Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 59: Rain and Smoke

Luo Duan wandered around the celebration venue, but with the thousands of laborers coming from the settlement, finding Shu Jun seemed like an impossible task.

Yi Ning set up his camp near the settlement residents, and the podium was well constructed. Although the guards were close by, he still interacted warmly with the residents coming and going.

Luo Duan watched coldly as his feet stepped on the plastic lawn.

A few days ago, Luo Duan was still the gentle captain of Groundwater. Things had changed on the side of the Blackbirds—perhaps Hu Yan wasn’t used to being the captain, and the actions of the Blackbirds were more restrained and steadier, lacking the vigorous momentum of the Shu Jun era. However, their abilities were as different as night and day, which suited the situation.

With the ventilation from the Erosion Swamp, Luo Duan was quite informed about Shu Jun’s situation. Unlike himself, Shu Jun had an extremely high adaptability to the Erosion Swamp. He could only bear a small amount of the Erosion Swamp and couldn’t fully merge with it. But Shu Jun directly fused with that enormous entity.

The last time they met, Shu Jun had someone else by his side. With the ability of the Blackbirds captain, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to recruit companions from the settlement. Shu Jun must have gathered some people, and his influence was strong enough to get him into the command center. Of course, Shu Jun naturally couldn’t make contact with powers from the three major families. It was highly likely that he had joined forces with the grassroots Old Fourth.

Shu Jun was going to be a revolutionary seeking a decisive counterattack.

As always, Mr. Shu had a heroic script. Unfortunately, this time, they weren’t standing on a fair battlefield—protecting was much harder than destroying; a hundred times harder.

He had been living peacefully here for a few days, surrounded by players. Shu Jun probably wouldn’t dare to forcibly escalate the situation. Luo Duan was curious to see how the former captain of the Blackbirds would dismantle his opponents when he officially took action.

Fortunately, the answer was right in front of him.

On the fifth evening of the Reunion Festival, the voting had ended, and the identity of the elected candidate would be announced the next day.

The people from the settlement had already set up various tents and stalls around the square, selling food, drinks, and various rare items dug out from the erosion zone. Yi Ning hadn’t left yet, and his tent was particularly easy to spot, spacious, and brightly lit.

In the magnificent square, the bonfires sent sparks into the sky, and various colorful lights of different shapes flickered and spun. Players were laughing, singing, and even setting up small stalls, exchanging goods with each other. Luo Duan even saw Dr. Ai from the Ai’s Clinic nearby. Dr. Ai had a small cart and was promoting homemade herbal remedies to the players. Xia Liang stood on the stage near the bonfire, singing relaxing and cheerful songs.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, the consumption of alcohol and fights were strictly prohibited. Although the rules had been established, there were still plainclothes guards moving through the crowd, silently extinguishing any potential conflicts. In just seven days, this place was even safer than the command center in Y City.

Everyone was singing and laughing, creating such a harmonious atmosphere.

Unfortunately, Luo Duan was frozen beneath the ice lake while the gentle breeze blew outside the ice layer. He tightened his cloak and left the center of the celebration.

The Marshals’ speeches went smoothly, and the players’ activities didn’t encounter any hiccups. The dust settled reluctantly, and everyone had to wait until the results were announced before engaging in any scheming. This was the most relaxing day of the celebration, the most leisurely period of time.

Until a scream echoed through the square.

Several figures hung in the air; their faces concealed within their cloaks. The concentration of the erosion substance suddenly increased, and the alarm of the purifiers blared, assaulting people’s eardrums.

The leader of the group seemed to have a voice amplifier, as his voice was deliberately distorted, reaching every corner of the square.

“Good evening,” he said in a hoarse voice. “All players, please stop what you’re doing and listen to what I have to say.”

The nearby stationed guards reacted promptly, firing their guns at the figures, attempting to bring them down. Bullets clearly passed through their bodies, but no one fell from the sky.

Then, a touch of icy laughter permeated the voice. “I am also one of you, and I have some bad news to share.”

“What is this, a surprise event for the festival?”

“The content sounds interesting, but I don’t recall this being part of it…”

“Interesting, they’ve created such a realistic environment. Is the one up there the new boss? It’s a good change of pace from fighting ordinary Erosion Swamps—I was getting tired of it…”

The players exchanged their thoughts excitedly, indeed stopping their actions, but the relaxed atmosphere didn’t dissipate.

However, in the next moment, the ease was shattered by bloodshed. The person in the air threw a short spear-like object, which precisely pierced through the chest of a young man.

He was a member of Groundwater, a devoted admirer of Captain Luo Duan. Those familiar with Groundwater had some impression of him.

The young man knelt on the square, clutching the short spear in his hands, his eyes filled with shock. He opened his mouth but only coughed up a mouthful of blood.

“It hurts… Captain… Where is the captain?” He murmured in confusion.

This was supposed to be an absolute safe zone. Every combat player knew that attacking other players carried severe penalties. In <Erosion>, wounds couldn’t be immediately healed and could potentially affect combat in matches. Although there were occasional conflicts among players, they usually stayed at the level of normal punches and kicks.

Not to mention on a day like this, during such a joyous occasion.

For a moment, nobody moved, and nobody spoke. Even the medical personnel around the square were slow to react.

“Remember this impact,” the person said again after a long pause. “This world is the real world. That perfect society is nothing more than an illusion, a tool to enslave all of you.”

It felt as if the entire world had exploded into a cloud of dust.

The medical personnel couldn’t locate the injured person before, but now players were sprawled all over the place. The young man kneeling on the field became exceptionally conspicuous. Dark red blood had pooled around him, staining the plastic lawn.

The young man was already dead. The spear had pierced him diagonally, penetrating his heart.

The surrounding players held their heads, groaning in pain. The cheerful music continued playing, but the colorful lights now appeared especially terrifying. The actions of the guards didn’t stop, but those people seemed to have no bodies, completely impervious to any gunfire. The military in Y City had prepared for the invasion of the Erosion Swamps, the existence of assassins, and the possibility of flying monsters, but they had never considered guarding against players with supernatural abilities.

They were weapons, and weapons never rebelled. These concepts had been written in their textbooks since the first day of enrollment.

For the past two hundred years, nothing like this had ever happened. The guards could only helplessly deplete their ammunition while continuing to bombard the ghosts in the sky.

The warnings had already been sent out, and once the main forces arrived, things would surely return to normal. Since they were so close to Y City, the people above would definitely not ignore the situation.

However, the residents of the settlement didn’t possess the same psychological resilience. As soon as the players fell, chaos erupted among them. Some took their time to pack up their tents, while others hastily grabbed valuable items and ran, abandoning their merchandise.

“Calm down!” Yi Ning shouted.

The handsome Marshal was surrounded by a crowd, standing on the podium. He also turned on his voice amplifier, but his target was the panicked settlement residents.

“Evacuate the square and assemble behind my tent!” His voice was confident and resolute. “You don’t have weapons, and running around will only make you more vulnerable. There is an anti-air net behind my tent—hurry!”

He dispatched a group of guards, fired a few signal flares, and gradually calmed down the previously chaotic settlement residents, who obediently moved away.

‘It’s useless,’ Luo Duan thought.

As the center of chaos, Luo Duan remained remarkably calm—so calm to the point of numbness.

The following events were straightforward. Y City would send more guards, and until they confirmed his identity, the settlement residents wouldn’t be able to escape. Then, his “reinforcements” would arrive.

At that time, he wouldn’t immediately kill his fellow compatriots. Instead, he would first kill most of the people present, followed by taking all the players and bringing them deep into the erosion zone, where humans couldn’t reach.

Unable to “log out” and with no supplies available. After learning the truth, those with resolve would decide to resist on the spot, while the indecisive ones would have no other choice.

He wouldn’t leave a single person behind, and even Shu Jun wouldn’t be able to save them.

The timing was about right. Crossing the encirclement formed by the purifiers, Luo Duan hovered directly above the square, gazing at the gradually awakening players below before waving his hand.

A black torrential rain poured from the sky.

Before coming here, he had accumulated enough erosion substance within his body—breaking them down into extremely tiny particles, enough to infect thirty thousand people. His Erosion Swamp was already skilled at crushing and combining, and controlling erosion substance was its specialty. They would rapidly destroy the brain chips implanted in the players and shatter any possibility of a mental shock.

The violent surgery of thirty thousand people officially began now.

“You all had a brief moment of amnesia just now. But I guess the emotional impact won’t disappear.”

Luo Duan halted the black rain, and his compatriots broke free from the first chains. Now they could truly hear his words.

“I’ll say it again. The world of <Erosion> is the real world, and we have all been thoroughly exploited. I—”

However, before he could finish his sentence, a sudden change occurred.

