
It was Yue Shuai’s first time seeing the manual, and he immediately asked, “Where did this come from?”
Xu Wang said, “At the grocery store in the basement of the Castle Hotel on 6/23. It cost 200,000 yuan.”
“Damn, that’s daylight robbery.” Ji Yiming, who had been watching the commotion between Ye Tianhang and Chi Yingxue, rushed over to take a closer look at Xu Wang’s badge manual. “What’s so expensive? Does it let you pass the level with a single click?”
“Just a hint for the hidden badge location!” Qian Ai followed suit, indignant. “A single click pass? In your dreams! If there was such a thing, the merchants would probably sell it for a million!”
“So, what’s the use of the badges?” Yue Shuai asked.
Xu Wang shook his head. “Collecting all 13 badges is the key to unlocking the challenges after 13/23.”
Yue Shuai was startled, then realized, “No wonder no one has ever passed the 13th level on the leaderboard!” Shocked, he quickly asked Xu Wang, “What’s your phone number?”
Xu Wang was taken aback for a moment. “Huh?”
“To keep in touch.” Yue Shuai now fully recognized the importance of staying connected. “Or leave your WeChat—anything that lets us talk anytime. Can’t always rely on meeting here. That’s like waiting for the stars to align*!”
*Year of the Monkey, month of the horse (猴年马月) Idiom that basically means only God knows when.
Wu Sheng: “s-h-e-n-g-g-e-w-u-d-i.”
Yue Shuai: “His WeChat ID?”
Wu Sheng: “Mine.”
Yue Shuai: “I want his.”
Wu Sheng: “Either add me or stay disconnected.”
Yue Shuai: “……”
Xu Wang: “Cough, well, adding him is the same as adding me.”
“……” Yue Shuai swore that in Xu Wang’s smile, he saw a blinding sweetness.
After days apart, the style of this team is still so puzzling!
……
Beijing time. Yue Shuai, Su Mingzhan, Tao Anan, Ji Yiming, and Wei Tianhang stood shoulder to shoulder, bidding farewell to their colleagues.
Captain Yue slowly waved his hand, his eyes heavy with concern. “Be careful. Take care.”
Xu Wang managed a strained smile in return. To those in the know, it was like sending friends off to battle; to others, it might look like they were heading to the gallows.
The five friends left the fence and entered the pedestrian path.
Just two seconds later, noisy footsteps came from around the corner ahead—the city tour group that had already passed the café once was back again.
At the same time, “Ding—”
[The demon causing accidents is among these people. Find them before sunset if you’re still alive.]
From a distance, the tour leader waved the small flag and smiled at the five of them. As the main group arrived in front of them, the leader asked enthusiastically, just like the previous three days, “Are you interested in joining our all-inclusive city day tour?
This time, Xu Wang nodded. “Yes.”
As soon as he spoke, the wind picked up. Under the warm sunlight, there was an ominous chill.
The author has something to say:
Captain Xu told Xiao Yueyue: Wait for me to give you the way to this level~~
Qian Ai, Kuang Jinxin, and even Wu Sheng, who were all included, didn’t expect Xu Wang to have such a straightforward talk with Chi Yingxue. It was okay to share information, especially after the twists and turns of the past twenty or so days. Everyone had already considered Chi Yingxue a team member in their hearts, even if they didn’t say it out loud.
However, for such an important matter, they should have at least prepared a preamble. Starting with “I have talked with the Owl” was too abrupt; Chi Yingxue would be foolish not to be confused!
The three companions silently looked at their new teammate, who indeed appeared confused.
Xu Wang also belatedly realized his impetuousness and quickly tried to remedy the situation. “This matter, well, it’s a long story…”
“The Owl talks every day,” Chi Yingxue suddenly said.
Xu Wang, interrupted, was startled. “What?”
Chi Yingxue sighed, his voice filled with inexplicable confusion. “The Owl talks every day.”
Xu Wang and the three listening companions finally understood that their new teammate wasn’t bewildered by shock but had completely misunderstood the situation, failing to see why this was even a topic for discussion…
“It’s not an internal ear prompt. It’s a real conversation, back and forth, understand?” Xu Wang pointed to himself and then to Chi Yingxue, almost in desperation. “Like how we’re talking right now!”
Chi Yingxue raised an eyebrow, a glint of interest finally appearing in his eyes. “Oh? You can have conversations with the Owl?”
“I can’t. It was just a fluke that we had one conversation, just once.” Xu Wang sighed regretfully, wishing he could communicate with the Owl anytime.
“Oh,” Chi Yingxue’s face showed a hint of disappointment, but his interest remained. “Is it a person or a bird?”
“Ah?” Xu Wang was unprepared for this focus of interest, and after a long pause, he weakly said, “I didn’t see it. It only spoke without showing itself…”
Chi Yingxue frowned slightly, dissatisfied. “Then did you ask it for strategies?”
“……” Captain Xu, finding the question too sharp, had no answer.
