Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 37: The End of the World

At half past eleven at night, four fully rested people, uniformly carrying the small backpacks they bought in the afternoon, took what they deemed useful and rule-abiding items and took a taxi to the Yellow River Estuary Scenic Area. Naturally, the scenic area had closed for the day, signifying no entry for visitors. The ticket booth area was deserted, with only dry leaves rustling in the night breeze.

The four found a concealed corner to wait for midnight.

Their target location was right at the scenic area’s ticket booth, meaning they were precisely on the mark.

However, as this was the designated coordinate, the absence of any “fellow competitors” even as 11:50 approached made them suspicious.

“Could we have gotten the wrong place?” Qian Ai wondered aloud, looking around. “Or are the other teams hiding somewhere out of sight?”

“Don’t bother. If they wanted to hide, you wouldn’t find them.” Xu Wang rubbed his sore eyes. He had been on alert, scanning the surroundings for the past twenty minutes; other than the faintly glowing flora under the moonlight, there was no one to be seen.

Kuang Jinxin pondered for a moment and speculated, “Could it be that when we were at the Endless Sea yesterday, the other eligible teams had already come and attempted this challenge, with the losers lagging behind and the successful ones moving forward, leaving us alone today?”

Qian Ai looked at his teammates. “I’ve noticed you always hope for the best in every situation…”

Wu Sheng looked towards the depths of the scenic area. “The checkpoint for this challenge is at a hospital. If the coordinate is indeed the hospital, then there’s no need for a hard escape…”

Hearing the implication in his words, Xu Wang said, “You mean, other teams might have gone to a place closer to the hospital to wait for midnight? Maybe inside the scenic area?”

“Or what ‘they think’ is closer to the hospital,” Wu Sheng added precisely.

Xu Wang understood. Mao Qiping had mentioned that the city maps in 3/23 are fixed, but the real-world coordinates corresponding to those maps are slightly adjusted daily, either shifting or rotating clockwise or counterclockwise. So, even teams that have cleared this challenge before can’t be completely accurate based on memory.

But having experience should be advantageous. Only greenhorns like them, without any 3/23 experience, would naively stick to the given coordinates by the [Cheat Sheet].

Wait.

If there really were no other teams around… could it be that tonight’s challenge is filled with veterans and they are the only newbies?!

“Hoot, hoot—”

At midnight, the Owl hooted eerily.

The four felt as if they were freefalling from a plane. After falling at such a speed, their hearts were about to leap out of their chests before they landed on the cold ceramic floor tiles with a “thud”.

Under the dim light, the floor reflected a cool light, and the air was filled with the smell of disinfectant, creating a somber and oppressive atmosphere.

The high alertness induced by the “speedy zombies” didn’t allow them to delay; as soon as they landed, they sprung up, surveying their surroundings tensely.

Fortunately, it was a small place.

A men’s restroom.

“This respawn point is really…” Qian Ai couldn’t find the words as he looked at the urinals.

“Don’t be picky.” Xu Wang comforted him. “At least there are no zombies here, and the environment is somewhat familiar.”

“We were told there would be weapons, right?” Wu Sheng didn’t mind the setting. There was no audience anyway. In contrast, he was more concerned about tangible benefits.

“Could it be…” Kuang Jinxin pointed towards the end stall. “Those?”

The others looked and immediately understood Kuang Jinxin’s hesitation.

At the deepest part of the restroom, right in front of the last stall, were four squarely arranged metallic boxes, each about seventy to eighty centimeters tall. The silver boxes, adorned with antique patterns, were so tall that the top one nearly reached the ceiling.

“Are these weapons or armors…” Xu Wang looked up, feeling the weight of responsibility.

As the captain, he was the first to approach the box. Crouching down, he knocked on the side of the box like one would tap a watermelon, producing a thumping sound. It didn’t really give any clue, but it was more for psychological comfort. Seeing that nothing strange happened after the knocking, he reached out and gently slid the metal strip that was vertically placed on the upper part of the box wall facing him to the side.

The “box wall” was actually the door of the box, with the hinge on the bottom edge. The other three sides weren’t connected to the box body. Therefore, when he slid the metal strip away, the door of the box fell towards him, revealing the true contents inside.

An electric shaver.

“……” Xu Wang braced himself with his hands on the ground to keep from losing his balance while crouching.

A half-meter-tall box, and all it contained was a shaver?!

Don’t they know about eco-friendly packaging?!

“Captain?” Blocked by Xu Wang’s figure at the mouth of the box, the three teammates couldn’t see inside. They only noticed him suddenly freeze, so Kuang Jinxin voiced his concern with some worry.

“It’s fine.” Captain Xu waved his hand to his teammates while facing away, then picked up the shaver and stood up to enter the open compartment next to him. “You guys continue opening the boxes. I need to calm down for a bit.”

The three teammates stopped talking. They all saw the shaver in the captain’s hand and understood that what he needed most at that moment was not to “chat” but to have some “quiet time”.

Exchanging a glance to confirm their thoughts, Qian Ai was the next to go.

He was tall with long arms, so he directly climbed to the door of the compartment and opened the top metal box.

Click.

The box wall fell with a sound, revealing the same scenario as Captain Xu’s—a screwdriver.

Qian Ai, already mentally prepared, calmly took the screwdriver and jumped down from the door of the compartment.

Perhaps reaching his limit of endurance, as he landed, the door of the compartment suddenly slanted down with a “crack”. Qian Ai stood still for two seconds, then grasped the essence of this “weapon”.

He turned back, straightened the door, and tightened the screws again.

The scene was too comical, and the remaining two teammates couldn’t bear to watch, turning their attention back to the boxes.

“Sheng Ge, you go first.” Kuang Jinxin disliked making choices; he preferred the others pick first, leaving one for him.

Wu Sheng shrugged, walked over, and picked the second box from the top. Reaching up on tiptoes, he just touched the top edge of the box and lightly pushed it open. The box wall fell down.

A… scythe?

Wu Sheng reached out and felt it, only to see clearly that it was not a curved sword but a sickle, albeit with an extremely exaggerated design for the blade. The wooden handle was only thirty to forty centimeters long, while the blade itself was almost eighty centimeters long. It had a significant curvature, tapering down from the wide part at the connection with the handle and gradually narrowing towards the end, culminating in a sharp and pointed tip.

This top-heavy sickle was awkward to handle, and even more bizarrely, the wooden handle had a series of protruding rings, resembling bamboo joints.

Wu Sheng frowned, stepped back to create space, and swung the sickle forward vigorously.

He meant only to test the feel, but as he swung, the tip firmly embedded itself in the bottom of the box he had just opened.

“Clang—” A metallic sound rang out.

His arms, halted by the box bottom and unable to swing further, were left numb from the vibration.

Wu Sheng maintained his pose of swinging the sickle, looking astonished.

He had made enough space, theoretically not hitting the box, but as he swung down, the handle lengthened.

At the critical moment, Qian Ai, who had ducked into the bathroom compartment, peeked out. His heart was pounding, and he dared not shout, only managing to grit his teeth. “Next time you do something dangerous, could you at least warn us first—”

His teammate’s complaint snapped Wu Sheng back to reality. He retracted the “extendable sickle”, trying to shorten the handle back to its original length, but couldn’t push it back in.

Now the blade and handle were balanced, and the series of protrusions on the handle smoothed out, but it was even more inconvenient to hold. It was too big to be held like a spear due to its top-heaviness and too cumbersome to be slung or carried on the back like a regular blade.

With no other option, Wu Sheng had to carry the handle on his shoulder, letting the blade hang behind.

It was carried, sure, but such a weapon was essentially synonymous with “extremely inconvenient to use,” right?!

“So handsome…” On the other side, Captain Xu peeked out with eyes twinkling.

Advisor Wu, carrying the sickle, paused. “Huh?”

“Like Death’s scythe, it’s quite imposing.” The last part, “that even Death would look good”, Captain Xu kept to himself, savoring the thought.

“Really?” Despite saying it with disdain, Advisor Wu, carrying the sickle, elegantly twirled a full 360° to showcase the look.

“That’s enough. Don’t scrape us.” Qian Ai felt uneasy, even standing a meter away from the sickle. “Xiao Kuang, take your weapon—”

With time being of the essence, Wu Sheng hastily stopped spinning and stepped aside to give space to his teammate.

Only one box was left. Kuang Jinxin stepped forward to open it.

Inside was a bulging white plastic bag, like a takeout order.

Kuang Jinxin untied the plastic bag tied with a slipknot.

A bag full of colorful, candy-like, semi-transparent balls about the size of ping pong balls with a smooth and clear surface. Squeezing one lightly with his hand, it felt moderately soft and hard, similar to the texture of rubber.

The three teammates gathered around to look, squeeze, and smell.

Qian Ai: “Rubber balls?”

Wu Sheng: “You’d better not think about throwing them on the ground.”

Xu Wang looked at his advisor. “Did you notice anything?”

Wu Sheng confidently said, “The scent of gunpowder.”

Qian Ai hurriedly put the balls back into the plastic bag, fearing they might explode any second.

Xu Wang sniffed the balls again. With Wu Sheng’s hint, he seemed to really smell a bit of the gunpowder scent. Usually, gunpowder smells strong when it’s about to explode; this scent was faint. How did Wu Sheng discern it?

Seeing his question, Wu Sheng took the initiative to explain. “When I was a kid, I dismantled fireworks. They smelled like this.”

“Fireworks are meant to be set off.” Xu Wang looked at him puzzledly. “Why did you dismantle them?”

Wu Sheng said, “To study their structure.”

Xu Wang: “…….”

“So, is this a bag of mini explosive balls?!” Qian Ai looked at his teammate’s bag of “heavy artillery” and then at his own “screwdriver”, feeling a sudden surge of despair. They were teammates, fighting together. Did they have to be treated so differently?!

“Shave off your worries.” Captain Xu handed the electric shaver to his teammate, gripping it firmly. “I just tried it. It’s quite useful.”

Facing life’s unfairness, one should maintain a Buddhist-like calm and not only focus on oneself but also lead the teammates to the same mindset. — [Captain Xu’s Team Building Handbook]

Exiting the restroom, the four finally understood why they hadn’t encountered any zombies.

This was a fully enclosed mall, with locked entrances and exits. Security guards were patrolling each floor orderly and nervously. Customers, or rather refugees, had gathered on the first floor of the mall. From the messy bedding on the ground, they had been hiding here for quite some time.

The four men crossed past the sitting and lying refugees to the revolving door.

The tall revolving door was blocked, unable to be pushed from either inside or outside, and the side doors on both sides were tightly closed. The locks should have been engaged, but there were double safety chain locks tied on the door handles.

The clock in the mall showed that it was the afternoon. Outside the mall, there was a pedestrian street. Through the glass, one could see the row of shops opposite the street, each with its own style—some fresh and elegant, others fashionable and trendy, or clear and pragmatic. There were flower shops, gourmet food, cafes, and clothing stores located one next to the other, house by house, making it not difficult to imagine the hustle and bustle of the past.

But now, everything was in disarray.

The doors of the shops had been smashed open, the glass shattered, benches askew, awnings collapsed, walls splattered with blood, and limbs lying on the ground. There were neither living people nor zombies to be seen. The entire street was emptily quiet.

It was a clear evening, with not a single cloud in the sky. The setting sun generously spreads its light, casting a warm filter over this apocalyptic streetscape.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 36: Treasure Chest

They initially thought there was no choice in the treasure chest, but upon opening it, they found four smaller, more exquisite chests inside. The four teammates exchanged looks and, in a harmonious motion, each took one.