The stage where Xia Liang was performing suddenly erupted in a burst of fireworks, seemingly triggered accidentally by someone. Strangely, the fireworks themselves were exceptionally crude, but the smoke generated was overwhelming. The white smoke dispersed throughout the area, perfectly covering the entire venue. Players inhaled a considerable amount of it, causing coughing to echo around.

It was like it was planned in advance.

Soon after, Y City’s defense mechanisms also activated. However, the first to arrive weren’t the guards, but aircraft spraying purification smoke.

… Someone must have adjusted the defense level from B to A. Level A defense was meant for erosion storms, and preliminary purification was a standard requirement. Although the effectiveness of this purification smoke wasn’t particularly strong, it excelled at obscuring vision—a bright green mist spread, completely obscuring the entire sky.

Crackling sounds emanated from the smoke, followed by a loud voice joining the chaotic stage.

“The impromptu team mission has officially begun. Everyone, don’t panic, the previous effects were all part of the show!”

Hu Yan’s voice sounded calm. “Now, please board my Light Shell ship, and I will take you to the next mission site. I apologize, but I received a notification that the mission system has encountered some issues, so I’ll have to broadcast the information manually.”

The guards were momentarily unsure how to react—Hu Yan’s words seemed like an attempt to placate them, undoubtedly a direct order from Y City.

With the sky shrouded in smoke, they put down their weapons and began assisting the players in boarding the ship. With the help of the NPCs and the Blackbirds captain’s guidance, the players, dazed and confused, formed a line and obediently followed instructions.

‘…It’s Shu Jun’s doing, but it doesn’t matter,’ Luo Duan thought.

Perhaps Shu Jun had encountered some fortuitous event and united with many skilled individuals. However, Luo Duan had an even more powerful ally—

It wasn’t the Erosion Swamp King in the distance, but his helper right here, in front of his eyes.

Having spent several days in the command center, he had studied the information on every high-ranking member. He was well aware of their modus operandi.

Y City, command center.

“Zhu—Zhu Lao, I just received a report that a super-sized Erosion Swamp suddenly appeared at the edge outpost. It’s rapidly advancing towards us, almost as if… as if it has consciousness.” Xia Yufeng’s voice trembled slightly. “There’s also trouble at the Reunion Festival. A team of ‘synthetic humans’ has ‘awakened’ in rebellion, but their identities are unknown. For some reason, they seem to be able to counter the mental shock…”

“Hmm.” Zhu Sheng closed his eyes and responded emotionlessly.

“Seal off the relevant areas, and no one is allowed in or out.” He tapped his cane on the ground and fell silent for a moment. “Convert all surrounding outposts into defensive mode and cease purification operations. While these synthetic humans haven’t fully awakened, we must destroy them all.”

“But, what about their supernatural abilities…”

“It doesn’t matter. They have weaker constitutions. Even if we can’t kill them all, we can delay them. As long as those people from the settlements die inside, the settlement residents will naturally step up for revenge and help weaken the synthetic humans for us.”

“But…”

“The survival of the majority is paramount,” Zhu Sheng said. “Eliminating this group is for the best. Coincidentally, the research department has made progress, and once the new type of synthetic ‘humans’ is ready, purification operations can continue.”

Xia Yufeng took a sharp breath in response.

After cutting off the communication, Zhu Sheng continued to gaze at the disappearing spot on the screen.

“…Humans will no longer resemble humans, and we’ll have fewer troublesome matters.”

The elderly man sighed wearily.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 58: Reunion Festival

The air was filled with a sweet and greasy smell of cream.

Marshal Zhu enjoyed his cream bread while listening to Shu Jun passionately recount his encounter with Sigma. Although it was an extremely dangerous venture, it somehow turned into a trip to the zoo in Shu Jun’s storytelling.

Shu Jun appeared relaxed, but Zhu Yanchen couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat. Once engulfed by negative emotions, even the calmest person could act impulsively. If Shu Jun’s willpower was weaker, Sigma’s success would only be a matter of time.

He mechanically chewed on the cream bread, staring directly at Shu Jun. His tongue could hardly taste the sweetness.

As if pierced by his gaze, Shu Jun raised an eyebrow and took a half step forward. Before Zhu Yanchen could react, Shu Jun’s thumb wiped the corner of his mouth, removing a trace of cream.

Shu Jun glanced at the milky smear on his thumb, his expression somewhat conflicted. His thumb instinctively approached his lips, wanting to lick off the precious food. In the next moment, his movement stiffened, and he slowly lowered his arm.

“At least we can be sure of one thing.” Shu Jun cleared his throat a few times and wiped his hands with a towel. “There is still some good news in this trip, Sigma…”

“Sigma’s ability cannot be ‘produced’, only ‘transferred’.” Zhu Yanchen touched his mouth corner and suppressed a smile. “Is that what you wanted to say?”

“Mhm.” Shu Jun sat down on the sofa armrest, appearing attentive.

“According to your intelligence, Sigma’s ‘brain’ is essentially an aggregate—separating a portion of the brain and implanting it into a non-sentient Erosion Swamp, thus creating an Erosion Swamp with a brain. If this theory is correct, it can explain a lot of questions.” Zhu Yanchen tapped on the table. “And I suspect that gathering so many brains together also relies on the ‘binding’ ability of a certain brain.”

Shu Jun hummed in agreement, not needing further explanation from Zhu Yanchen. He had also pondered similar questions after encountering several Erosion Swamps.

For example, they had never encountered an Erosion Swamp with the same abilities.

And for example, the swamps they encountered lacked composite abilities—the Mirror Erosion Swamp’s ‘Replication’, the command center Erosion Swamp’s ‘Crush’. If the two were combined, Sigma could gather more intelligence from the command center, but it didn’t do so.

“Hmm, Sigma’s brain is like a bunch of grapes, plucking one out when necessary… It feels kinda like that, right?”

“You could say that.”

Shu Jun clicked his tongue. No wonder something felt off—the abilities of those Erosion Swamps they encountered before were like tricks, deceiving humans to some extent, but almost harmless to other swamps. It seemed that with him as a nuisance, Sigma didn’t dare easily send him more “dishes”.

“I have another question.” Shu Jun took a bite of his bread and mumbled unclearly. “Since I gained the abilities of other swamps, does that mean their brains have fused with mine?”

“Strictly speaking, yes. But your ability is ‘Suppression’, and their minds are simple, unable to control your thoughts. From what it seems now, they have become a source of replenishment for your brain.”

Shu Jun choked on his bread. Suddenly, he felt like he was worse than Sigma—those Erosion Swamps that willingly came to him had all been used as a mental pick-me-up.

“Wait, according to what you’re saying, if Sigma tries to assimilate me,” Shu Jun pointed to his mouth, “Can I just… take that bunch of grapes and…?”

“So, it will definitely kill you first, and carefully handle your brain.” Zhu Yanchen’s tone turned cold.

“What if I charge straight at it?”

“The command center Erosion Swamp isn’t very formidable in size. It only stimulated you, and you’ve been having nightmares for so long. If you were to face Sigma itself, the accumulated resentment would drive you instantly insane.” Zhu Yanchen’s tone grew colder. “Don’t consider that as a solution.”

“Okay, okay, I won’t bring it up.” Seeing that Marshal Zhu was emitting a chill, Shu Jun quickly waved his hand. “I don’t really want to use the swamps for diving practice anyway. Let’s talk about the preparations for the Reunion Festival…”

Before dawn, Y City.

“Open up,” Xia Liang said.

She couldn’t express her frustration and didn’t dare drink too much at home, under the scrutiny of her elders. Wearing Dong Lao’s disguise, she couldn’t go to the bars outside either. After thinking it over, she had no choice but to knock on the door of the Ai’s Clinic in the middle of the night.

Seeing Dong Lao’s face at the door, Ai Xiaoxiao almost closed the door on the spot. Before she could react, Xia Liang shook the e-wallet in her hand. Ai Xiaoxiao struggled for a moment and opened the door.

“What do you want?” She had a dissatisfied expression.

“You have a bar here.” Xia Liang glanced at the miscellaneous counter in the clinic. “Bring me some food and drinks to go with the alcohol. I’m not in a good mood.”

“In this place, the price is double for ordinary people, and you’ll have to pay five times the market price. You should think about it.” Ai Xiaoxiao snorted. “This is a clinic, not a bar, and I won’t keep you company.”

“Ten times. You don’t have to keep me company. Just don’t be so unpleasant.” Xia Liang was annoyed. If it weren’t for the scarcity of alliance members at the same level, she wouldn’t have made this choice. Xia Yufeng barely qualified, but unfortunately, he perfectly inherited the pettiness of the Xia family, unable to make any significant progress.

Ai Xiaoxiao stood up gracefully. “What do you want to drink?”

“Anything, preferably something strong.”