The last bit of interest in Chi Yingxue’s eyes disappeared, leaving only disappointment.
Xu Wang swallowed hard, sincerely reflecting. “I was young and naive then. If heaven gave me another chance to do it over… No, wait, that’s not the point!” Almost led astray by his teammate, Xu Wang quickly got back on track, earnestly looking at Chi Yingxue, emphasizing, “I’ve talked to the Owl. Don’t you find that incredible?”
Chi Yingxue blinked, calmly nodding. “Not seeing it, not catching it, not getting any strategies—indeed, it is incredible.”
Xu Wang felt a pang of pain in his heart and was rendered speechless.
Wu Sheng pulled his disheartened captain back and took over, objectively and concisely recounting the experience of Xu Wang encountering the Owl ten years ago, focusing on the timing and manner of the Owl’s appearance and the words it said. During the narration, he didn’t seek Chi Yingxue’s opinion, as the new teammate didn’t seem naively curious.
“So,” Wu Sheng concluded after the recount, “we need to both pass the levels and figure out what all this is really about.”
Chi Yingxue tilted his head at him. “According to you, the Owl said passing 23 levels would allow us to leave?”
Wu Sheng nodded. “Yes.”
“Then why don’t we just keep going?” Chi Yingxue asked, puzzled. “Why bother researching all this?”
“Setting aside whether we can pass all 23 levels.” Wu Sheng’s eyes darkened. “After being tormented for so long for no reason, are you content?”
Chi Yingxue looked at Wu Sheng’s determined eyes and a hint of anticipation curled the corner of his mouth. His body that was casually leaning on the sofa also straightened slightly. “You want to destroy the Owl?”
Xu Wang, Qian Ai, Kuang Jinxin: “……”
Yan Wang gets happier in battle, while Chi Yingxue finds chaos more interesting. In the matter of “not wanting to live peacefully”, they were in perfect harmony!
Wu Sheng, lacking the keen emotional perception of his teammates, only knew that Chi Yingxue asked a question, and he had to give a truthful and objective answer. “Currently, we haven’t thought about how to apply our research findings. At this stage, we are mainly focused on the operational logic and existence of the problems.”
Kuang Jinxin added, “Sheng Ge also made little cards to give to NPCs!”
Qian Ai said, “Yes, to enlighten them about life and the universe.”
Xu Wang added, “And it’s continuously being updated and upgraded. Now it’s already the third version of the card.”
Chi Yingxue: “……”
After a long drift, when life was almost becoming a dead loop of going back and forth in the first few levels, Chi Yingxue finally experienced a turning point in his level-clearing career—he joined a scientific research team.
……
After regrouping, the small team adjusted their rhythm, following a “three days of rest + one night of level-clearing” pattern. They breezed through levels 6/23 and 7/23 in one go. Since these levels didn’t require finding badges, it objectively made the team’s progress more focused and efficient.
On the afternoon of the eighth day, the small team arrived in Suzhou, the location of 8/23.
Xu Wang didn’t know whether Chi Zhuolin had installed satellite tracking on Chi Yingxue or if Chi Yingxue was in constant contact with his brother. In any case, Chi Zhuolin was very timely with their location updates. They had just arrived in Suzhou, and the hotel car came to pick them up.
Returning to a familiar place, the teammates inevitably recalled the shadows of their last failed attempt. But once they entered the hotel suite, they first set aside their worries and enjoyed the peace.
It wasn’t until after dinner, as the night deepened, that Xu Wang’s heart gradually calmed down.
Looking around the suite, Qian Ai, who became sleepy after eating, dozed off on the sofa; Wu Sheng, who seemed to be planning something, was at the desk, already filled with several sheets of draft paper; Kuang Jinxin sat beside the desk, intently watching Wu Sheng’s writing and drawing, not making a sound or asking questions, just understanding on his own, serious like a student in class; Chi Yingxue moved a single sofa in front of the TV, munching on an apple while watching a shopping channel, thoroughly engrossed.
According to their rhythm, today, tomorrow, and the day after were all “rest periods”, with the real “level-clearing day” only coming the day after tomorrow. So there was no pre-level-clearing tension at the moment.
But Xu Wang was still a bit uneasy.
The reason was simple: their last attempt at 8/23 had ended too tragically. Xu Wang still felt bone-aching pain whenever he thought of it.
It was around 11:30 p.m. when the five of them took a taxi to the coordinate point. Not long after getting off the taxi, it was midnight. Stepping into the purple vortex on the ground a month later, they returned to the starting point of 8/23.
A semi-open-air café with an excellent view.
The open-air part was surrounded by quaint green fences. Inside were several round tables, chairs, and large umbrellas for shade. A gentle breeze was blowing, carrying the aroma of coffee.
In reality, it was a cold, dark midnight.
But inside 8/23, it was a spring-like morning.
However, the five of them were well aware that, under this bright sunshine, a “bloody massacre” would soon take place.