Qian Ai closely examined the chest he picked up, his mind awash with nervousness, excitement, and apprehension. He knew that the anticipation before opening a prize is often the most delightful part, allowing one to fantasize about a beautiful new world.

Taking a gentle breath, he looked at his three teammates. “Who will open theirs first…”

Before he could finish, his words were cut off by a sudden flash of bright light.

The dazzling light was intense but brief, lasting only a moment.

As Qian Ai lowered his hand from shielding his eyes, he realized his teammates had already opened their chests, with such casual motions devoid of any ceremonial respect for the chests!

Their arms chimed with a “Ding-a-ling~” sound similar to when they handed in their papers—cheerful and crisp.

Simultaneously, the chests in their hands disappeared.

“Stationery?” Seeing his teammates all lifting their arms to check, Qian Ai guessed the nature of the reward, feeling a bit disappointed. “Didn’t Mao Qiping say there would be money too…?”

“This stationery seems a bit different.” Kuang Jinxin extended his arm to Qian Ai, seemingly unsure how to explain, and instead let him look directly.

[Stationery Box]: [(Defense) Candy House], [(Illusory) Calling a Deer a Horse*]]

*(指鹿为马) Idiom referring deliberately confusing right and wrong, misrepresenting things (AKA calling white, black).

These were Kuang Jinxin’s entire stationery. “Candy House” was the reward from the last level, which Qian Ai remembered, so obviously, the chest provided [Calling a Deer a Horse].

Qian Ai was about to ask what was so different about it, as they’ve had many tools named after idioms before, when he suddenly paused, leaned closer, and finally noticed that the prefix before [Calling a Deer a Horse]—(Illusory).

It wasn’t offense or defense…

“Illusory stationery?” It seemed the only way to call it but saying it out loud felt strange to Qian Ai. “What does that mean? Fantasy? Magic? Illusion*?”

*Clarity: The word is (幻) which can mean fantasy, magical, illusionary… so it’s quite vague without further context.

“It’s probably a special category that can’t be simply classified as either defense or offense,” Wu Sheng pondered aloud.

Qian Ai was stunned. “You got an illusory stationery too?”

Wu Sheng looked at his teammates and slowly uttered in English, “Don’t Lie to Me.”

His voice was low, almost like a whisper. His face carried a smirk that seemed straight out of a luxury brand advertisement, mysterious and elegant. But Qian Ai just wanted to throw a treasure chest at him.

Their captain clearly empathized and nudged him with an elbow. “Speak human.”

Advisor Wu Sheng showed his arm in confusion. His eyes, which had just been electrified, were now filled with a pitiful look. “It’s just this name, [Don’t Lie to Me].”

Qian Ai, along with the captain, looked at the advisor’s [Stationery Box].

Ah, it was true.

[(Illusory) Don’t Lie to Me].

Such a high-class name was obviously tailored for their advisor. =_=

First encountering an illusionary stationery and then realizing stationeries could have English names, Qian Ai felt that there must be some surprise waiting in the captain’s chest, so he straightforwardly looked at Xu Wang, asking with his gaze.

Xu Wang shrugged. “I wasn’t as lucky as they were. What I got is just a regular weapon.”

Qian Ai observed him for a moment and straightforwardly said, “Captain, you’re enjoying this.”

[(Offense) Lightning Gun with Unerring Accuracy*]

*A hundred shots with a hundred hits (百发百中) Idiom referring to archery or gun shooting accurately and hitting the target every time. Metaphorically, it could mean being fully confident in doing things.

As Captain Xu showed off his weapon to his teammates, he couldn’t contain his joy, feeling like he had obtained an ultimate divine weapon. His soul soared to the clouds and then burst into fireworks. “Unerring Accuracy! Isn’t this cool? I’m just asking you guys, isn’t this gun so cool?!”

When he saw Fair Face use the stun gun in the previous level, Xu Wang wondered when he would also acquire a weapon-type stationery. Not that he wanted to go on a rampage, but at least when other teams tried to mess with them, they would have to think twice seeing this equipment.

Moreover—

Compared to arms swinging fire and wind and looking up at the sky and repelling nails, a lightning gun with unerring accuracy would be invincible in battle—this is how props should be, filled with the aura of a conqueror! Who needs to see a bunch of grown men romantically flying to the moon!

“Captain.” Kuang Jin Xin hesitated for a long time but finally spoke up to interrupt his captain’s reverie. “Isn’t this stationery a bit too violent…”

As someone who had experienced it firsthand, Qian Ai also wanted to advocate for “world peace”. “Wielding a gun is too brutal. With every shot, how much psychological trauma will be sown? After I was shocked last time, now every time I charge my phone, I feel like wearing insulated gloves.”

Xu Wang: “……”

The saddest thing in the world is when no one can understand your happiness.

“Wu Sheng.” Captain Xu looked towards the last hope. “What do you think of this weapon?”

Wu Sheng nodded calmly. “It’s quite good.”

Xu Wang raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

After some thought, Wu Sheng added, “It’s just that the name is too simple and crude, lacking poetry. Look at my ‘Don’t Lie to Me’…”

“Lao Qian!” Xu Wang suddenly turned his head. “Quick, open your box!”

Qian Ai felt wronged. None of the three had supported the captain, so why did the captain suddenly drop the bomb on him!

Whether it was laughter or numerous twists and turns, everything dispersed cleanly at the moment Qian Ai opened his box. This Endless Sea journey had seen them use three stationery and now they had opened three more. Whether it was a gain or a loss depended on Qian Ai’s action.

The air in the treasure vault quieted down as all eight eyes focused on Qian Ai’s hands, waiting to be blinded by the golden light.

Qian Ai held his breath, mentally counting one, two, three!

Click.

The lid opened in response, but there was no golden light. Instead, a stack of hundred-yuan bills filled the small box to the brim.

Qian Ai took out the money, and the box disappeared instantly, just like the ones his teammates had opened earlier. There was no “ding-a-ling~” sound of stationery updates, but the weight of the money in his hands was real.

“Ahem.” Qian Ai cleared his throat as a sort of initiation ceremony, then held the money in one hand and started rubbing it with the other, activating his proficient “money counting skill”.

Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, and Kuang Jinxin all stayed quiet, leaving only the rhythmic and dense sound of money counting in the vast treasure vault.

Soon, Qian Ai finished counting and then looked seriously at his teammates. “Twenty thousand exactly.”

Xu Wang nodded. “Keep it. It’s your gain.”

“No.” Qian Ai frowned as if the money burnt his hands. “You all got stationery. Why am I the only one who got money? It’s too vulgar!”

Wu Sheng: “……”

Kuang Jin Xin: “……”

Xu Wang sighed meaningfully. “Lao Qian, just be happy. Holding it in is uncomfortable. Trust me, I have experienced it.”

Qian Ai’s frown deepened, his voice full of righteousness. “You can insult me, but not money!”

Xu Wang: “……”

Wu Sheng: “……”

Kuang Jinxin: “Qian Ge, you seem to have spoken your true thoughts.”

“The Qian Ai who views money as dirt” lived for a total of two minutes from its birth to demise.

Then, the maxed-out Classmate Qian finally cracked a wide grin.

After so much effort, they finally saw some gains! TAT

But as much as he wanted to celebrate, Qian Ai knew well the source of the money, so after enjoying his moment, he still resolutely handed the money to Xu Wang. “This isn’t my gain. It’s our team’s loot. It should go into the communal wallet.”

Xu Wang didn’t take it. “Our gain is stationery, yours is money. It’s fair and reasonable.”

Wu Sheng provided theoretical support. “If you want to put this money into the communal wallet, then we’d have to share the stationery as well. Otherwise, it’s still unfair.”

Kuang Jinxin, not one for grand statements, simply said, “Qian Ge, just keep it. Consider it stationery for your [Stationery Box].”

Qian Ai pondered for a while, then suddenly divided the money in half, pocketed one part, and looked up with determined eyes, holding the other half. “Fine, the money is mine, but I will donate 50%.”

If someone had told him before that he would give away money he had just received, he would have taken it as a vile curse. But now, he really wanted to do so and would be happy doing it. Anyone who stopped him might face his wrath.

“Xu Wang, if you don’t take it now, you’re not considering me as a teammate.” Qian Ai grabbed Xu Wang’s hand and forcibly stuffed the remaining half of the money into it. “An alumnus is making it big. He should donate to his alma mater…”

“Fine.”

“And I didn’t donate it all… Wait?” Qian Ai paused, suddenly realizing what was happening and staring at Xu Wang.

“Principal Xu” smoothly pocketed the money and then patted Qian Ai’s shoulder. “Classmate, your alma mater is proud of you.”

Qian Ai swallowed his prepared grand speech, managing to say with difficulty. “Principal, don’t you think you took the money a bit too quickly…”

[Owl: Congratulations on passing the Endless Sea. Let’s set the paddles and brave the waves! Dear, see you tomorrow~]

As if sensing their settled dust, a teasing congratulation played in their ears. Their Endless Sea journey for the night thus came to a close.

Mao Qiping had said, you enter the Endless Sea from where you came in and leave from the same place, so returning to the waiting hall didn’t surprise the four. What was unexpected was that instead of being ejected from the dome as they entered, they blinked and found themselves sitting in the chairs near the boarding gate.

This was exactly where they had been sitting earlier. Even their bags were placed as they were at midnight. If not for the smell of seawater on their clothes, not to mention the aches in their waists and arms, they would have believed the past few hours were just a dream.

Across from them, on the row of chairs, sat a hipster youth who was on the same flight as them. He had reacted most dramatically when they were sucked into the dome earlier, whistling and taking out his phone to record the event, making him quite memorable.

But now, the youth merely glanced over nonchalantly, then continued listening to his headphones, as if the four of them had been sitting there all along, never having left.

It was still raining.

The terminal at 2:30 a.m. was quiet and drowsy.

Kuang Jinxin had somehow gone out and brewed a thermos of tea, but none of his teammates took the offer, so he savored it alone.

“Be careful or you won’t be able to sleep,” Xu Wang warned, as their most important task now was to catch up on sleep and recover.

Kuang Jinxin had just poured a lid-full of tea and looked up at the mention. “It’s lotus seed and licorice tea. It soothes the mind and aids sleep.”

“Oh.” Captain Xu naturally extended his hand. “Then give me a cup too.”

A minute later, all four teammates each had a cup of tea, listening to the rain hit the glass. They sipped the tea while smelling the clear fragrance of lotus, breathed out a sigh of relief, and watched the rain, all enjoying the comfort akin to an early retirement. Nothing could be more beautiful than the warm and composed setting sun.

The stormy waves of the Endless Sea seemed like a distant affair, so far away it made them wish if it all could just end here, and they never had to enter that hellish “Owl” again.

All four of them thought more or less the same, yet all remained silently in agreement.

Because there were no ifs, and because the voice that had sent them out said, “See you tomorrow.”

The pleasure of listening to the rain turned into a gaze into the oppressive night amidst a hundred thoughts.

Qian Ai couldn’t take the silence and decided to break it. “I don’t get it. Why are your stationery so straightforward and effective, like using [Wind That Sweeps Away the Clouds] to blow away your opponents, or [Hit Me If You Dare] to repel attacks?”

Kuang Jinxin tilted his head in thought. “Your [A Single Leaf Blocks the Eyes] is also immediate in effect.”

“But that’s defensive! Think about [Words Like Pearls and Jade] or [Invincible Hot Wheels].” Qian Ai could almost write a complaint. “I mean, it’s exhausting. You can’t keep up without good stamina!”