After a while, Ai Xiaoxiao brought two bottles of cheap white wine and a plate of salted edamame. Perhaps fearing that Xia Liang, an “old man”, would get drunk, she also brought a kettle of warm water and began pouring it in front of Xia Liang.

It seemed this person wasn’t completely bad to the core. Xia Liang sighed.

“Don’t drink anything too strong,” Ai Xiaoxiao said seriously. “But even with the water, you still have to pay the original price.”

Xia Liang: “…” She retracted her thoughts.

“Alright, spill it. What’s the matter with that one surnamed Zhu?” Ai Xiaoxiao finished pouring the water and pushed the cup forward. “Running to my place in the middle of the night, I can’t think of any other reason.”

“It’s nothing major,” Xia Liang sipped her drink and responded lightly. “I just suddenly felt like it’s all so boring.”

Ai Xiaoxiao furrowed her brow.

“Haha, don’t want to hear it? I know what you’re thinking.” Xia Liang chuckled. “After all, you, Zhu Yanchen, and Shu Jun are all on the same path—what are you doing? You’re revolutionaries. And me? I’m just playing games.”

“You’re certainly young at heart and full of vitality,” Ai Xiaoxiao scoffed.

“Wow, so impressive. Either fighting for justice or for your fellow humans. Even someone like you, a commoner, has saved a bunch of synthetic humans underground. And… they’re the kind that can’t be cured—just hanging on to their lives, tsk tsk.” Xia Liang finished her drink in one gulp. “And what about the great saint, Dr. Ai?”

Ai Xiaoxiao squinted her eyes and remained silent.

“Impressive,” Xia Liang repeated. “Truly impressive.”

“Did you come here just to annoy me?”

“How could I?” Xia Liang smiled. “I was just thinking, to carry out such a big plan… impressive motives, impressive abilities, you should have at least one of them, right? I thought I was someone important, but in the end, I’m just a half-hearted person. You say I can’t find satisfaction and don’t have lofty goals, so what am I aiming for?”

After saying that, Xia Liang swirled her cup and shook her head. “It’s boring.”

“…You think too much.” Ai Xiaoxiao squeezed out the words through her teeth.

Xia Liang looked at Ai Xiaoxiao with anticipation, hoping that Dr. Ai would get angry. If the two of them had a heated argument, this matter would be over. After all, it wasn’t a big deal to begin with—she was just overthinking things herself.

“I think we’re all like-minded.” Ai Xiaoxiao poured herself a glass. “You can spare me your ‘impressive’ rhetoric.”

Xia Liang raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know Shu Jun well, but from what I know, he’s not parading himself as a liberator of synthetic humans. He’s only concerned about his group of teammates—saving family and friends, it’s only natural.”

“As for me, it’s easier to explain. I owe synthetic humans a favor, and I’m not a beast. Besides, in this world, even if you earn more, you can’t find any meaning in it. Helping people here and there helps improve my sleep quality a bit.”

Ai Xiaoxiao absentmindedly squeezed the edamame, not even looking up.

“As for Zhu Yanchen, do you really think he was born a saint? Come on, in a place like the command center, it’s hard enough to find a normal person. If he didn’t have some personal desires, how could he have acted on his own from such a young age… Erosion Swamp research is a deadly business.”

“In short, everyone just wants to feel better. It’s not as complicated as you think. You can’t even see through this simple matter, with your age…?”

Dr. Ai smirked, glanced at Xia Liang’s wallet, and stopped herself in time. Xia Liang quietly turned her body, dodging a flying bean.

“Naïve.” Ai Xiaoxiao licked her fingertips and chose a more subtle wording.

Xia Liang stared at her.

“You’re actually still thinking about personal value. I want to applaud you.” Ai Xiaoxiao took a sip of her drink, and her face contorted. “Look at our Great Marshal Zhu—besides righteousness, he’s all about romance and frivolity. Young men, tsk tsk.”

“Romance… with Shu Jun?” Xia Liang sensibly caught onto the key word.

Ai Xiaoxiao slowly turned her face, and their gazes shifted from confusion to probing and then to deep contemplation.

“So, you know too?” Drunk with alcohol, Dr. Ai spoke slowly.

“I’m afraid it’s not just Zhu Yanchen’s wishful thinking.” Xia Liang nodded slowly. “Those two idiots are as guarded against outsiders as they are against thieves. They’re just a step away from spinning in circles back-to-back.”

Afterwards, for the first time, Xia Liang saw something resembling revolutionary friendship on Ai Xiaoxiao’s face.

Xia Liang didn’t know how the topic had veered off, and the conversation between the two took a strange direction. Later on, fueled by alcohol, they began cursing each other—Xia Liang cursing the Xia family without naming names, while Ai Xiaoxiao ranted about the researchers at the command center from head to toe. They didn’t quite understand what the other was saying, but at least they both felt relieved after the venting.

Ai Xiaoxiao had a lower alcohol tolerance than Xia Liang, and soon her face turned red. Unfortunately, even when drunk, Dr. Ai didn’t forget to charge Xia Liang ten times the price for the drinks. The latter let out a sigh and couldn’t be bothered to care about it.

Sometimes it was refreshing to curse things out. Even if she couldn’t understand, as long as she wasn’t the one being cursed, listening to Ai Xiaoxiao’s rants was quite stress-relieving—considering that the Xia family members were all running their own businesses everywhere, appearing and disappearing like dragons, this Fourth Squadron captain had been holding back for a long time.

After Xia Liang paid the money and left, the cool night breeze seeped into her clothes, cooling the sweat on her body. With the alcohol and adrenaline rushing through her, her troubles, though not completely gone, became less suffocating.

‘Oh well,’ Xia Liang thought. ‘Let’s just make do for now and go with the flow.’ This game wasn’t as boring as she thought, and Dr. Ai wasn’t as annoying as she imagined. No one knew what the future would hold, and there might be some unexpected turns of events.

Or perhaps, as Ai Xiaoxiao said—Sigma was stronger than anyone imagined, and it would come directly and kill everyone. Everyone’s efforts would be in vain, merely building sandcastles against a tsunami.

She took a deep breath, and that sense of pride climbed up her spine once again. The Reunion Festival was approaching, and the singer Xia Liang had plenty of things to prepare for.

On that night, at the command center.

Since merging with that tiny Erosion Swamp, Luo Duan gradually gave up sleep. To cope with the doctor’s rounds, he would occasionally pretend to be asleep in bed—covering his face with a blanket, eyes wide open.

His own physical condition wasn’t right, and Luo Duan could sense it. He hadn’t completely fused with the Erosion Swamp; his body was slowly deteriorating at an extremely slow pace. He was like a snowman from winter, slowly melting away in the spring.

The Erosion Swamp in his body avoided discussing this matter. But as an experienced soldier, Luo Duan was well aware of it. Shu Jun could survive by coexisting with the Erosion Swamp, but he couldn’t.

It seemed that his luck was always a bit worse.

However, there were advantages to the fusion. He didn’t get tired due to lack of sleep. His brain felt as though it had melted, listening to the Erosion Swamp babbling in his ears, and occasionally he would catch a glimpse of his lover’s figure. But upon closer inspection, it was just a bookshelf, a clothes rack, or curtains swaying in the wind.

Yet he enjoyed this illusion and cherished this madness.

Recently, the Erosion Swamp in his body urged him to leave the command center and gather updated information from the outside world. But Luo Duan continued reading, refusing to comply.

“My goal is here.” Having had enough of his lover’s whispers, he began to explain his intentions. “Opportunities come only once, and I must seize it.”

The small Erosion Swamp made an effort to convey its confusion.

“Instead of ordering me, you should try to persuade Shu Jun more.” Luo Duan looked out the window, where Yi Ning was standing downstairs for some fresh air. He lowered his gaze, and their eyes met. Luo Duan smiled and waved to greet him. “For you guys, he has more talent than I do… Does he also have those dreams? Despair-filled dreams?”

“He does,” the Erosion Swamp said truthfully.

Luo Duan withdrew his gaze and continued reading. “That’s enough.”

“I… don’t understand.”

“As long as it involves human hearts, there will always be limits,” Luo Duan said softly. “I have an idea… When we leave this place, you must help me convey it.”

“Okay.”

Another week passed, and the Reunion Festival was about to begin.

The Reunion Festival would last for seven days, and thirty thousand players would gather at the celebration venue near Y City. The erosion in the vicinity of Y City was more severe than in the city itself, so most of the residents wouldn’t travel. However, the people living in the settlements would come to the vicinity of the celebration venue to do business.

While the players reveled, important NPCs would give their final speeches about the election. On the sixth day of the Reunion Festival, once the vote count was completed, a new leader would emerge. The seventh day would be considered a celebration day for the winning faction. After another month, when the transition of power from the previous leader Zhu Sheng was completed, the new leader would officially assume control of the United Government.