There were already NPC customers under several of the sun umbrellas, leaving only one empty table by the fence. The five sat down, and a waiter came over to ask what they wanted to drink.
After ordering casually, the waiter left and never returned. Naturally, they weren’t served any coffee.
Just like 2/23’s airport, it was a “virtual experience”.
“It’s better in the castle banquet hall. The food and drinks are real, not fake.” Qian Ai sighed, pulling out a big white pear from his pocket and biting into it causing juice to splash everywhere.
Xu Wang remembered the large plate of fruit in the suite and asked, hoping for the best, “You only brought one in?”
“Do I look like the kind of person who eats alone?” Qian Ai took off his small backpack and, with a clatter, pulled out four more, all shiny, smooth, and fragrant. He distributed them to his teammates. “Eat as much as you like. There’s more when you’re done.”
Xu Wang realized that Classmate Qian wasn’t planning on clearing the level today; his bag was packed like he was going on a hike or a picnic.
Each of the five companions held a pear and sat around a table, enjoying their snack.
Two minutes later, the Owl’s purple vortex closed, and no new teams entered the café—distinguishing NPCs from peers was simple: just check if there’s coffee on the table.
“Are we the only ones in this level today?” Kuang Jinxin looked around, surprised. Even if they weren’t planning to clear the level, as long as they were at this coordinate point, they should have entered 8/23.
“A score of 8/23 is enough to make the overall leaderboard,” Qian Ai muttered while chewing on his white pear. “It’s normal to have fewer teams going through the levels.”
“It’s also possible that there are other teams,” Wu Sheng said. “They just didn’t get stuck at the coordinates like us.”
“That’s true.” Kuang Jinxin nodded.
To avoid encountering other teams, many would intentionally choose different times or places near the designated coordinates to enter the ‘Owl’.
Chi Yingxue, uninterested in the others, gazed distantly beyond the fence at the bustling street corner and said with an air of hope, “Are we really not going through the level today?”
Xu Wang gave him a “calm down” look and said earnestly, “Let’s just wait and see for now.”
Chi Yingxue shrugged. With no coffee or pastries, he had to make do with a bite of pear.
The fence was the safe zone, like the ancient castle’s banquet hall. Once they left, it meant the challenge began. Last time, as soon as they stepped out, they received the level content prompt. After joining the main group, they hadn’t even left the street when they all perished—a dark three minutes.
Noise from the street corner grew louder, indicating a large group was approaching.
Wu Sheng’s relaxed demeanor changed as he said solemnly, “They’re coming.”
Xu Wang tensed and quickly looked towards the street corner. Qian Ai and Kuang Jinxin also became serious, turning their heads with Xu Wang.
Chi Yingxue, not as prepared as the others, continued nibbling on his pear, though his gaze shifted to the corner. As the team leader’s small flag appeared in the distance, he forgot to bite his pear.
Around the corner came a group of about thirty people, led by a flag-bearing leader, followed mostly by young men and women in their twenties and thirties, chatting and laughing lively.
They moved quickly, reaching the café in a short while. The guide approached the five of them, inviting warmly through the fence. “Are you interested in joining our all-inclusive city day tour?
Xu Wang decisively shook his head. “No, thanks.”
The leader asked again, “Sure you won’t join?”
This time, Xu Wang, Qian Ai, and Kuang Jinxin all silently shook their heads.
Wu Sheng helped refuse a second time. “No need, thank you.”
The leader looked disappointed but didn’t persist, turning back to lead the group onwards.
The group passed the café, reaching a crosswalk.
The light was red.
About thirty people stood obediently, waiting.
In the distance, a dump truck approached normally, with no unusual speed or direction.
But just as it neared the crosswalk, a loud “bang” sounded—a front tire burst!
The driver, in panic, slammed on the brakes, but the vehicle, losing its front wheel, couldn’t maintain its course. With that brake, the truck drifted towards the thirty people waiting at the light!
It happened so fast. People who were laughing seconds ago were now stunned, with the two closest to the road instantly swept under the truck!
The others, realizing the danger, screamed and fled.
However, the truck, losing balance after drifting, flipped over, burying three people who couldn’t escape under a pile of debris!
In the chaos, another screeching brake sounded from a trailing vehicle, trying to stop too late. It hit a person who had run into the road in panic.
They avoided the burst tire and the dump spill, but not the following vehicle.
In just a few seconds, six people died.
As the dust settled, the group had lost several members. Yet, from the leader to the survivors, they all seemed amnesiac, resuming their cheerful demeanor and laughing as they crossed the road and continued on their planned route.
Xu Wang shuddered, feeling that cold terror unique to this challenge again.
Death is frightening.
But what’s scarier is knowing that a slight misstep could kill you, yet not knowing where the danger lies.
Or rather, death could come in countless ways at any moment.
[The demon causing accidents is among these people. Find them before sunset if you’re still alive.]
That was the first sentence they received from the [Cheat Sheet] after leaving the café fence last time.
Kinky Translations 