“The duration of a stationery’s effectiveness should relate to its attribute and effect.” Wu Sheng noted. “Like your [Invincible Hot Wheels] and Xiao Kuang’s [Tears Like Rain]; they aren’t one-and-done stationery. They require continuous commands from the user to really bring out their destructive power, so these stationeries must be given a certain effective duration. Conversely, there are one-time use stationery.”

Qian Ai: “……”

Kuang Jin Xin: “……”

Both, in all honesty, found that Advisor Wu’s explanation wasn’t entirely gibberish and could grasp some of it, but it required time.

Xu Wang put down his teacup and put his hands on the shoulders of his two teammates.

All six eyes met.

“Stationery that can kill someone in one go, like [One Fell Swoop], is one-time use; it becomes invalid after use. Whether you can kill someone depends on how well you operate it, like [Tears Like Rain] or [Words Like Pearls and Jade], which are given a certain amount of time to use.”

Kuang Jinxin: “Captain…”

Qian Ai: “No wonder you were always praised for reading comprehension in our language class.”

Wu Sheng frowned, having tried hard to simplify his way of speaking and believing he had made some progress. Why couldn’t his teammates feel it?

Feeling oppressed and unwilling to accept defeat, Advisor Wu struck again. Of course, to avoid seeming too abrupt, he had to use some fashionable vocabulary that resonated seamlessly into the conversation. “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. A weapon capable of delivering a fatal blow must be disposable. Otherwise, if one could capture everything in one fell swoop here and there, no one else would stand a chance. Everyone in the world would have to call them ‘Dad’.”

Kuang Jinxin: “……”

Qian Ai: “……”

Ah, Wu Sheng carefully observed his teammates’ faces, feeling a disconnect from what he expected.

Xu Wang sighed tiredly, looking sincerely into his advisor’s eyes. “When you’re with your laptop, just focus on your work, okay? Don’t surf the internet for random things…”

By 6 a.m., the rain had stopped.

By 8 a.m., the sun dispersed the last traces of haze, revealing a clear blue sky.

By 10 a.m., their delayed flight finally took off.

The four drank their tea and then lay on the chairs to sleep, from 3:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. They hastily ate breakfast and continued sleeping on the plane, undisturbed by meal and drink services, deeply asleep until they reached Dongying. In this way, they disembarked somewhat refreshed.

They agreed with Mao Qiping’s advice not to enter a new level too hastily, impulsively, or carelessly. However, as they had already bought their tickets and spent the money, they couldn’t just not use them and buy train tickets instead. So, this advice would have to wait for the next level.

The precise location of the new coordinates was at the Yellow River Estuary Scenic Area in Huanghekou Town, Dongying City.

Xu Wang always wonders why the “Owl” likes to set coordinates in scenic spots. Under normal circumstances, he would definitely think that the “Owl” has a ticket-sharing arrangement with these scenic spots, hence the effort to attract customers to the area. But the problem was that the “Owl” shouldn’t be short of money. The 20,000 yuan Qian Ai obtained, after ATM verification, was confirmed to be genuine.

It was only a forty-minute drive from the airport to Huanghekou Town. The three of them took a taxi directly to the town and found a hotel to settle down.

Four people, two standard rooms. It seemed there was already a default arrangement of who would stay with whom. When Xu Wang took out his ID card, Wu Sheng naturally took it and handed it to the reception desk along with his own.

After settling their luggage, it was time for lunch. Lao Qian, not wanting to be outdone, re-entered the world of live streaming.

Arriving in Shandong, naturally, they had to eat Shandong cuisine, and being near the river, freshwater delicacies were a must. Thus, today, Lao Qian Eats All Over China broadcast was particularly popular, with many new fans joining and old fans suspecting Streamer Qian had won a lottery. The recent live broadcast foods spanned from east to west; yesterday was Shaanxi’s Saozi noodles and basin mutton, and today it was sweet and sour carp and braised intestines. It was unpredictable and full of regional and novelty appeal.

They ate lunch until after three in the afternoon. Like in Shaanxi, while Lao Qian was live streaming, Wu Sheng was busy working on his laptop during meal breaks. Kuang Jinxin browsed his phone and occasionally chatted with classmates to inquire about the school situation. Bored, Xu Wang opened the memo app on his phone to study.

The memo, transferred from Wu Sheng’s phone, was packed with text about the third challenge they had acquired from Mao Qiping and were about to face.

3/23 Content:

Break through the zombie siege and escort the vaccine to the central city hospital.

3/23 Strategy:

1. Find a car, or you won’t survive more than thirty minutes;
2. The randomly distributed weapons are trash. Look for better ones in the city, or use stationery;
3. Headshots or destroying the brain are the only ways to render zombies powerless;
4. Once bitten and bleeding, you’re infected with the virus and will become an indiscriminate attacking zombie;
5. Don’t trust experience; no route is absolutely safe as zombie distribution changes daily;
6. Entering the hospital doesn’t mean all is well. The last obstacle is often the hardest, including but not limited to, zombies falling from the sky, collapsing grounds, flooded corridors, etc. Please be prepared both physically and mentally;
7. The mission is only considered a success when all members reach the hospital and deliver the vaccine.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 35: Climbing the Lighthouse

Just when the four thought that the obstacles were cleared and the path ahead was open, suddenly four figures rushed out from behind a small pile of broken reefs behind the lighthouse, swiftly skimming the base of the lighthouse like mudfish and slipping into the main entrance!

Xu Wang and his team, positioned diagonally in front of the lighthouse, could only watch helplessly as the opportunists emerged from behind the rocks and stole their victory in an instant!

The lighthouse was only about ten to twenty meters high, so reaching the top was a matter of minutes. Mao Qiping had said that it doesn’t matter who knocks down the lighthouse keeper; what is essential is entering the treasure vault—that is the ultimate goal. Those people choosing to hide behind the rocks at the back of the lighthouse clearly indicated their strategy of giving up a frontal assault for a more opportunistic approach.

“Shit—”

“Fuck—”

The curses from Wu Sheng and Qian Ai burst out simultaneously, creating a peculiar effect of Chinese-English comparison*. Taken aback, the two glanced at each other, and in the next moment, both leaped up and dashed toward the main entrance of the lighthouse at their top speed!

*Clarity: Shit was said in English.

Kuang Jinxin came to his senses after his two teammates had already chased off and hurriedly got up to follow.

But soon, he sensed something was off. Wu Sheng and Qian Ai had already reached the door of the lighthouse, and he himself was halfway there, but where was their captain?

Just as the question arose in his mind, he heard Xu Wang’s shout from behind. “You guys chase. I’ll block from above. We’ll encircle them front and back—”

Kuang Jin Xin paused. “Above?”

“Got it—” Running at the front, the advisor of the team didn’t slow down or turn his head but responded with confidence before sprinting into the lighthouse.

Upon hearing Xu Wang’s tactic, Qian Ai hesitated for a moment, obviously not as clear as Wu Sheng, but eventually, without asking further, he quickened his steps and followed in.

Kuang Jinxin finally reacted.

With the height of this lighthouse, one doesn’t need to run many stairs to reach the top. In such a short time, even if they chased inside the tower, the probability of catching or even stopping the opponents was minimal. The only way was if they could somehow reach the top first, all four storming the treasure vault together, or at least one of them arriving first to block the opponents at the door of the vault, buying time for the others.

The captain intended to be this blocker, as he had [Chang’e Flying to the Moon], which, as the name suggests, must include flying as one of its effects. The captain could then ignore the stairs and fly in from the outside, landing directly in front of the treasure vault!

Realizing this, Kuang Jin Xin, who had already reached the lighthouse’s door, still swiftly turned back for a glance, seeing only the seriousness on Xu Wang’s face and the determination in his eyes.

This wasn’t the Xu Wang he knew.

This was their captain.

In the next second, Xu Wang closed his eyes, seemingly in deep meditation.

Kuang Jinxin understood immediately that the captain was using [Chang’e Flying to the Moon], establishing a connection with the stationery.

The stationery in the “Owl” was generally of two types: one was like [Fishnado], [Jingle Bells], or [Wind That Sweeps Away the Clouds], which had immediate effects upon clicking; the other required the user to control. For the latter, after clicking, no clear textual instructions like “How to Use” would appear, but some “sense fragments” were released. The user had to focus, capture these fragments, and integrate them to figure out how to manipulate the stationery and to get a general direction of its effects.

This meant that the effectiveness of such stationery was directly linked to the depth of connection established between the user and the stationery. A deep connection allowed for thorough exploration and ease of use, doubling the effectiveness; a shallow connection significantly reduced the stationery’s power, like missing the “wind” effect of the [Invincible Hot Wheels].

[Chang’e Flying to the Moon] should be both beautiful and sharp.

“Captain, you can do it,” Kuang Jinxin whispered encouragingly, no longer distracted, and charged up the stairs!

As Kuang Jinxin burst through the lighthouse’s door, Xu Wang opened his eyes in astonishment.

Waiting to ascend through the clouds, he finally sensed the key information from the “fragments” released by the stationery… Was stationery meant for the opponent’s use?!

Shouldn’t he, the user of [Chang’e Flying to the Moon], be rising with the wind with his clothes fluttering like a stunning swan?!

He had so handsomely laid out the tactics for his teammates—a pincer movement from both ends. Soon his teammates would reach the top of the lighthouse, only to find that their captain was still desperately chasing behind!

Losing the dignity of a captain wasn’t important, but how would he face his teammates, who trust him so much, if they lost the treasure?

“Shit!”

Xu Wang cursed in English, driven by some inexplicable force, only to realize that it couldn’t fully express his frustration and anger.

“Fuck—”

With a curse, Captain Xu charged into the lighthouse.

From the outside, the lighthouse appeared bright and pristine, but inside it was dimly lit with walls and floors made of dark cyan stones, weathered and mottled, resembling an abandoned church or castle from the Middle Ages.

The spiral staircase was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Xu Wang dashed up, taking two steps at a time. But after just a few twists, the endless circling made him feel dizzy and his vision blurry, to the point where he thought he saw someone floating ahead…

Someone?!

Xu Wang suddenly snapped to attention and stopped abruptly, but the staircase was so narrow and his speed so fast that he, driven by momentum, still collided with the arm of the person ahead.

What happened next was nothing short of a miracle.

Upon collision, that person slowly floated upwards about ten centimeters and then, without any intention to turn, lightly touched his back against the wall.

Despite this, the person maintained a graceful pose, one hand stretched forward, the other back, knees slightly bent, as if a fairy was running futilely to the moon in a weightless universe.

Of course, this “fairy” was male, and his face bore a fierce expression completely at odds with his classical pose.

Their eyes met, and the man’s anger was unmistakable. However, contrary to his raging fury, his lips moved slowly and silently, with no sound reaching Xu Wang’s ears.

Xu Wang had to rely on lip-reading.

“I… Fuck… You… Forget it. You’re talking too slowly. See you!” Giving up on communication, Xu Wang stepped over this fellow classmate and continued climbing.

Just half a circle later, he encountered a group of three “fairies” huddled together. The entire members of the “Steal the Fruits of Victory Squad” were now assembled.

Unlike the previous one, these three, though also moving gracefully, weren’t purely floating but bouncing up and down. Each time their feet touched the ground, and they exerted a little force, they would spring up high until their heads touched the underside of the steps above, then slowly descend. The whole process was like a slow-motion scene, with every detail clearly visible.

The first fellow male classmate’s condition made Xu Wang think that [Chang’e Flying to the Moon] was a “fixed pose + weightless state”, but now he realized it wasn’t weightlessness but extremely low gravity, so low that it was hard to balance the body during motion, and a slight force could cause significant displacement, occasionally resulting in a floating state, with sound unable to propagate.