A massive stage was erected on the previously barren land, covered in artificial flowers and plastic grass, hiding the muddy ground. Vivid projections were everywhere, with intense lighting that almost dispersed the clouds.

Luo Duan joined Yi Ning’s convoy.

“How did you know I was going to the celebration site?” When he intercepted Yi Ning in the corridor, he was almost pinned to the ground by Yi Ning’s guards. Yi Ning didn’t question his actions, but his expression remained cautious.

Even though players were “controllable”, the powerful figures wouldn’t recklessly venture into the crowd of players. Generally, they would give speeches in the city, broadcasted through screens to various locations.

“I know you’re not fixated on winning; you just want to push Zhu Sheng to do better.” Luo Duan smiled. “And you care about the people in the settlements, don’t you? At this time, they are all gathered at the Reunion Festival. They hide in their shells while putting up a facade for the public. It’s obvious which side will benefit more.”

He patted Yi Ning’s shoulder with one hand. “Anyway, I’m going back to my team, and I’ll have to wait for a specialized person to pick me up later. I want to see my teammates as soon as possible, so why not follow your convoy? If you’re not comfortable with it, then forget it.”

Yi Ning closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

“Alright, come with me,” he said. “I have a few questions to discuss with you as well.”

Luo Duan’s smile deepened. “Okay.”

On the way, the guards’ gazes were as piercing as thorns, but Luo Duan paid no attention. The purifier in the car made him quite uncomfortable, but he maintained a perfect smile and engaged in patient conversation throughout the journey.

He had cast a net for a long time, but it wasn’t time to reel it in yet.

“Captain!”

“Captain Luo!”

When they arrived at their destination, Luo Duan was nearly overwhelmed by the Groundwater team members.

“Haven’t seen you around lately. Did you go on a solo mission?”

“Don’t be disheartened, Captain. Although the Blackbirds won the match, we’ll win next time, right guys?”

“Right!” The team members pushed and shoved each other with laughter.

Luo Duan hugged the closest young team member and gently patted his back without saying a word.

“The Blackbirds are over there, Captain. Look—there’s their new captain, Hu Yan. He’s been wearing a bitter melon face recently. They must be afraid without Shu Jun.”

“That’s right. This Reunion Festival, we must take first place in the activities… Captain, your eyes?!”

Luo Duan felt his left eye moistening and absentmindedly touched it, feeling the sticky blood.

“I got a minor injury on the way here.” Luo Duan wiped it away casually, speaking in his usual gentle tone. “Go and have fun. During lunch, I’ll discuss the action plan for the activities.”

“Are you okay?” the young team member asked worriedly.

“I’m fine. I’ll go check on it at the medical tent.” Luo Duan smiled at him.

Luo Duan remembered this young man. He admired him a lot and had been shouting about joining Groundwater back in school. Luo Duan remembered his face, their conversations, and his way of doing things.

But he couldn’t remember the name of this team member. Whether it was due to brain damage or the gradual dominance of the Erosion Swamp over his thoughts, countless things merged into a blurry mess. He tried to grasp them but couldn’t hold on to anything.

The dazzling scene in front of him twisted and melted. Luo Duan stood still for a few seconds before taking another step. Laughter and noise from Groundwater echoed from behind, like arrows piercing through his back.

In the end, he couldn’t turn back.

“Are you ready?” he asked the dormant Erosion Swamp beneath his uniform.

“Everything that needs to be conveyed externally has been conveyed.” The voice of his loved one entered his ears.

“Perhaps I should ask myself… Am I really ready?” Luo Duan opened his hands, and another drop of blood fell onto his left palm, slowly spreading on the white fabric.

Then he shook his head, removed the blood-stained gloves, and gently threw them into the trash bin.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 57: Happy Birthday

Xia Liang was in a terrible mood.

She slumped in her office chair, wearing the disguise of Dong Lao, staring blankly at the topographic map in front of her.

Shortly after being exposed by Shu Jun, she returned to Y City. The preparations for the Reunion Festival were a top priority, and her touring performances were suspended. As “Dong Lao”, she naturally had more time for her work. Although living this double life was tiring, it brought her a subtle sense of satisfaction.

She didn’t enjoy singing, but she excelled at it. However, she was determined to learn tactics and achieve impressive results.

She wasn’t a puppet manipulated by the Xia family. She was more outstanding than anyone else and manipulated everyone around her. Even if she couldn’t compare to Zhu Yanchen’s obsession, she could still be proud. The sense of achievement was addictive.

But Shu Jun easily burst this soap bubble.

He casually exposed her disguise as if it were a trivial matter. In that moment of exposure, anger surged through her, accompanied by a slight sense of fear and embarrassment.

Now she couldn’t feel any sense of accomplishment and instead felt like a clown. In the eyes of those who knew the truth, was all this fuss just a self-indulgent game?

The sweetness was gone, and the bitterness became even more bitter. The whole game started to become boring. Xia Liang stood up in frustration and began walking towards Zhu Yanchen’s office. Today, Zhu Yanchen was returning to the settlement, and she needed to submit her reports from the past few days.

When she reached the door, the guard politely stopped her. “Dong Lao, Marshal Zhu is currently on a conference call.”

“Okay.” She squeezed her voice, and the fun of “playing a role” gradually faded. “Then I’ll come back later.”

In Zhu Yanchen’s office, the holographic screen hung in the center of the room.

On the other side of the screen, Zhu Sheng sat upright on a wooden chair, leisurely sipping tea. “How are the preparations for the Reunion Festival going?”

“I’ve reviewed the latest planning proposals, and the resources and manpower are in place. The Old Fourth has been relatively quiet, and with the sweetness of the Reunion Festival itself, they won’t retaliate too strongly,” Zhu Yanchen responded indifferently. “The key is the Tang Family. The Tang Family is a major business family, and although the Reunion Festival plan is designed by us, it’s actually their home ground. They will definitely use this opportunity to support Yi Ning.”

“You’ve made great progress and are becoming more and more like him.” Zhu Sheng casually commented. “‘Zhu Yanchen has returned, so there’s no need to go through the process again. After the Reunion Festival, major voting will begin. Yi Ning is leading in the polls based on his support for increased production of synthetic humans. You just need to come up with a more suitable plan… I’ve already prepared the speech. Memorize it by today.”

“Understood.”

“Also, I heard something interesting.” Zhu Sheng took a sip of tea. “Did you tamper with the city defense in Y City?”

“It’s just a precaution since all the players are gathering. The Blackbirds provided an abnormal report about an Erosion Swamp near X City. Although the city defense will be raised to Level B during the festival, I believe Level A would be more appropriate.”

“Level A defense is for erosion storms. Teaching you to be Zhu Yanchen doesn’t mean teaching you his excessive caution. Well, the order has already been given, and it would be inappropriate to withdraw it. It would only give people something to talk about… There will be no next time.”

Zhu Yanchen’s response was devoid of emotion. “Understood.”

……

“I suspect you don’t want to memorize the speech,” Xia Yufeng complained unhappily after the meeting. “You show up when there’s work to be done, and then you want to leave.”

Zhu Yanchen ignored him.

“I really don’t understand you.” Xia Yufeng sighed after browsing the speech for a while. “Marshal, Zhu Lao wrote this with great detail.”

“…”

“The Tang Family is just a business family with a narrow-minded vision. They’re only interested in promoting Yi Ning’s private ownership of synthetic humans. Zhu Lao intends to create real ‘life players’ who will obey the United Government… Look at this, it even includes a new research report that claims to change the appearance of synthetic humans to prevent human empathy. Yi Ning doesn’t have these means, so the future looks bright.”

Xia Yufeng looked regretful, as if he wished he were the real Zhu Yanchen. Zhu Sheng had prepared a spoonful of food and was trying to feed him, but he refused to eat.

“After spending these years on the outskirts, is this still your mindset?” Unable to bear Xia Yufeng’s nagging, Zhu Yanchen finally spoke up.

“Well, what else can I think? It’s an unavoidable situation. In such a big environment, someone has to make sacrifices. It’s not the humans who are being sacrificed, so it’s not bad—”

“Somebody once told me,” Zhu Yanchen continued, flipping through the detailed plan for the Reunion Festival, “that if something is built on deception and exploitation, there must be hidden dangers behind it.”

“But it’s been two hundred years, and nothing has happened.” Xia Yufeng muttered quietly, feeling frustrated. “It’s already this late. As long as nothing happens while we’re alive, what’s the point of pretending to be a saint?”

There was another knock on the door, and Xia Yufeng quickly retreated into the lounge, swallowing his words.