[(Offense) Chang’e Flying to the Moon], Chang’e referred to the opponent’s posture, and Flying to the Moon referred to the state of the opponent—that was, running gracefully on the moon.

Xu Wang quickly pushed past these three and continued upward, feeling the joy of being “The Flash” against the backdrop of his opponents.

So cool!

As Xu Wang disappeared into the depths of the stairs, the three, filled with anger and helplessness, could do nothing but watch.

They had no idea how to handle the lighthouse keeper, so they chose a dark spot to ambush, waiting for an easy victory. This kind of opportunism, even if it failed at the doorstep of the treasure vault, was acceptable.

But suddenly slowing down thirty-two times to pose and float? Had the user of this stationery ever considered the victim’s shame endurance?! Don’t they have any conscience?!

Xu Wang, completely untroubled by any conscience, continued with the joy of The Flash and the sense of victory over his enemies, reaching the top of the lighthouse in one go.

A lighthouse keeper with a bundle of long nails embedded in his chest lay at the corner under the square hole, with sunlight streaming in from outside right onto the door of the treasure vault and the faces of his three teammates who had been waiting for a long time.

“Captain!” Kuang Jinxin could hardly contain his excitement and admiration, giving a big thumbs-up. “[Chang’e Flying to the Moon] is so cool! A million times cooler than I imagined!”

Qian Ai nodded vigorously. “When Wu Sheng and I caught up with them, we were dumbfounded, thinking they were slowing down intentionally to pose for us. It took a while to realize they were actually ‘Flying to the Moon’ haha!” After a hearty laugh, he felt a twinge of sympathy. “It was a complete psychological crush, much more damaging than a front and rear pincer. They probably won’t dare to cut in line again. This shadow is like ink spilling over.”

Compared to the excitement of his two teammates, Wu Sheng was quite calm, simply stepping aside to reveal the door to the treasure vault, then smiling slightly at Xu Wang. “We’ve been waiting for you, my captain.”

Xu Wang took a deep breath, filled with unprecedented satisfaction.

He decided not to say any modest words, as it would ruin the composure he was trying to maintain. For the first time, feeling a true sense of mission to “uphold the dignity and image of a captain”, Xu Wang strode confidently to the door of the treasure vault.

He placed his hands on the left and right doors, looked back at his teammates deeply, then turned his gaze forward and pushed with all his might!

Nothing happened.

Except for a sudden stillness in the air.

Xu Wang maintained his pushing posture, seemingly motionless but secretly exerting force in every way he knew how.

The door remained firmly closed; not even a crack appeared.

“Cough, maybe we should try ramming it together…” Qian Ai, unable to bear the sight, offered a way out for the captain.

Turning back to face his teammates, Xu Wang went through a brief but intense internal struggle, finally deciding to accept his teammate’s kindness.

“I…” Just as he turned and said a word, Xu Wang suddenly felt a tightness around his legs. Looking down, he was met with the dark face of the lighthouse keeper.

“To enter the door, step over my corpse!” The keeper, strong as an ox and with a voice as deep as a bell, clung to Xu Wang’s leg.

Xu Wang was baffled and even began to doubt life itself. “Dude, you’re already a corpse!”

The keeper snorted coldly. “You think a few little steel nails can eliminate me? Haha.”

Xu Wang: “……”

He was being humiliated by an NPC?!

“Bang—”

A loud banging noise echoed in his ears.

It was Qian Ai.

“It’s no use. We really can’t break through.” Even as he said this, Qian Ai continued to ram the door stubbornly.

Seeing this, Kuang Jinxin hurriedly joined in to help.

Xu Wang looked at Wu Sheng somewhat confusedly. “We’re not really going to have to kill someone, are we?”

“Don’t worry, leave it to me,” Wu Sheng reassured with a confident look, then bowed his head to open his [Stationery Box].

Xu Wang watched his decisive actions, feeling that their advisor seemed to have a mysterious yearning for using the [Deep Gaze of Death].

Sensing the murderous intent, the lighthouse keeper clinging to his leg suddenly screamed, “If you kill me, the treasure will disappear—”

Xu Wang froze, unsure whether this was a bluff or true. If true, they really couldn’t kill…

“It’s false.” Wu Sheng remained unmoved. “He just said that to enter, you have to step over his body. If stepping over the body is the true condition, then his current statement must be false. Otherwise, it’s logically contradictory.”

With that, he immediately tapped the icon in the toolbox with a pair of deep, affectionate eyes drawn on it.

Xu Wang watched his actions, holding his breath unconsciously. The thought of seeing a “deeply affectionate gaze from Wu Sheng” made him nervous and, cough, a bit excited.

“How many nails have I shot at you—”

Just as Wu Sheng’s fingertip was about to touch the icon, the lighthouse keeper, with all his might, threw out a question.

Wu Sheng paused.

Xu Wang was completely baffled. Was this the time for a quiz in this life-and-death situation? Was he crazy?!

Qian Ai, who was still persistently ramming the door, couldn’t stand it anymore. “What bullshit is this? We’ve run all the way up here, and now we’re supposed to go back outside and count the nails for you?!”

The lighthouse keeper ignored him and repeated, “How many nails have I shot at you?”

The tone of the second question was more severe, silent yet sharp, with a hint of provocation.

Xu Wang’s heart skipped a beat, and his first reaction was to look at Wu Sheng!

Sure enough, their advisor slowly lowered his arm, his gaze falling as he stared back at the lighthouse keeper for the first time.

Xu Wang felt a sense of despair.

Who is Wu Sheng? The more unusual the question type, the more electrifying it feels for him.

Now, even if you forced him to use the stationery, he probably wouldn’t.

But—

How many nails were shot?

Is that something a normal person could answer? Forget the rapid speed of a nail gun; even at a slower pace, who could count the rain of nails accurately?!

“The Brain…” Kuang Jinxin muttered softly by the door.

Xu Wang turned to look at him. “Huh?”

Kuang Jinxin pointed at Wu Sheng, his voice getting even softer as if afraid to disturb him, cautiously whispering to Xu Wang, “I meant that Sheng Ge’s current state and aura are just like those geniuses in the ‘The Brain’ show on TV…”

Hearing this, Xu Wang turned his attention back to his advisor.

Wu Sheng had closed his eyes at some point, his brow slightly furrowed and his eyelashes trembling slightly, indicating that his brain was working at high speed, possibly calculating, recalling the scene, or something else.

As an ordinary person, Xu Wang didn’t delve deeper. But watching Wu Sheng like this, the doubts in his heart gradually diminished, and his anticipation slowly grew. From “maybe he can”, to “he should be able to”, to “he definitely can”—that trust bloomed vigorously.

“288.” Wu Sheng slowly opened his eyes and looked down at the lighthouse keeper. “If you count the few nails you shot earlier with the stones, then it’s exactly 300.”

The lighthouse keeper looked at him incredulously, his grip on Xu Wang’s arm gradually weakening.

Qian Ai and Kuang Jinxin looked at each other and once again joined forces to ram the door of the treasure vault!

“Bang—”

The door swung open in response, and dazzling golden light instantly poured out!

Propelled by inertia, Qian Ai and Kuang Jinxin plunged straight into the treasure vault. Xu Wang rushed over eagerly, but as he stepped into the vault, he paused and looked back to see Wu Sheng still standing in place.

Xu Wang sighed. After all, he was the greatest contributor this time, so he shouldn’t rush him and wait instead.

In the golden glow, Wu Sheng squatted down close to the resentful face of the lighthouse keeper and gently tapped his own head with a finger. “My arrows may miss, but this,” he pointed to his brain, “never does.”

The lighthouse keeper looked at him, confusion mixing with his resentment, as if asking, “What are you talking about?”

Wu Sheng never cared about these details. He stood up and brushed off the dust from his body, feeling satisfied and content.

Turning to enter the treasure vault, he found the captain leaning casually at the door, watching him leisurely.

Wu Sheng tilted his head, eyebrows slightly raised in inquiry.

Xu Wang, for once, didn’t make a sarcastic remark but instead gave him a brilliant smile. “So handsome.”

Wu Sheng also smiled. His eyes and brows relaxed, giving off a gentlemanly demeanor. “Yeah, I know.”

“…Come in, let’s open the chest.”

Captain Xu decisively turned around, offering the greatest tenderness he could to the hero of the day.

The door to the treasure vault slowly closed after Wu Sheng entered.

Before the four men, there were three treasure chests. Two were already open and empty, and only one remained untouched. The golden light was emanating from this last intact chest, casting a magnificent glow over the entire vault.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 34: Coming Ashore

Qian Ai stood on the mast, some ten meters above the deck. His feet were braced on a horizontal bar, and his back was leaning against the main mast. His arms swung in wide circles, creating a fiery spectacle that seemed to open a circular portal of time and space at the mast’s tip!

In the roaring flames, the wind began to stir.

The sails were blown taut with the wind, and the ship’s pace instantly shifted from “leisurely” to “cutting through waves” in this new era of sailing!

Qian Ai thought they might have left the sea monsters behind, but he didn’t have time to check.

Others might throw punches in a fight; he was doing the same, but it felt like he needed a vernier caliper for precision. He had to generate wind, maintain balance, swing his arms with all his might, keep the wind on course, and, most importantly, ensure the flames didn’t catch the sails.

Is this a fight or scientific research?!

“Lao Qian, Lao Qian, great job! You’re the best—”

The cheering from teammate surnamed Kuang below gave Qian Ai a subtle feeling like he was back in kindergarten, where if he swung his arms well, the auntie would give him a cookie as a reward.

Kuang Jinxin, closely observing the “flaming teammate” above, confirmed the lack of encouragement. “Captain, Qian Ge doesn’t seem to like my support.”

Xu Wang clapped his shoulder. “You’re young, so you don’t understand people’s heart.”

Releasing Kuang Jinxin, Captain Xu looked up and shouted, “Lao Qian, Lao Qian, make easy money—”

There was no response from the mast.

In the bright flames, that good wish dispersed into the sea mist.

“Whoosh—”

The flames at the top of the mast surged several meters high. The arms with strong biceps rotated so fast they were nearly invisible. The fierce wind howled in the fire, carrying the momentum of thousands of horses!

As the great wind picked up, the sails soared, and the wooden ship turned into a speedboat, cutting through wave after wave.

Kuang Jinxin clung to his spyglass, facing the oncoming gale as if riding a dark motorcycle.

Xu Wang watched the entangled sea monsters shrink into a small wave on the horizon, finally able to relax.

In the cockpit, Wu Sheng, not fully understanding the situation, gripped the helm, contentedly enjoying the thrill of “sailing”, occasionally closing his eyes to imagine beautiful lines of code refreshing before him. He took a deep breath and felt refreshed—one breath bringing clarity, two making him invincible.

About eleven minutes later, a sailboat with the soul of a speedboat rushed onto the shore of West Treasure Beach. The speed was so great that it continued another dozen meters on the sand before finally stopping, completely beached.

Two minutes later, four people disembarked from the ship, three buoyant and spirited, one with dangling arms and a vacant gaze.

“Lao Qian, cheer up!”

“You can’t ask that of a man who’s lost both arms.”

“I guarantee, with my 20/20 vision, your arms are still there.”

“But they’ve lost their soul.”

When a teammate turned into a poet, it was best to let them have some quiet time. — [Captain Xu’s Team Building Handbook]

The dark clouds hadn’t reached this small island. Under the bright blue sky, the beach shimmered with silvery light on the white sand.

Standing on this soft sand, facing the sea, one could easily feel a sense of peaceful, easy years.

However, for the four companions who had fought through wind and waves, their eyes were only fixed on the lighthouse atop a distant rock.

“We need to move quickly,” Xu Wang said, scanning the surroundings. “This island might not be just ours. Standing here on the beach is too conspicuous and unsafe.”

Wu Sheng looked back at the beached sailboat, aptly reminding him, “Considering our flashy landing, thinking about being low-key now might be a bit late.”

Xu Wang glared at him. “Can’t you say something positive?”

Wu Sheng wasn’t intentionally trying to disturb the morale of the team. He believed in realism. “Up until now, only one treasure chest has been opened, and we’ve already landed on the island. Unless something unexpected happens, we’ll definitely get a chance at the chest.”

Before he could finish what he was saying, another “ding” echoed across the Endless Sea.

[Cheat Sheet: West Treasure Beach (2/3). The second treasure vault has been opened.]

Another team or individual had reached the top of the tower.

Right as they hadn’t yet left the beach.

One spot remained.

Looking at the message scrolling on their arms, Wu Sheng pondered for two seconds, then looked up apologetically. “The unexpected came a bit too quickly.”

Xu Wang looked earnestly at him. “From now on, please just be a quiet, handsome man.”

The reef piled a few dozen meters away was the highest point on the island, and the lighthouse of Treasure Beach West was situated on top of the reef pile. The lighthouse was completely white but glinted golden in the sunlight. On closer inspection, it turned out that there were gold stripes painted at intervals, but the lines were so fine that they could only be seen clearly up close.

Much like the lighthouse on the Flying Island topped with a winged sailboat sculpture, the Treasure Beach lighthouse was crowned with a chest symbolizing its identity—antique in design and mysterious in aura—even the keyhole gleamed golden.

The group, except for Qian Ai, who relied solely on his feet, used hands and feet to climb to the top of the rocks, surprisingly encountering no competitors. From a distance, the area appeared flat, but it was actually littered with rocks of various sizes, as if someone had tossed a basket of irregular stones onto a basketball court-sized clearing and then built a tower amidst the rubble.

The lighthouse, with its white and gold motif, had only one door at the base and a square hole near the top. Other than that, it was entirely sealed.

The four didn’t dare to approach the lighthouse rashly, instead hiding behind a large rock about seven or eight meters away, stealthily spying on the square hole at the top that suspiciously resembled a machine gun’s muzzle.

“Mao Qiping said,” Kuang Jinxin whispered, “the lighthouse guard might engage in close combat inside the door or attack from a distance from the top of the lighthouse.”

“The door and that hole above are in a straight line,” Xu Wang confirmed. “It’s for long-range attacks.”

“Is it going to be a barrage of machine guns or a volley of arrows?” Qian Ai asked.

“Let’s find out,” Wu Sheng said, picking up a pebble and hurling it with all his might toward the lighthouse door.

The pebble hit the ground with a crisp sound and then rolled forward. There was a flash of cold light from the hole at the top of the tower, and the group saw something emerge but couldn’t make it out as it was too fast, followed by the sound of rapid, piercing gunfire!

The momentary chaos soon returned to calm. In the salty sea breeze, they focused their gaze on where the pebble had rolled to find a row of long nails deeply embedded in the rock, leaving seven or eight inches sticking out. The pebble that had rolled was now pulverized under one of the nails, virtually untraceable.

“Nail gun.” Wu Sheng accurately named the “weapon” they were facing and added, “But the size of the nails is quite fierce.”

The three companions looked at the nine-inch nails and simultaneously felt a pang in their chests.

It wasn’t just fierce; these were the size of stakes used for vampires!

“Let’s give up,” Qian Ai, seeing no hope of victory and foreseeing a bloodbath, suggested. “We won’t make it far before we’re turned into sieves.”

“Don’t be so pessimistic,” Kuang Jinxin, physically smaller than his teammates but with an optimistic fighting spirit that dwarfed them all, encouraged. “If bare hands won’t do, we can use stationery.”

“There’s no need to force our way in.” Wu Sheng suddenly stood up and reached out to Qian Ai. “Bow and arrows.”

Ever since he had successfully shot a sea monster with an arrow, Qian Ai had kept the bow and quiver strapped to his back and waist, never leaving them even when climbing up the mast to make wind. It wasn’t like he had any grand plans, but having an extra weapon made him feel more secure.

Surprised and delighted when Wu Sheng asked for them, he quickly handed over the bow. “You know how to use this? Why didn’t you say so earlier!”

“Just played with it.” Wu Sheng took the bow, pulled an arrow from Qian Ai’s quiver, and nocked it. “Let’s give it a try.”

With an arrow aimed at the tower’s top, Wu Sheng gracefully and composedly drew the bow, staring intently at the dark, square opening with a calm and sharp gaze. Xu Wang’s face remained unchanged, but his eyes saw nothing other than Wu Sheng. It was as if he had returned to those high school days when he would steal glances at this person during class. Back then, Wu Sheng would sit by the window, and whenever Xu Wang stole a look, it felt like the world consisted only of Wu Sheng and the bright, cheerful sunshine.

Finally, Wu Sheng released the arrow, and it zoomed towards the hole with a powerful twang!

Xu Wang and Kuang Jinxin held their breaths, and Qian Ai, who had just regained some feeling in his arms, clenched his fists involuntarily.

“Splat—”

The arrow struck the tower wall a considerable distance from the hole and then skewed and fell, landing haphazardly on the ground.

“It’s okay. It’s been a while since you played, so you’re a bit rusty. A few tries and you’ll get better,” Xu Wang encouraged, both for his teammates and his beloved. “Lao Qian, another arrow!”

“No need.” Wu Sheng, without waiting for Qian Ai to retrieve another arrow, handed back the bow. “Apparently, I’m still no good.”

Xu Wang frowned. “Giving up so easily isn’t like you.”

Wu Sheng shook his head. “I’ve always missed when I played before. This is normal for me.”

Kuang Jinxin: “……”

Qian Ai: “……”

Xu Wang: “…Then why were you trying to act so cool just now?!”

Ignoring their grumbling advisor, who insisted on trying, “just in case it works this time”, Captain Xu made a decisive call. “Use stationery.”

They hadn’t even reached the next challenge yet and had already used the [Invincible Hot Wheel]. Xu Wang didn’t want to deplete their stationery further, but they had come so far. If they were overtaken at the last moment and lost the final spot, he could vomit blood.

“Defense or offense?” Kuang Jinxin quickly responded to the captain’s call.

“Offense.” Xu Wang looked up at the top of the tower, his brows furrowing. “Defense might get us into the tower, but we still have to face the tower guard head-on. Better to use offense and finish him off once and for all.”

“That leaves me out then. I only have defense left.” Qian Ai closed his eyes, attempting to summon a flame, then shook his head after opening them. “The [Invincible Hot Wheels] has also expired.”

Xu Wang stared at his stationery box and pursed his lips. [Cao Chong Weighing the Elephant] was untested and might not even activate, and while [Chang’e Flying to the Moon] seemed like it might offer flight, before they could even reach the sky, they would probably be nailed back down to the ground.

Their hopes rested on Wu Sheng and Kuang Jinxin.

Xu Wang looked up at his teammates. Wu Sheng stepped forward. “Just get me up there, and I can use [Deep Gaze of Death] on him.”

Kuang Jinxin followed suit. “[Hit Me If You Dare] sounds pretty arrogant. Maybe it’ll work against the nail gun!”

Xu Wang grasped Kuang Jinxin’s hand without a second of hesitation. “I’m relying on you.”

Kuang Jinxin nodded firmly. “Don’t worry, captain, I’ll definitely take him down!”

Exiting his own [Stationery Box], Advisor Wu felt a tinge of melancholy.

Hiding behind a large rock, Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, and Qian Ai slightly retreated, giving their teammate enough space to maneuver.

Kuang Jinxin took a deep breath and solemnly pressed the little grimacing icon in his [Stationery Box] — [(Offense) Hit Me If You Dare].

The moment his fingertip touched his skin, a layer of crystal-clear membrane rose from the ground at Kuang Jinxin’s feet, gradually enveloping his entire body along his contours and finally closed at the top of his head. The membrane, like jelly, slightly swayed with the sea breeze and occasionally refracted a bit of rainbow light under the sun.

Before the three companions had time to speak, the membrane suddenly disappeared.

Like a soap bubble bursting in sunlight, it vanished without a trace.

The onlooking friends were a bit baffled, but Kuang Jinxin’s gaze was resolute. “Captain, I’m ready.”

Who knows what effects these stationaries will give? Since Kuang Jinxin said so, Xu Wang chose to believe.

“Be careful.”

“Got it.”

Kuang Jinxin slowly stepped out from behind the rock, advancing toward the lighthouse door. His steps weren’t fast, but each one was firm.

The three companions stood still. Although they trusted their teammate, they couldn’t help but feel a tug at their hearts thinking of those long nails resembling wooden stakes.

A flash of cold light!

Far more nails than before shot out from the muzzle, whistling through the air, heading straight for Kuang Jinxin’s face!

The three companions instinctively held their breath!

Halfway there, Kuang Jinxin suddenly stopped, abruptly looking up as if to face the incoming nails!

In a flash, the torrential rain of nails reached him. From the perspective of the three friends behind the rock, the tip of the nail almost touched Kuang Jinxin’s forehead!

But the unexpected happened.

The nails didn’t continue forward but inexplicably stopped right in front of Kuang Jinxin’s forehead, the tip almost touching his skin but not moving a millimeter further, as if it had flown over ten or twenty meters just to give Kuang Jinxin a “mosquito bite”.

The subsequent dense nails, just like their “predecessor”, halted at the last moment, as if they were under a “freeze spell”.

The nails were halted, but not Kuang Jinxin.

He patiently waited until the last nail stopped, then took a deep breath and charged towards the “nail rain”, or rather, towards the dark mouth of the lighthouse tower aligned in a diagonal line with them and roared. “Ahhhhhh—”

Although the roar sounded more like a scream, the nails, as if bewitched, turned around in the roar and rushed back towards the lighthouse muzzle with even faster and sharper speed than before!

“Bam, bam, bam—”

Numerous nails densely embedded into the walls around the muzzle, and the central part of the curtain-like nail rain, without missing a single one, shot right into the muzzle!

“Urgh…”

A painful moan came from the muzzle, and then, silence.

The three companions behind the big rock finally realized that [Hit Me If You Dare] was a rebound of damage!

“Captain!” Kuang Jinxin ran back, beaming with joy, nowhere near as imposing as before. “It’s done!”

Xu Wang was stunned. Rebounding damage was indeed powerful, but it wouldn’t instantly kill, right?

“Are you sure?” Qian Ai asked, half-doubtful.

Clearly, it wasn’t just Captain Xu who was unsure.

Without asking, Wu Sheng picked up another stone and threw it with force. The stone landed next to the initial row of nails, rolling out again, but this time it rolled far, and there was no movement from the lighthouse’s muzzle.

“Actions speak louder than words.” Advisor Wu certified the teammate’s achievement.

The dust had settled.

Even the sea breeze became calm and serene.

The author has something to say:

Invincible Hot Wheels: The whole process is scalding hot and swinging your arms until broken.

Hit Me If You Dare: Shout out loud, accurate kill.

Qian Ai laments: The user experience varies so much with all these reward stationaries. It’s simply a distortion of human nature and a loss of morality! TAT

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 33: Sea Monsters

The ship had long set sail, and no one spoke on the deck. The gray-white fog blanketed the vast sea, shrouding the hearts of those aboard as well.

Everything in the world is multi-dimensional.

They see one side, while others see another.