Xia Liang, disguised as Dong Lao, entered the room and wore a stern expression. “I’m here to discuss the verification of the protection plan. I’ve prepared three different arrangements regarding you and Shu Jun.”

“Okay.” Zhu Yanchen turned on the holographic screen and absentmindedly unfolded the information from Ai Xiaoxiao, filling the screen with a blur of compound names.

“There’s something you might not like to hear, but I have to say it.” Xia Liang crossed her arms, her face still long. “Don’t underestimate Shu Jun. He may seem harmless when he’s with you, but he’s a different person the rest of the time.”

“Mm.” Marshal Zhu not only showed no vigilance but also seemed inexplicably happy.

“I used to think of him as a weapon, controlled by others. But now it seems that he’s just as scheming as you, if not more so. At least I have to admit that I might not be on par with him.”

“Did he figure out who you are?” Zhu Yanchen asked while looking at the plan.

“…”

“Did he blackmail you?”

“Yes.”

“Oh,” Zhu Yanchen said.

“Oh?” Xia Liang couldn’t help but raise her voice. “That’s it?”

“I trust him. At first, it didn’t matter, but now that he knows the big picture—if Shu Jun really wanted to hide, with his abilities, he wouldn’t let us detect a thing.”

“…” Xia Liang felt a bit stifled. Are these two guys reading the same script? Zhu Yanchen’s style of suspicion was like a paranoid delusion. What happened to all his pessimistic angles?

“I’ll figure out this matter tonight,” Zhu Yanchen said, seeing Xia Liang’s increasingly bad mood. “Is there anything else to report?”

“…Nothing.” Xia Liang sighed in resignation. “Take a look at the plan quickly. I want to go for a drink tonight. Don’t contact me.”

“Alright.”

At midnight, Zhu Yanchen skillfully modified the surveillance and left the command center. By the time he reached the settlement, it was almost dawn. Zhu Yanchen paused his steps at the morning market, hesitated for a moment, and casually bought two canned drinks.

Yesterday was his birthday.

He hadn’t celebrated in many years, and he hadn’t even thought about it for a long time. Yesterday, during the video call with Zhu Sheng, the timestamp on the screen reminded him. When they were children, Shu Jun would celebrate his birthday with great seriousness. He would even make two silly pointed hats and tie gaudy bows on the gifts.

With this person returning to his side, certain parts of his heart gradually became aware, prompting him to do some trivial things.

As soon as Zhu Yanchen entered the inn, Uncle Pan stood up abruptly and shouted, “Gray Claw, Smoke is back!”

There was a sound of running footsteps in the corridor, and Shu Jun almost appeared in front of Zhu Yanchen, holding a strip of black cloth aggressively in his hand.

Zhu Yanchen: “???”

“Oh, I’ve been waiting for you. Come, let me tie it on.” Shu Jun’s eyes sparkled, and he lowered his voice mysteriously. “I have something important to tell you.”

Before Zhu Yanchen could react, Shu Jun tied the cloth over his face and pulled him along. His sharp nails almost scratched Zhu Yanchen’s coat.

With an excited look on his face, Shu Jun’s heart couldn’t help but beat faster.

The door opened with a creak.

Shu Jun rushed into the room and pressed Zhu Yanchen onto the sofa. Zhu Yanchen’s leg hit Monday, who was sitting on the side, eliciting a deep hiss from it.

Finally, it was the right time. Shu Jun cleared his throat seriously. He firmly held Zhu Yanchen’s shoulders with his claws.

“A’Yan, when you weren’t here, I thought about many things.” Shu Jun spoke with the sincerest tone he had ever used. “I also know that this behavior might affect the trust between us… But I have to do this, and I hope you can understand. With our situation, hiding things would only make it worse.”

Zhu Yanchen was pinned to the sofa by Shu Jun, motionless, and his shoulders gradually became stiff.

Shu Jun lifted his arms and began to remove Zhu Yanchen’s face mask. The two were extremely close, and despite Shu Jun being cautious, his shoulder almost brushed against Zhu Yanchen’s face.

Zhu Yanchen held his breath.

“Look!” Finally, Shu Jun swiftly removed the obstructing face mask, and the black cloth covering it also fell off.

The lighting in the room was a bit bright, and Zhu Yanchen slowly opened his eyes.

A wall filled with clues crashed into his sight, and two pictures stood out in the center—detailed topographic maps of an unknown area, accompanied by the distribution of the Erosion Swamps. The other was a sketch of a coastline, with a visually impactful monster depicted within.

Zhu Yanchen: “…”

Shu Jun: “…”

For a moment, the atmosphere became cold. Zhu Yanchen’s expression was quite tense, revealing a hint of confusion amidst the tension.

Shu Jun cleared his throat awkwardly, realizing that the other’s reaction was different from what he expected. “…Well, um, I went to meet Sigma and incidentally recorded its appearance. I also witnessed the process of the Erosion Swamp formation…”

Half a minute later, Zhu Yanchen murmured softly, “Let me take a look first. I’ll ask you about it later.”

Shu Jun thought he had been too bold in his actions, causing Zhu Yanchen to become wary. But after observing carefully, he noticed that Zhu Yanchen’s face didn’t show any signs of vigilance or distance, only a subtle hint of disappointment.

‘Forget it,’ Shu Jun thought. ‘This is the best strategic approach, and A’Yan will understand. He still has unfinished business to attend to.’

“Don’t look at it for now. Let’s eat breakfast first. I’ve prepared a meal.” Shu Jun pulled the cord beside the clue wall, and the hidden curtain instantly fell, almost covering Zhu Yanchen’s head.

Zhu Yanchen nodded and walked to the dining table as if he were sleepwalking, staring at the cups on the table with a serious expression.

“Why are you in such a hurry?” Shu Jun grumbled discontentedly. He opened the wardrobe and took out two items. Then he quickly approached Zhu Yanchen, placing one of them on his head.

It was only then that Zhu Yanchen emerged from his frozen state of tension, and he looked at the pointed hat made of paper that Shu Jun held in his hand. His expression gradually relaxed.

“Forget about the cake. I put in a lot of effort to get the cream.” Shu Jun took out a plate from the cupboard, placing a large loaf of bread on it. He roughly spread a layer of cream on top, and even crookedly inserted a candle. “Since you weren’t here yesterday, let’s celebrate a day later. The situation is tense now, so we’ll leave the gift for later, after the battle is over. Happy birthday, A’Yan.”

He placed the plate down and sat next to Zhu Yanchen.

Zhu Yanchen stared at the candle for a long time, his expression completely relaxed but his gaze becoming more complicated. He silently blew out the candle and carefully cut the cream-coated bread.

“Oh, you still close your eyes and make a wish.” Shu Jun propped his cheek up with one hand, grinning. “What did you wish for?”

Zhu Yanchen shook his head.

“…It won’t lose its effectiveness if you say it out loud. A’Yan, even though we were just kids back then, we’re almost thirty now—”

“The wish I made sixteen years ago, I can tell you now.”

“Huh?”

“I wished for you to live longer than me.” Zhu Yanchen reached out and gently patted Shu Jun’s head. “It seems like it has come true, so it goes to show that not saying it out loud worked.”

Shu Jun didn’t know what to say for a moment. He looked at Zhu Yanchen’s calm face, feeling a lump in his throat.

“Now let’s continue.” Zhu Yanchen picked up the sliced cream bread and stood up. “How did you deceive Sigma, and what did you see there? I want to hear the details.”

“…”.

“And also.”

Zhu Yanchen added softly, causing Shu Jun to instinctively shrink his neck.

“Thank you. The cake is really good.”

“That doesn’t count as a cake.”

“I know.”

The author has something to say:

Shu Ge is probably the type of person who gets excited and shows off his glow-in-the-dark watch by turning off the lights.

Marshal: I’ve taken note of this account.jpg

Kinky Thoughts:

Ah, Xia Yufeng is basically the folly of mankind in general. Most people tend not to care what will happen in the future if, by then, they are long dead.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 56: Negotiation

The ruins of the small town close to the settlement, deep underground.

During the day, the people from the settlement would come here to work, and the payment would be provided by the Old Fourth. At night, Shu Jun would guard this place, inspecting every aspect of the underground base and suppressing the surrounding erosion.

Zhu Yanchen wasn’t around, so he was alone, wandering in the darkness. It was late at night, and Monday would snore on his back.

After completing today’s inspection, Shu Jun couldn’t sleep, so he leaned against the end of the tunnel and stared blankly. The moist scent of soil filled his nostrils, and in the dim lighting, the ruins carried traces of their former pre-apocalyptic glory.

Supplies provided by the Old Fourth were piled up in the corner, and the flickering light bulbs cast a dim light on the wooden crates.

Previously, Zhu Sheng had ordered Xia Yufeng to put pressure on the Old Fourth. But with the real Zhu Yanchen in command, the Old Fourth naturally wouldn’t be affected by Xia Yufeng, the “imposter Marshal”. However, in order to firmly place Xia Yufeng as a chess piece, Zhu Yanchen still gave the order for the Old Fourth to “depress” temporarily.

During the supervisory process, Shu Jun came into contact with many people from the Old Fourth. After a while, he realized that the Old Fourth, as the local power, was much fatter than he had imagined—surrounding Y City were numerous settlements, big and small, all belonging to the Old Fourth’s territory. If things were peaceful, it would be fine, as the three major families focused on internal struggles. But once Y City became unstable, the Old Fourth would be the first to be warned.

He had joked with Zhu Yanchen before, wondering if this person distributed his time among so many things that he wouldn’t sleep at night. It wasn’t until now that Shu Jun realized that the joke might not just be a “joke”.

From devoting all his efforts to researching the Erosion Swamp and creating his own tactical chip, to cultivating an organization the size of the Old Fourth. Over the past decade, Zhu Yanchen had used his actions to weave a web, every stitch in place, with the player system itself lying at the center.

Shu Jun felt a heavy burden in his heart. Zhu Yanchen was as busy as a spinning top, while he himself leisurely passed the days.

Now that he had touched Zhu Yanchen’s web, he had to rely on it to protect the lives of his compatriots. Therefore, he should also give it his all to make it even more intricately woven, sturdy, and leakproof.

He closed his eyes, and a vague idea gradually took shape.

“Still awake?” A hoarse voice suddenly came.

Shu Jun glanced sideways, and Dong Lao emerged from the shadows. He was hunched over, and his eyes darted around. Shu Jun always felt a sense of familiarity with this person, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen him before.

“Just can’t fall asleep.” Shu Jun found a wooden crate and sat down, crossing his legs as he looked up and down at Dong Lao. “Why would an old man like you come here in the middle of the night?”

Just as he thought of something, someone appeared. The moment his thoughts encountered an obstacle, the solution presented itself.

“I need to see the state of this base with my own eyes in order to allocate manpower more effectively,” Dong Lao replied with a cheerful smile. “Since Smoke isn’t here, I have to maintain good communication with your side, just in case.”

“You’re working hard,” Shu Jun replied absentmindedly, his mind racing.

“You hate all humans except Smoke?” Seeing that Shu Jun’s state was off, Dong Lao continued with enthusiasm.

“It’s not like that.”

“In that case, this old man will stay a little longer. After all, Smoke asked me to look after you, and since I made the effort to come here, we need to go through the proper procedures.”

“Look after me?” Shu Jun asked with a smile. He released Monday from his back and placed it on his lap, absentmindedly stroking its spine. Monday let out a comfortable hum, adding a touch of liveliness to the dim underground space.

“What, do you think he sent me to monitor you?”

“No, I know he wouldn’t—I was just thinking that if you really want to go through this ‘looking after’ process, I have a basket full of questions that I would like you to take care of.”

Dong Lao picked up a piece of plastic cloth from the ground and sat down on the floor. “Go ahead, ask away. I’m bored anyway.”

“When did Zhu Yanchen’s plan start?”

“I joined late, but based on the layout and information, he probably started considering these things about sixteen years ago. In simple terms, he couldn’t handle it all by himself. I helped him with the tactical work inside, and as for the Old Fourth—well, they helped him lay out the information network outside.”

Dong Lao spoke slowly.

“But that guy is very cunning. He doesn’t completely hand over the tactical work to me, and he doesn’t completely hand over the research work to Ai Xiaoxiao either. He insists on sharing it equally. He guards against us openly… Only he knows the full details of his plans.”

“I see.” Shu Jun continued stroking the sword.

“Why do you want to inquire about all this? Are you moved?” Dong Lao teased.

“I just want to know more about this person.” Shu Jun paused his actions. “After all, I have my own plans.”

The folds on Dong Lao’s face trembled, and the smile on his face suddenly disappeared. He stared at Shu Jun warily as his breath slowed down.

“I can probably guess A’Yan’s thoughts. Before discovering Sigma, he was willing to risk his life to expose the fatal flaw of the player system to the world. As for now… he wants to obtain the position of leader and, considering the current situation, he wants to stop the player system in a legitimate manner.”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“The problem is that half of the troubles we face right now are beyond Grand Marshal Zhu’s plan.” Shu Jun smiled. “The lives of 30,000 players, Luo Duan, Sigma… He can’t handle so much at once, nor does he have the standing to arrange them. As for me, before finalizing my plan, I must understand his character to avoid unnecessary conflicts.”

“What do you intend to do?” Dong Lao asked with a hint of stiffness.

Shu Jun casually sat there, exuding a continuous sense of oppression. His aura was no less powerful than that of a real Erosion Swamp. “Why should I tell you?”

Dong Lao was at a loss for words.

Shu Jun glanced at him once again, and after a moment, he extended his hand. A mass of erosion was lifted by the wind and floated in his palm. “If we’re going to have a deeper conversation, it’s better for both sides to be open and honest. At the very least, we should reveal our true identities, right, Miss Xia?”

Underneath Dong Lao’s mask, Xia Liang’s face turned pale instantly. Zhu Yanchen had promised her that if she wanted to reveal her identity, she would need to seek consent first. Although she didn’t like Zhu Yanchen, she knew he was trustworthy.

Shu Jun had discovered her identity on his own.

“Mirror’s erosion.” Shu Jun explained when Xia Liang didn’t speak. “I tested it on you, and it couldn’t imitate your face properly, so you must be using some kind of disguise. Besides, in the Grand Theatre, Zhu Yanchen’s attitude towards you… Since he’s such a controlling person, he wouldn’t expose too much to unrelated individuals. It was just a guess on my part.”

“Can we give each other some face?” Xia Liang didn’t conceal her true voice anymore. “My identity doesn’t matter to you, does it?”

“Of course, it matters.” Shu Jun pointed out seriously. “It’s such a useful leverage.”

Xia Liang: “…” She was wrong, absolutely wrong. She shouldn’t have thought that this person had a pure heart. After all, they were all playing a tactical game, except she was playing mahjong against a thousand-year-old fox. Who would be more naïve?

“Ai Xiaoxiao needs to consider transferring the patients, so she won’t be able to come over for a while. I want you to help me conceal some things.”

“Have you ever thought that if you expose my identity at this critical moment…”

“Who said I would expose it now? I can wait until these matters are resolved before spreading any rumors.” Shu Jun smiled, squinting his eyes.

“…What exactly do you want?”

“There’s still some time before the Reunion Festival, and I may have to leave for a while. Help me fool A’Yan.”

“If he finds out—”

“I don’t plan to hide it from him. There’s no immediate danger to life, and I will tell him myself once it’s done,” Shu Jun said. “He already has enough things to deal with, like a heavily burdened cart. If I give him the plan now, it’s more of a disadvantage than an advantage.”

Xia Liang looked at him skeptically.

“What? Only he’s allowed to silently work hard for sixteen years, and I’m not allowed to find something to do for myself? Even ordinary couples need some personal space, let alone us… ahem.”

Xia Liang’s suspicious gaze became more intense.

“In the end, the Reunion Festival is coming soon. As you know, Luo Duan is likely to take action at that time. It concerns the lives of my compatriots, and there are things I need to clarify in advance.” Shu Jun jumped down from the wooden crate. “That’s how it is. You can handle it, ‘Dong Lao’. If I truly intended to hide it, I wouldn’t even tell you, but that would be too troublesome.”

In the end, Xia Liang didn’t object, and she only let out a cold snort.

During this period, Sigma hadn’t been absent from his dreams. However, Shu Jun either wandered around, reminiscing about his childhood, or sang loudly in his small apartment. Sigma had little room to act, and its presence gradually shifted from the doorway to the corner of the wall—eroding countless negative emotions. Yet, Shu Jun could still howl and sing <Sweet Summer Day>. Sigma truly had no means to use, and its emotions became increasingly dull.

However, today, Shu Jun’s situation seemed a bit weird.

The frustrated Sigma’s fragmented consciousness regained its spirit, and it commanded the blood vessels, approaching with hope.

“Humans truly cannot be trusted.” Shu Jun flopped onto the sofa and murmured. “Zhu Yanchen only cares about obtaining the position of leader and has never considered the fate of my 30,000 compatriots…”

The Sigma’s fragment became excited, and tears almost welled up in its eyes. “Yes, that’s it! You’ve finally realized.”

“I can’t see any hope. Right now, I only have Hu Yan at my disposal. Even if I add Zhu Yanchen, we won’t be able to defend against Luo Duan… With Sigma’s support, he can command an Alpha Erosion Swamp, can’t he? If I fight against Luo Duan, I will undoubtedly be exposed… the situation of the synthetic humans will also be exposed…”

“Yes,” the Sigma’s fragment expressed enthusiastically. “Unless Zhu Yanchen becomes leader, and you command your compatriots to fight side by side, only then can you establish an impregnable long-term defense line. But we all know that’s simply impossible.”