They thought they were hard-pressed, but it turns out they should be grateful—grateful to be free from worries, still young and vigorous, able to let go and set off whenever they wish.

“What’s with the long faces?” Wu Sheng, having steadied the helm in the right direction, came out of the cockpit and saw his three teammates enveloped in gloom. “What did Mao Qiping say? Is there a surprise in this route?”

Immediately guessing it had something to do with Mao Qiping was a testament to Classmate Wu’s exceptional wisdom. As for the completely off-target conclusion, it was typical for Advisor Wu, who rarely followed conventional thought patterns.

Xu Wang couldn’t help but look at his classmate, who didn’t understand the atmosphere of the duck at all.

Wu Sheng looked back at him, his head tilted in a confused frown, which suddenly made him seem adorably clueless.

The gray fog in Xu Wang’s heart suddenly lifted.

He realized for the first time that having Wu Sheng, who always stayed in his own channel, was actually quite nice. He was rational and pragmatic, focused on the matter at hand without wandering into pointless ponderings. His gaze was always on the peak ahead, making you unconsciously focus along with him, ready and eager to proceed.

“Is the course alright now?” Xu Wang skipped the topic of Mao Qiping and threw a new question.

This question hit right at Wu Sheng’s interests. He immediately smiled slightly, his eyes beaming with an “I have the world in my grasp” reflected in them. “Of course, leave the steering to me, and…”

“Xiao Kuang—” Xu Wang suddenly turned and called out to Kuang Jinxin. “This spyglass is yours. Report anything unusual at any time.”

Kuang Jinxin stood at attention. “Roger!”

As Kuang Jinxin dashed to the stern, Wu Sheng felt mixed emotions. “It’s polite to let people finish talking.”

Xu Wang turned back to him. “Proceed. Just omit the self-praise.”

Wu Sheng: “……”

After a wordless two seconds, Advisor Wu, deprived of his only pleasure, turned and went back to the cockpit dispiritedly.

Qian Ai, who had been watching the whole process, finally found the opportunity to express his feelings. “How the tables have turned. Back in high school, he had you under his thumb, and now it’s the other way around.”

Xu Wang doubted they experienced the same three years. “Back then, I was at least a bit taller than him, wasn’t I? Not to mention, I can beat two of him. At least we were evenly matched.”

Qian Ai shook his head in disagreement. “You can’t just count physical strength. You have to include intelligence.”

Xu Wang: “……”

Qian Ai, completely unaware of undermining his captain’s self-esteem, suddenly looked around, puzzled. “Is it getting darker?”

Xu Wang paused, then looked up. Indeed.

The dense fog already made visibility and light poor, but when they met Mao Qiping, it was still a “not very bright day”. Now, however, dark clouds covered the sky. In the moments they looked up, the dark clouds turned to black, barely letting through any light. The surrounding fog was absorbed into this darkness, leaving the sea a vast expanse of blackness.

“Xiao Kuang, can you still see the lighthouse?” Wu Sheng’s inquiry came from the cockpit.

“I can,” Kuang Jinxin replied, peering through the telescope. “The lighthouse is lit. It’s actually more visible now.”

“Good, keep an eye on it—”

“No problem. It can’t escape!”

With one at the helm and the other on lookout, the two had become a team in sync.

Xu Wang and Qian Ai glanced at each other, and without a word, each took a position on one side of the deck railing.

As the four companions settled into their roles, the sea became even quieter, with only the sound of the ship cutting through the water as the backdrop.

Suddenly, a light, warm and conspicuous, rose on the deck, brightening in the increasingly dark sky.

Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, and Kuang Jinxin, keeping watch, all turned simultaneously from their respective positions to see Qian Ai raising one arm like the Statue of Liberty. Instead of a torch, he clenched his fist, and a small fireball appeared.

“Can you control the size of the flame too?” Xu Wang had thought the [Invincible Hot Wheels] meant being engulfed in flames.

“More than size, I can control the intensity!” Qian Ai actually just discovered this himself and enthusiastically demonstrated it for his teammates. “Look, the fire’s big now, and now it’s small. What do you prefer—a bonfire party atmosphere or the ambiance of a candlelight dinner? Just ask—”

Xu Wang: “……”

Wu Sheng: “……”

Kuang Jinxin: “……”

Watching their teammate play with the flame, growing and shrinking it joyfully, the three felt neither the warmth of a bonfire nor the romance of candlelight. The only thing that came to mind was a gas stove, particularly one with an unstable gas supply.

Suddenly, a song floated over the night sea, low and melodic.

It was as if a woman was humming and singing in a foreign language. The notes pierced through the thick, dark fog to reach the ship and the ears of the voyagers, carrying the smell of seawater and the mistiness of the fog.

Qian Ai quickly extinguished the fire.

The ship then blended into the protective color of the darkness.

The four companions, steadfast at their posts, gathered their spirits and became alert.

[First head due north, and when encountering the first sea monster, sail straight towards the lighthouse.]

This was the strategy given by Mao Qiping, and now, having sailed due north for a considerable time, they were due to encounter the first sea monster.

The boat moved slowly forward, and the gentle lapping of the waves grew clearer and more enchanting with a low hum and singing.

The tension in each of the four companions stretched to its limit.

Being suddenly attacked isn’t terrifying; what’s terrifying is knowing a ghost will appear but not knowing when it will spring forth—that anxious and unbearable waiting.

Qian Ai was getting antsy. He grabbed the railing with one hand and clutched the spear inherited from Wu Sheng with the other. His palms were soaked with sweat.

When scared, he tended to talk, like walking alone in a dark stairwell and wanting to play some divine music on his phone for courage. “Have you guys seen Pirates of the Caribbean? There’s one with mermaids that use this kind of singing to lure and kill sailors.”

The suffocating silence was broken. Xu Wang, who was facing away from him, also briefly exhaled, relaxing the hand that had become somewhat numb from gripping the ax. “Are you suggesting this sea monster is a mermaid?”

“Or a water nymph.” Qian Ai considered all possibilities. “Like those exceptionally beautiful female sirens—tender, mysterious, dangerous, slowly kissing you while killing you in the midst of caresses and entanglements…”

Xu Wang: “……”

Despite the brutal nature of the act, why did it sound like a kink activity when his teammate described it? =_=

“There’s light ahead!” Kuang Jinxin, responsible for the lookout, mostly kept his eyes on the lighthouse but occasionally scanned the surroundings. This time, he spotted a faint light amidst the fog.

Xu Wang and Qian Ai rushed to the bow and looked ahead.

In the direction of the boat’s advance, about a dozen meters away, a dim, warm light illuminated a palm-sized area.

“A lantern-carrying siren.” Qian Ai, gazing ahead, was very certain. “Japanese ghost stories always have such specters—a beauty in a kimono on a snowy night, carrying a lantern, knocking on doors in the countryside to ask for shelter.”

“……” Captain Xu didn’t know how to respond to his teammate’s broad knowledge.

“If it’s really a beauty, tell me, should I burn her or not?” Qian Ai was genuinely distressed.

Xu Wang, in the darkness, rolled his eyes skyward. “If you don’t burn her, she’ll kill you.”

Qian Ai knew the logic but lamented, “I can’t bring myself to do it—”

As they spoke, the boat drew closer to the light, close enough to make out the glowing object.

It was indeed a delicate little lantern.

The top of the lantern extended into a thin, curved line, as if someone was carrying the lantern on this single hard thread. The other end of the thread, along with whoever was holding it, was hidden in the darkness.

The boat was now less than ten meters from the lantern.

“Qian Ai,” Xu Wang suddenly said. “Light up.”

Whoosh—the flames leaped up.

The “Statue of Liberty” reappeared.

The fire, many times more powerful than the faint glow, illuminated the whole boat and the surrounding area of ten meters.

The other end of the lantern, finally under the scrutiny of the four, revealed its true form.

A five-meter-long fish monster, half above water, half below, with a large head and bulging eyes. A line sprouted from its forehead, holding up the lantern. The delicate lantern contrasted sharply with the creature’s roughness.

“Lao Qian.” Xu Wang swallowed nervously, facing the imminent threat while comforting his teammate. “It is indeed carrying a lantern—pretty much as you imagined.”

Qian Ai was on the verge of tears. “Who the hell cares about the lantern! My focus was on the beauty, the beauty!”

Amidst the shattering of romantic fantasies, the lantern fish monster suddenly accelerated, charging straight at the bow!

Its mouth rapidly opened as it approached, like a snake, widening to a degree larger than its head, revealing rows of serrated, sharp teeth!

Qian Ai’s one arm blazed with flames, and the other gripped the spear tightly while Xu Wang swung his ax, ready to clash with the lantern fish monster at close quarters!

“Ding—”

The notification rang inappropriately.

Xu Wang gritted his teeth. To look or not to look—that was the question!

“Ignore the sea monster. Everyone, hold on tight—” Wu Sheng’s shout suddenly came from the cockpit.

As Xu Wang and Qian Ai prepared for battle, bewildered, and Kuang Jinxin, guarding the spyglass, also puzzled, the boat suddenly made a full-speed sharp turn!

Xu Wang and Qian Ai were almost thrown into the sea. Fortunately, they grabbed the railing at the last moment!

Kuang Jinxin clung to the fixed tripod of the spyglass, steady as a mountain.

Wu Sheng’s maneuvering turned the ship in a graceful 135° turn just as it was less than five meters from the lantern fish monster, avoiding a collision and completely changing their course!

The lantern fish monster bit into empty water, then strained to swim and shifted from an oncoming force to a trailing pursuit.

“Where are we heading—” Xu Wang, unable to see the path ahead, could only ask the helmsman.

Wu Sheng struggled to adjust the direction. “To the lighthouse!”

Just as Xu Wang was about to ask further, Qian Ai, still holding his fiery arm aloft, spoke up first. “Are we not fighting the sea monster?”

“The condition for turning was ‘encountering the first sea monster’, not ‘defeating the first sea monster’,” came Wu Sheng’s resounding answer from the cockpit. As a programmer, he understood the importance of clear and precise conditionals.

Qian Ai was at a loss for words.

Damn, that actually makes sense. TAT

Xu Wang rubbed his face, relieved he hadn’t been the one to ask.

“Ding—”

“Ding—”

Two four-in-one new information notifications rang out back to back. Along with the previous one, in just the short time it took for the ship to turn, three new messages had arrived.

Both Xu Wang and Qian Ai, on their way to the stern, didn’t stop but simultaneously raised their arms to check.

[Cheat Sheet: East Treasure Beach (1/3). The first treasure vault has been opened.]

[Cheat Sheet: West Treasure Beach (1/3). The first treasure vault has been opened.]

[Cheat Sheet: North Flying Island (2/3). The second ship has sailed into the clouds.]

Though mentally prepared, the late-starting team hoped at best for the last spot to ascend the lighthouse. But seeing the second message, Xu Wang’s heart still skipped a beat.

People always think about “what if”. What if all the ships heading to West Treasure Beach encountered the toughest sea monsters? What if all their competing teams were as mediocre as the earlier group they encountered?

But the world doesn’t cater to so many “what ifs”.

Two spots remained at West Treasure Beach.

“The ones who chose South Flying Island made a good choice,” Qian Ai said with a hint of envy. “No one’s going that way at all.”

“According to probability, it’s more likely that those who chose that route are buried at sea halfway there.” In the cockpit of the ship’s bow, which was almost a whole deck away, Advisor Wu enthusiastically corrected his teammate’s misconception.

Qian Ai was speechless. “Are you clairvoyant or something?!”

The sea breeze picked up slightly, giving the sails more force and unknowingly increasing the ship’s speed.