“Yeah, I can’t force my compatriots to protect humanity.” Those words truly came from the depths of Shu Jun’s heart. Then Shu Jun covered his face, concealing his true expression.

Sigma’s fragment was too joyful, to the point of casually giving out information—Luo Duan indeed had the ability to mobilize an Alpha Erosion Swamp.

“And everyone might be able to fuse with an Erosion Swamp, like me, and survive…” Shu Jun continued to tightly cover his face, appearing exhausted. He even clenched his throat, choking as if in genuine distress.

“Yes,” Sigma’s fragment drew closer, and the black-red blood vessels enveloped Shu Jun, almost encasing him in a cocoon of blood. Countless negative emotions surged forth, branding Shu Jun’s nerves. “Yes, that’s it.”

“You’re just a fragment,” he muttered. “I want to meet the real Sigma. I know what it wants, and I demand negotiations.”

Having said that, he let out a sigh.

“My mind hasn’t fully recovered yet. If Sigma absorbs me now, it will definitely be at a disadvantage. It’s better to lend us a few Alpha Erosion Swamps first, so we can settle matters with the humans, and then you can dispose of us… With my information and abilities, Sigma will undoubtedly be able to save my compatriots.”

“Yes,” it said, “when you’re ready, I can tell you the location of the main body.”

“Does it have to be this troublesome? If we’re close enough, can’t we have long-distance conversations or something?”

“I’m just an incomplete piece of information, surviving within your subconscious. Don’t even mention long-distance conversations—I can’t even discern things around me.” The humanoid figure spoke in a low voice, drawing even closer. “Unfortunately, you must see it in person.”

Great, it seems that the limitation of “requiring physical contact communication” applies to the main body as well.

Shu Jun continued to ramble on with his negative talk, while at the same time, Sigma’s fragment circled around him, like a dog circling a food bowl. It occasionally echoed and seduced him, trying to push him into the depths of chaos.

Unfortunately, Shu Jun was very clear-headed. All this talk of meetings and promises was nothing more than seeking personal gain at someone else’s expense. Sigma’s initial pursuit wasn’t perfect evolution but rather the disappearance of humans and synthetic humans.

‘How interesting,’ Shu Jun thought. If it weren’t for his trust in Zhu Yanchen, under the pressure of countless negative emotions, he might have almost convinced himself.

However, someone spent sixteen years for an unrealistic goal, staking their life to create a bloody path. Both publicly and privately, he had to become the person who could walk this bloody path.

A good performance required thorough preparation. To ensure everything was in place, Shu Jun waited for three days before taking action. If he made a careless mistake during the operation and even risked his life, it would be a big joke.

He acted with Sigma’s fragment for three days. On the fourth day, the prototype of the underground stronghold was completed. Using rest as an excuse, Shu Jun asked Yu Jin to take over his shift.

“I’m going to take a nap,” he said. “Don’t disturb me.”

Then he quietly flew into the sky.

Sigma’s fragment was also quite cunning. It didn’t immediately give Shu Jun the correct direction. Shu Jun flew for a whole day in the desolate erosion zone to ensure he had flown far enough before Sigma’s fragment informed him of the next location in his dream.

After completing the cycle of flying, sleeping, eating, and flying again, Shu Jun spent another two days wandering in the erosion zone. On the seventh day after departure, he finally arrived at the true location.

Shu Jun hovered in mid-air.

He had imagined what Sigma looked like—Shu Jun only knew that it was a collection of grievances and the compilation of Erosion Swamps with brains taking on a strange form. After pondering for a while, he gave up completely. Now it seemed that he had made the right decision.

Sigma was enormous, and apart from that, he hadn’t guessed anything correctly.

This stretch of coastline was near the mouth of the sea, and the ocean was pure darkness.

Shu Jun couldn’t see anything below the surface of the sea. Looking out, all he saw was a sea of ink-like water. Sigma only revealed a glimpse of its outline on the coastline, and even that glimpse was enough to make one feel uncomfortable—

Countless arms emerged from the sea, gripping the pale gray beach. The left and right arms were randomly arranged, perpendicular to the coastline. From a distance, the coastline looked like a bizarre piano keyboard.

Shu Jun felt a wave of nausea.

How many arms are there in total, several thousand? Tens of thousands? They were incredibly large, yet extremely withered, as if they were chopped off from giant corpses. The arms extended into the seawater, seamlessly merging with the pitch-black ocean.

The rivers flowing into the sea were also black, with thick erosion substance flowing within them. The quantity of the erosion substance was immense, capable of accumulating several Alpha Erosion Swamps in minutes. However, judging from the scattered flow of the erosion substance, there were no Erosion Swamp with brains among them.

‘Sigma’s “welcome ceremony” is well done,’ Shu Jun sneered inwardly, knowing that he still had things to do.

The lone figure circled for a while, descended from the high sky, and prepared to start negotiations.

At that moment, a sudden change occurred.

Among the countless arms clutching the beach, one hand didn’t penetrate the sand with its five fingers; it merely clenched its fist. As soon as the figure landed, that hand quietly extended into the sea, revealing a pale gap between its fingers.

A “brain” sank into the erosion substance.

Before the figure could take a few steps forward, Sigma suddenly attacked. Countless arms swung and directly grasped toward that tiny figure. At the same time, a gigantic Erosion Swamp crawled out of the sea entrance, rapidly extending to enclose the area behind the coastline. The figure was sandwiched between the two sides and instantly disappeared into the erosion substance.

There was no negotiation from the beginning, as Shu Jun expected.

He floated cross-legged in the high sky while he suppressed the erosion substance in his body to the point of losing his breath. The other “him,” however, was different—using Sweet Edge’s “Creation” as the skeleton and the Mirror Erosion Swamp’s “Replication” as the skin, he mixed it with his own genuine flesh and blood. In terms of aura, it had no flaws.

During the three days of preparation, in order to achieve a realistic effect, he shed a lot of blood and carved out a considerable amount of flesh. To replenish the lost energy, he almost wiped out the mutant beasts near the erosion zone.

“This is not something, ah.” Shu Jun mumbled with a piece of jerky in his mouth, feeling a sense of sorrow.

He had just released his puppet with the wind. Has it been three minutes? It seemed that Sigma really wanted his brain, not even willing to make a token gesture.

Looking at the situation below, Shu Jun swallowed the jerky in his mouth and began to count the seconds.

In terms of a single battle, he never left any flaws. Sigma had hooked onto an empty shell without a brain, but before it could react, the shell exploded.

It was filled with Ai Xiaoxiao’s version of purification powder. They kept the erosion substance on the outside, and the inner explosive was undamaged. Now, it exploded with a tremendous impact.

In the scattered powder, Shu Jun’s flesh and blood were purified to the point of complete cleansing. The two Erosion Swamp nearby also suffered the consequences. Sigma’s newly created Erosion Swamp instantly retreated several meters, and one of Sigma’s fingers in the hand holding the puppet exploded, emitting a sizzling, scorching sound.

Not to mention brain information, Shu Jun didn’t want to expose even a sliver of information to Sigma.

The next moment, an angry screech from Sigma came from the ground, as if millions of nails were scratching a blackboard together, and a chilling aura instantly pierced to the bone. It angrily flailed countless arms, trying to locate Shu Jun, but under the disguise of “Suppression”, it couldn’t find a single clue.

High above the sky, Shu Jun trembled all over and quickly fled.

Throughout this journey, he saw many interesting things and obtained a lot of information. Once he handed the information to Zhu Yanchen, the man would surely deduce even more.

“Goodbye, Sigma.” Before speeding away, Shu Jun glanced at the eerie coastline and grimaced. “It was quite a negotiation.”

Y City.

Luo Duan was still in the command center.

For some reason, his injuries were healing unusually slowly. But Ai Xiaoxiao gave a definitive diagnosis, and this man seemed eager to experience “leisure life”. According to reason, the staff couldn’t kick him out, which gave Yi Ning a bit of a headache.

However, with the Reunion Festival approaching and no missions recently, it was hard to find fault with him not returning to the team. Once the celebration officially began, no matter what, Luo Duan had to go back and lead Groundwater.

Once he left, Yi Ning’s pile of meaningless worries would also disappear. In the end, he shouldn’t have gotten too close to a synthetic human.

Fortunately, Luo Duan kept his word. Since that night, when Yi Ning issued the final ultimatum, he hadn’t come to Yi Ning’s office again. He just casually read idle books in the document room and chatted with other staff members with a smiling face.