In the midst of their conversation, Xu Wang and Qian Ai had reached the stern. Before they could observe, Kuang Jinxin, responsible for the lookout near and far, reported first. “It seems to be losing steam…”

Kuang Jinxin was stating facts.

In the flickering firelight, the lantern fish monster had fallen significantly behind the stern, far more than could be accounted for by the increased speed of the ship due to the stronger winds. Looking closely at its movement, it indeed appeared slower than before.

However…

Xu Wang leaned close to the stern railing, observing the fish monster more intently. He noticed it wasn’t swimming consistently but rather would swim quickly a couple of times, then pause, and then chase the ship again before stopping. Rather than its speed decreasing, its movements became intermittent, as if it was hesitant or wary, not daring to boldly pursue.

The question was: Qian Ai’s fire hadn’t even touched it, so what was it afraid of?

“Captain…” Normally, Qian Ai would only use this term to refer to his old classmate when he’s nervous. “Doesn’t the ship feel less stable than before?”

Prompted by Qian Ai, Xu Wang realized it was indeed rocking more violently.

This wasn’t Wu Sheng’s fault, as he had steadied the ship after the sharp turn earlier. The increased rocking was due to the waves.

Under the ship, the waves had intensified.

Just as Xu Wang thought this, a huge impact force from below suddenly lifted their entire ship with a “bang” into the air!

After soaring two or three meters, the ship heavily fell back into the water. The three at the stern clung desperately to anything they could grab, while Wu Sheng in the cockpit hugged the helm tight, preventing himself from being flung into the sea!

In the suddenly raging waves, continuous “bangs” hit the bottom of the boat. Though not as intense as the first, they still jolted everyone aboard.

Something was hitting their ship from below!

Realizing this, Wu Sheng made another quick turn!

The ship beautifully glided in the water, shifting from vertical to horizontal!

The next second, the “something” that failed to change direction in time and missed its target, emerged from the water with massive inertia, leaping into the air!

In the firelight, its immense size, several times larger than a whale, nearly eclipsed the sky. Its body was covered in armor-like scales, gleaming a cold green hue.

The three at the stern widened their eyes in horror!

They had seen this fish-crocodile-like monster before. It was the same one that had attacked the magic carpet earlier!

Xu Wang suddenly realized the erratic chase of the lantern fish monster wasn’t due to fear of them, but rather of it!

As the monster reached its peak and swiftly fell, it crashed heavily into the water, raising enormous waves!

The water surged over them. The three at the stern held their breath, enduring the wave without choking. But they were completely soaked from head to toe.

Under Wu Sheng’s control, the ship righted itself and continued to cut through the waves.

However, there was no further movement from the sea monster that had crashed into the water at the stern.

One second.

Two seconds.

Ten seconds.

Twenty seconds.

The ship had already sailed some distance when suddenly something floated up where the sea monster had fallen.

Qian Ai, instinctively, intensified the blazing fire.

The floating white mass finally became clear—it was the lantern fish monster, belly-up, motionless.

“No way.” Qian Ai swallowed hard. “It kills its own kind too?”

Before he could finish speaking, a row of dorsal fins emerged from the water and pushed aside the corpse of the lantern fish monster.

They recognized the fins of the fish-crocodile monster anywhere, even if turned to ash.

Without giving them a moment to breathe, the fins headed straight for the stern of their ship, coming at a speed that had been enough to kill the lantern fish monster!

“Wu Sheng!” Xu Wang shouted. “Speed up—”

“Shouting at me won’t help. You need to call the wind—” Wu Sheng was always attentive to the situation, knowing they needed to accelerate, but the only control the helmsman had on this ship was direction! Such high-level tricks as summoning wind and rain were left to the heavens.

Unfortunately, the heavens didn’t intervene.

The wind remained the same, but the sea monster was getting closer.

“Whoosh—”

The sea monster broke the surface again, its mouth wide enough to swallow half their ship, charging straight at them. Its dense, sharp teeth were chilling to the bone!

Qian Ai had turned himself into a fireball. Xu Wang swung his ax and thrust the spear to Kuang Jinxin.

Three men stood ready, resigned to their fate.

Just as they steeled themselves for a desperate struggle, Wu Sheng made another sharp turn!

The sea monster, caught off guard, barely managed to reach the stern’s edge, biting off a few railings before falling back into the water!

“Don’t clash head-on with it. Too risky,” Wu Sheng shouted. “Our goal is the lighthouse. The best solution is to try to delay and maneuver as much as possible—”

Xu Wang was torn.

He also wanted to maneuver and delay, but the sea monster was keen on a confrontation!

Wait?

Xu Wang suddenly felt his body lurch and stagger to the left!

It wasn’t just him. Qian Ai and Kuang Jinxin also lost their balance!

All three slammed into the left railing, barely stabilizing themselves when they realized it wasn’t a sudden loss of balance but rather the ship tilting severely to the left!

“Grilled Squid—” Kuang Jinxin suddenly screamed.

Xu Wang and Qian Ai, following his gaze, saw a row of charred tentacles clinging to the left railing of the deck, pulling the ship to the left!

It was a case of misfortune upon misfortune. One problem hadn’t been resolved when another arrived!

Thanks to the octopus monster, the ship was pulled to a halt, halving its speed.

The next instant, it emerged from the water, revealing its huge, smooth octopus head for the first time!

Compared to size, the lantern fish monster was dwarfed by just the octopus’ head, which meant it wasn’t much smaller than the fish-crocodile monster.

But Xu Wang and Qian Ai had no time to admire it. They dashed to the left railing of the deck—one mercilessly chopping with an ax, the other burning fiercely with fire!

This time, though, the octopus monster seemed determined. It dodged and resisted, not retreating but moving along the railing, engaging in a battle of attrition. As they moved to try to deal with the tentacles, it would retreat away from them. Round after round, its tentacles remained, but more of its body emerged from the water.

Is this creature versed in the Art of War and came back seeking revenge?!

“Xu Wang—” Wu Sheng suddenly shouted.

Xu Wang, already frantic, became even more distressed. “Lao Qian and I were fighting, but it changed tactics. It’s not trying to drag us down but to board the ship—”

Wu Sheng had initially planned on executing Tactic A for his teammates, but upon hearing Xu Wang say the octopus monster was trying to board the ship, he immediately switched to Tactic B. “Use barbarians against barbarians*—”

*(以夷制夷) Idiom referring to leveraging foreign or external forces to subdue or control another foreign threat (AKA Fight poison with poison). 

“Barbecued” Qian Ai was baffled by these sophisticated words. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Lao Qian.” Xu Wang stopped his ax, making a swift decision. “Stop burning.”

Qian Ai incredulously looked at his captain. “You understood that?!”

“Yes, stop burning, and come over here!” Without time for explanations, Xu Wang pulled Qian Ai to the other side of the deck, away from the tentacles, and told him to hold tight.

“Xiao Kuang, hold on tight—” Xu Wang shouted to Kuang Jinxin.

Finally, Qian Ai realized that the captain and the advisor had indeed communicated effectively and clearly.

This must be some fucking high-tech stuff!

“Captain.” Kuang Jinxin’s voice came from the stern, not in response but in urgency. “That monster is charging again—”

He was referring to the fish-crocodile monster.

“Don’t bother with it,” Xu Wang shouted back. “Just hold on tight—”

The moment the word “tight” was uttered, the ship suddenly turned!

Due to the octopus monster clinging on, the turn was slower, but the ship still sliced through the water and slowly drifted sideways.

The fish-crocodile monster had already leapt up, and the octopus monster had half of its body out of the water. However, under Wu Sheng’s direction, the left railing, which was initially at the stern, rotated to the original position of the stern. The fish-crocodile monster’s bite, accurate and forceful, latched onto the octopus monster’s head!

Both sea monsters plunged into the water together. Under the massive force of their struggle, the tentacle suction cups tore off the entire left railing!

Fortunately, the ship itself was unharmed, continuing to bob strongly amidst the turbulent waves!

Qian Ai finally grasped the meaning of “use barbarians against barbarians”. The historical phrase “use barbarians against barbarians” he learned in history class suddenly came back to him.

But… couldn’t they have just said, “Pit the sea monsters against each other”?

In the giant waves, the two entangled sea monsters rose and fell, but it was clear to anyone watching that the octopus monster was about to join the lantern fish monster for a tea party in just a matter of time.

With little time left, Xu Wang could only urge Wu Sheng again, “Can we go any faster?”

Wu Sheng, out of energy even to shout, turned back, imploring, “I said we need the wind—the wind…”

The wind.

In Wu Sheng’s repeated emphasis, Xu Wang had an epiphany.

“Lao Qian.” Captain Xu suddenly looked up, his eyes shining. “Isn’t your thing called ‘Invincible Hot Wheels’? I’ve seen the fire, but where’s the wind*?”

*Clarity: The original text is (无敌风火轮) which transliterated means Invincible Wind and Fire Wheel equating it to “(Invincible) Hot Wheels”. This is referencing hot wheels given that his other item (Mr. Thirteen of the Middle Ring) is a reference to drag racing. This is why Xu Wang is asking about the “wind” component.

“This…” Qian Ai, looking at his desperately hopeful captain, was at a loss for words. “Calling it Hot Wheels is just to make this weapon sound more impressive…”

“No,” Captain Xu firmly shook his head. “From my observations, I can responsibly say that every word in these magical tools is meaningful.”

“But…”

“No ‘buts’. Just try swinging your arms.”

With no other choice, Qian Ai reluctantly swung his right arm, still ablaze with fire.

Captain Xu didn’t feel any wind, but he nearly had his hair singed off.

Qian Ai sighed. “I told you…”

“What about swinging both arms together?”

“……”

With a captain so tenaciously hopeful, what else could he do?

Swing it is.

Qian Ai closed his eyes and focused. His other arm was instantly engulfed in flames.

Taking two deep breaths, he swung both arms together!

A warm breeze, carrying the heat, brushed against their faces, lifting the hair on Captain Xu’s forehead and fluttering Kuang Jinxin’s collar further away.

Qian Ai stopped swinging his arms, his face full of astonishment.

Xu Wang patted his shoulder in satisfaction. “Lao Qian, get up the mast and start swinging.”

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 32: Sadness

From content to strategy, from key points to additional reminders, Wu Sheng condensed all the information given by Mao Qiping about the 3/23 level, streamlined it, and entered it into his phone’s memo, which was still densely packed, taking up the entire screen.

Xu Wang listened attentively throughout and then took Wu Sheng’s phone to consolidate the memory from beginning to end, truly feeling that the 400 yuan price was a conscience in the industry.

After finishing the third level, they were about to come to the most important current part—the Endless Sea.

“The four lighthouses represent four shipping destinations. The lighthouse on the Treasure Beach of the east and west contains a treasure chest that can reveal money or stationery. The lighthouses on the North and South Flying Islands contain airships, which can be used to fly to any coordinates…”

Mao Qiping had just started when a five-in-one “ding” sounded simultaneously from above and below the ship—

[Cheat Sheet: North Flying Island (1/3). The first ship has sailed into the clouds.]

The four people looking at the scrolling information on their arms were all startled. Has someone already reached the destination and even successfully entered the lighthouse? And what does the (1/3) in the brackets mean?

Seemingly accustomed to such questions, Mao Qiping didn’t wait for anyone on the ship to speak and directly clarified, “A team or an individual has already reached the North Flying Island and breached the lighthouse. There are two more spots available there.”

“There?” Xu Wang caught the nuance.

“Each of the four destinations has three spots for ascending the lighthouse—first come, first served,” Mao Qiping said. “Once the spots are filled, the lighthouse will close directly, and landing on the island will be useless.”

“That is too fast…” Qian Ai glanced at his phone. It had been just an hour since they entered, and it felt like an exam. You are still working on the multiple-choice questions, and someone else has already submitted their paper.

Mao Qiping was no longer surprised. “The teams that choose Flying Island are basically well-prepared and aimed at the next level, so of course, they are fast. However, the good thing about the Endless Sea is that there is no punishment for failing the competition; just a night of busywork for nothing.”

“Can individuals also ascend the lighthouse?” Wu Sheng was concerned about what Mao Qiping had just said about “a team or an individual”.

“Yes, the Endless Sea is different from other levels. Whether you form a team or not, it treats everyone equally. Individuals also count as a team, and after ascending the lighthouse, they occupy one spot.” Mao Qiping affirmed, then changed the topic. “But it is difficult for an individual to compete with a team. Firstly, the speed of a floating ball is far less than that of a ship, and secondly, if you encounter other teams on the island, the odds of winning the competition to ascend the lighthouse are slim.”

“Understood.” Wu Sheng nodded and closed his eyes to meditate.

The other three partners looked at each other. Ah, he’s updating his notes again.

“Back to the lighthouse,” Mao Qiping continued. “The functions of the two Flying Islands are the same, as are those of Treasure Beach. The difference lies in the direction of the routes. So, do you want to open the treasure chest now or go to the next coordinate point?”

Xu Wang understood. Mao Qiping was going to provide them with strategies for the routes and lighthouses based on their choice. After all, they had only paid for one route and couldn’t expect him to cover all four.

Regarding the choice of route, the four people had already discussed it earlier. Xu Wang quickly reconfirmed with his partners and looked down to give Mao Qiping the answer. “Treasure Beach. We’ll open the treasure chest!”

Previously, they had only guessed from the name “Treasure Beach” that they might get treasures. Now it was confirmed that there was a 100% chance of winning a prize; the only question was what the specific prize would be. Therefore, Captain Xu’s voice couldn’t help but reveal excitement about “Money, oh money, here we come!” and the determination to “make back the money spent on the strategy guide!”

“East or west?” Mao Qiping asked again.

“Which side has fewer people?”

“Go west, because many teams feel that ‘fortune comes from the east*’ and is luckier than the west.”

*Purple Air comes from the east (紫气东来) Idiom referring an auspicious omen or the arrival of a noble person. In olden days, it usually signifies the arrival of a sage or emperor. Nowadays, it’s used to suggest good luck or the arrival of good news.

“Then we’ll go west!”

“……” Mao Qiping scratched his chin, thought for a while, and finally caught on. He had, perhaps, been tricked into giving out a free piece of information!

This business they were doing was truly filled with blood and tears.

“West Treasure Beach” route strategy: ① After choosing the route, the ship will automatically sail, but the direction must be steered by the people on board; ② First head due north, and when encountering the first sea monster, sail straight towards the lighthouse, which means the optimal route is a zigzag, not a straight line. Otherwise, the probability of encountering sea monsters increases greatly; ③ Avoid being too close to other ships to prevent attacks, as there are only three spots available.

“West Treasure Beach” lighthouse strategy: ① There will be a keeper inside the lighthouse who must be defeated to reach the treasure chamber at the top of the lighthouse; ② The keeper’s weapons and position change daily, so it’s still unknown what the keeper’s defense will be like today, but known forms include guarding the entrance with brute force, hiding inside for sneak attacks, hiding at a vantage point for throwing explosive projectiles, indiscriminate machine-gun firing, and other forms with varying ranges and lethality; ③ There’s no absolute necessity between defeating the keeper and opening the treasure chest. Other competing teams can completely benefit from others’ efforts, so don’t let your guard down before reaching the treasure chamber.

Regarding the route and the attack on the tower, Mao Qiping explained a lot in detail, but in summary, those were the key points.

The fog began to spread around, and while the vast expanse remained, visibility improved nearby.

“The guide is only for not going into battle unprepared. Whether you can actually attack the lighthouse and snatch one of the three spots is up to you.” Having said too much in one go, Mao Qiping’s throat was smoking. After summarizing his speech, he unscrewed his thermos and began to gulp down a drink.

Xu Wang also wanted the other party to rest, but time waits for no one, so he quickly said, “About the daily level grinding tips and experience sharing…”

“I know, I know.” Mao Qiping didn’t mind. He quickly put down his thermos and looked up. “The things to pay attention to are the same old stories. First, companionship. At any time, do not underestimate the teams you encounter. No matter how kind they appear, in this day and age, you might not intend harm, but others may harbor ill intentions towards you; second, do not assume anything. Even if you have passed a level twenty times, the twenty-first could be different; third, don’t misuse stationery. Save one, and it might save your life at a critical moment…”

“As for experience, well, it’s not really experience. It’s just that I’ve seen too many people on this Endless Sea. Consider it a bit of personal insight.” Mao Qiping smiled, losing the shrewdness of a businessman and gaining a bit of sincere friendliness. “No matter which level you’re at, if you’re not ready, it’s better to stay a while longer at the previous level or in the Endless Sea rather than rushing forward. It will be a very long journey to the endpoint, and you must be steady and methodical at every step.”

“Understood.” Xu Wang lowered his head and looked at him earnestly. “As long as we encounter other teams, losing the competition means returning to the starting point. It’s better to prepare for a few more days than to act impulsively and suffer more than you gain.”

“The starting point?” Mao Qiping was puzzled. “Who sold you such a deceitful piece of fake news?”

“Not the starting point?” Not only Xu Wang, but the other three were also surprised. Although they hadn’t paid, in the current situation inside the cabin at the time, Log Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, and Fair Face didn’t need to lie about something that would be disproved upon one experience, right?

“Not the starting point,” Mao Qiping clarified. “You will only go back three levels. For example, if you fail in 7/23, next time you will have to start over from 4/23.”

Wu Sheng asked, “What if we don’t go back and just stay at the original coordinates of 7/23?”

“You’ll still be sucked in at midnight, but the level 7/23 won’t appear,” Mao Qiping explained. “Instead, it will be the Endless Sea of that province.”

Wu Sheng: “The Endless Sea is divided by provinces. What about the levels? How much area around a coordinate is considered within the level?”

Mao Qiping: “Levels are by city. As long as you enter the city where the current level’s coordinates are, you are no longer in the Endless Sea.”

Wu Sheng: “Are the levels uniquely opened?”

Mao Qiping: “No, there are three. The most recent level where a paper was successfully submitted and the current new level you can challenge—both are open. Besides the first level, which is always open, even if you reach the coordinates of other levels, it will still be the Endless Sea of that province.”

Wu Sheng: “What if I happen to stand on the border of two provinces…”

“Wait a minute.” Mao Qiping raised his hand, indicating that Wu Sheng should stop talking. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment, finally realizing he was about to disclose all the basic rules.

The problem was these people didn’t buy any rules except for injury and death!

Although the captain with a smiling demeanor was harsh in bargaining, at least it was a deal made willingly by both sides. This handsome young man, however, seemed to be getting everything for nothing! Even more fatal was that at the moment of being asked, he was completely drawn into the other’s rhythm, never considering the matter of money. All his energy was focused on understanding the “extremely academic description of the questions” and was proud to penetrate it.

This person, no, this team is toxic! TAT

“Choose your route quickly.” Mao Qiping just wanted to see the customers off now. “Otherwise, the spots will all be filled soon.”

Wu Sheng sighed inaudibly, regretting the sudden end of such a smooth conversation.

“Xiao Mao…” Xu Wang suddenly leaned out halfway, maximally closing the distance between them.

Mao Qiping swallowed nervously and looked at him warily. “Huh?”

Xu Wang smiled brightly. “After eating at a restaurant, they usually give a fruit plate or something…”

Mao Qiping narrowed his eyes, wondering whether to pick these people up with his extendable pole and throw them into the sea.

“We’ll take an orange. We’re not picky!”

“……”

Mao Qiping had seen all sorts of teams after drifting on the sea for a year: serene, irritable, sloppy, elite, despondent, relentlessly forward-moving, but never one like this before.

When you think about it, one moment you want to sink their ship, and the next, you can’t bring yourself to be angry at them. You might even find yourself unconsciously envying them, thinking, “If only I could be like that too.”

Mao Qiping wanted to find a particularly high-level word to describe these guys, but after searching, he could only come up with one.

Equanimity.

In this hellish place, despair and excitement are easy, but the hardest thing is to remain yourself—to maintain equanimity.

“I’ve already lost so much; what’s one more orange.” Mao Qiping sighed heavily, indicating his “hardship in business”, but what he said was all practical advice, “If you can take a green train, don’t take a bullet train or an airplane. First, it saves money—a little bit goes a long way—and second, objectively, it already extends the period between two levels. Normally, you might finish the old level one day and start the new one the next, but if you take a sleeper, you might get an extra night’s rest. Sleep on the train, sleep in the Endless Sea, and ensure you’re energized for the next level, saving a night’s hotel stay.”

Xu Wang smirked. “So the key point is still to save money.”

Mao Qiping also laughed, half-jokingly, half-mockingly. “If you’re not short of money, forget what I said, but don’t tell me. Otherwise, I’ll throw your 800 into the sea in bitterness.”

“We are short of money—very short!” Xu Wang hurriedly assured.

Mao Qiping nodded in satisfaction. “Mm, that’s comforting.”

With money and goods exchanged, it was time to set off.

The four selected “West Treasure Beach” on their arms, and soon, the unmanned rudder freely turned.

The three companions looked at Wu Sheng together.

Without any other option, Advisor Wu comforted himself with “With great power comes great responsibility” and headed to the cockpit to take hold of the helm, precisely adjusting the bow to face due north.

The ship and the floating ball slowly drifted apart.

Xu Wang, Qian Ai, and Kuang Jinxin waved goodbye to Mao Qiping from the railing.

Although it was a transaction, this person was the first real friendly figure they encountered in the “Owl,” and now that they were parting, a slight sense of reluctant farewell rose in their hearts.

Qian Ai wasn’t accustomed to such delicate atmospheres, so he simply waved and joked as a farewell. “The business you do feels like we’re entering different places. We’re on Thorn Island, while you’re living the Chinese dream.”

“It’s all driven by necessity,” Mao Qiping replied with a wave, somewhat annoyed. “What else can I do—can’t get through, can’t leave.”

Qian Ai said, “But earning money this way isn’t so bad. Consider it a second job.”

Mao Qiping lowered his hand and quietly watched him.

The boat and the floating ball had already drifted a meter apart, but the salty sea breeze still carried every word Mao Qiping said to the ears of the three of them.

“Every night my wife wakes up, not knowing where her husband has gone, while my child wakes up every night, unable to find his father.”

His eyes held genuine, suppressed sorrow.

Qian Ai’s smile gradually faded, falling silent. He could joke and tease, but facing Mao Qiping like this, he didn’t know what to say.

Xu Wang suppressed the unpleasant feeling in his heart and tried to comfort him. “When you go out at five, they’ll forget what happened during the night.”

“But the torment of those five hours is real.” Mao Qiping lightly shook his head with a smile. “Every night my son cries heartbreakingly—several times he’s even gotten convulsions from it.”

His voice was very soft, but the softer it was, the more it made one’s heart tremble.

Children getting convulsions from crying can be serious or minor, with severe cases even leading to lingering effects.

As the distance between the boat and the floating ball grew, Mao Qiping’s voice became more and more faint.

“They may forget, but I remember it all… Night after night, never-ending…”

That was the last thing they heard from Mao Qiping.

After that, the floating ball, the man, and that almost imperceptible sigh, all faded into the vast sea fog.

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