But Yi Ning felt a bit uncomfortable.

With Zhu Yanchen’s return, the Tang family members started bombarding him one after another, urging him to quickly achieve something—such as making achievements at the Reunion Festival and pulling in some votes. Yi Ning returned to the life of dealing with the powerful and then dealing with work. However, when he encountered difficulties and subconsciously wanted to voice his thoughts, Yi Ning realized that there was no one around him to discuss with anymore.

He tried seeking help from his assistant, but the assistant’s reactions and insights were far from Luo Duan’s, only causing him more headaches.

Habit was truly a terrifying thing.

However, there was also good news. After the return of “Zhu Yanchen”, he became much more open about the player system, completely becoming a mouthpiece conveying Zhu Sheng’s will. This wasn’t bad either. If this substitute “Marshal Zhu” agreed to increase the production of synthetic humans, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if he lost like this, saving him from the daily torment of the Tang family.

Yi Ning pressed his temples hard.

Rest time had arrived, and he subconsciously opened the monitoring screen to check on Luo Duan’s movements.

The captain of Groundwater was holding a stack of books and walking towards his own ward. At a glance, those books were all related to the Reunion Festival and lacked sensitivity. At the same time, the counterfeit “Zhu Yanchen” happened to be walking from the other end of the corridor, and the two of them passed each other.

Luo Duan looked straight ahead, not even glancing at “Marshal Zhu” for a moment and went straight into the ward.

After Luo Duan entered the room, “Marshal Zhu” hesitated slightly in his steps. He first glanced at the door of the ward, then looked up and scanned the surveillance cameras that were being adjusted.

Yi Ning had a feeling—the impostor seemed to see him directly through the camera. Those eyes were extremely dark and bottomless.

Just like the real Zhu Yanchen, who should be dead.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 55: Bellflower

It took Hu Yan three full days to regain his composure.

Relying on his resilience in the face of war, Hu Yan barely managed to stabilize his mind and maintain a calm demeanor while going “online” and “offline”. During the rest of the time, he mostly stayed underground in the ruins of the small town. To ensure that Hu Yan wouldn’t despair, both Shu Jun and Zhu Yanchen stayed with him in the same room, ready to answer his questions.

After three days, Hu Yan had mostly regained his calmness. The cleanup of the town ruins had also made some progress, and the outline of an underground city was gradually taking shape.

The materials were temporarily sourced, and the lighting equipment was quite rudimentary, with only the cheapest light bulbs available. The dim light illuminated the underground cavern as Hu Yan pinched the damp soil in his hand.

The soil was filled with small, crushed stones and empty insect shells.

“Before, I thought the modeling was too detailed.” Hu Yan murmured. “Captain Shu, how did you survive? Our comrades back then…”

“I survived purely by accident,” Shu Jun replied bitterly, without further explanation.

Hu Yan understood the implicit meaning behind his words and let out a bitter smile. “I don’t know if I can return to the battlefield. Once the vacation is over, the Blackbirds will definitely have other missions. I really can’t do it. I…”

“Dong Lao is on our side, and he will fully support you all. Lao Hu, do you know why I awakened you first?”

“…”

“I’ve told you before, Luo Duan won’t stop his actions. If everyone is restored at the same time, given your leadership experience, what do you think would happen?” Shu Jun remained calm in the face of Hu Yan’s confusion.

Hu Yan gritted his teeth. “Report! Those who have lost their loved ones would want to fight desperately, while people like me would be confused. There would certainly be a portion of people who deny reality and want to escape.”

“And then?”

“And then, the team would fall apart…”

“If the team falls apart, we will all be doomed together. If I were Luo Duan, I would cut off the escape route of those who want to avoid facing reality. Then, I would incite the revenge-driven faction, forcing everyone to be involved. I think you understand that feeling—even if you don’t want to face reality, can you still work for humanity? When people lose hope, their choices become very limited.”

Hu Yan leaned against the side of the underground tunnel and let out a heavy sigh.

“Lao Hu, you’re a smart person. That’s why I restored you first. Then I’ll gradually restore the relatively rational cadres in the layers below one by one. This way, even if Luo Duan intervenes, at least everyone can quickly find some semblance of order and avoid walking down a path of no return. To be honest, I can’t be certain what the future holds—once everyone survives, we’ll have time to think.”

“I understand.” Hu Yan fell silent for a long time. “Although I can’t forgive those people, I haven’t lived enough myself. But I have a question… Captain Shu, it took so much effort just to prove it to me alone. What will you do when there are more people to restore? Are they all going to come running to your house one by one? The people on the human side will definitely notice something is wrong.”

“I have a solution,” Shu Jun whispered softly. His gray-white pupils glowed dimly in the darkness, resembling the eyes of the undead.

“Okay, then I’ll go back and organize the current situation and refine the key points.” Hu Yan stood up; the relaxed air about him was completely gone. “After the Reunion Festival, new missions will be issued, and our time is running out… Take care of my sister-in-law for me.”

Shu Jun: “…” It seemed that this person had regained some spirit.

Unfortunately, Zhu Yanchen wasn’t by his side.

To avoid triggering Hu Yan, Shu Jun temporarily withheld the identity of Zhu Yanchen. Early this morning, he sent Zhu Yanchen to Y City.

Xia Yufeng couldn’t handle the upcoming situation.

The reason was quite simple—the Reunion Festival in <Erosion> was approaching.

The mid-year Reunion Festival and the New Year at the end of the year were the two most important holidays in <Erosion>. On the evening of the Reunion Festival, people would walk along the river, setting off splendid fireworks and praying for well-being. Shu Jun’s memories of the past ended on the night of the Reunion Festival sixteen years ago.

In <Erosion>, the Reunion Festival also had corresponding activities. At that time, an area near Y City would be designated, and the authorities would arrange various entertaining tasks, with well-known NPCs performing on-site. It was said to be a time for relaxation, and there were many team points to be earned at the celebration. With over thirty thousand combat players in <Erosion>, they would all gather near Y City during the festival.

Luo Duan wanted to interfere, and the Reunion Festival was an excellent opportunity. Hearing that Luo Duan had been hiding in the command center, Shu Jun’s determination to take action grew stronger.

Currently, only Shu Jun himself could confront Luo Duan, and Luo Duan was as cunning as a fox. It would be difficult to assassinate him, so they had to confront him openly. However, if they were to fight in the command center, even if they won, the situation with the synthetic humans would be exposed. Shu Jun would likely be fine, but the players who had not yet been awakened would undoubtedly suffer.

At present, Shu Jun couldn’t move against Luo Duan, and Luo Duan couldn’t reach the players. This stalemate couldn’t last forever. The problem was that Luo Duan was operating openly while Sigma operated in secret. Their manpower was insufficient, so they had to proceed steadily.

…Shu Jun understood the reasoning. However, when he returned to the inn and faced the empty double bed, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of melancholy.

Previously, their routines had diverged quite a bit due to taking care of Hu Yan. Now that Hu Yan had finally stabilized, they would have to be separated again.

Shu Jun stayed idle for a while, giving himself a five-minute break, and then picked up the communicator. “Yu Jin? Yeah, it’s me. How did things go with what we asked you to do? …Bro, let’s not complain. You just have to dig deeper.”

Y City.

Zhu Yanchen didn’t immediately replace Xia Yufeng; he went to the Ai’s Clinic first.

“Yo, here to settle the bill?” Recognizing Zhu Yanchen, Ai Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow. “The technical support a few days ago was quite valuable.”

“Shu Jun and I both believe that Luo Duan will make a move during the Reunion Festival. I can slightly change the location of the event, but Y City might still be affected. For strategic reasons, I want to move the underground machinery to—”

“No,” Ai Xiaoxiao interrupted, raising her head. Her gaze was sharp as a knife.

“At that time, I will maximize the city’s defenses and ensure the safety of the residents. The buildings and power systems are already fragile, and I may not be able to protect ‘Bellflower’.'”

“We agreed on this fourteen years ago. I’m just an ordinary person, not as enlightened as you, wanting to play revolution.” Ai Xiaoxiao crossed her arms. “Yes, ‘Bellflower’ was designed by you, and you provided the funding. But it was me who hid it and meticulously adjusted and maintained it every day. It has been fourteen years, Zhu Yanchen, and if you take it away, my patients may not be able to survive.”

As she spoke, her smile twisted. “Or do you think that synthetic humans without a human form aren’t considered human? Don’t lecture me with high-minded principles. I won’t sacrifice them for anything.”

“I have considered these things.” Zhu Yanchen shook his head. They had known each other for over ten years, and he had long been accustomed to Ai Xiaoxiao’s sharp tongue. “Shu Jun can temporarily suppress the erosion substance within them, causing a state similar to a false death. Once they are transferred to a safe location, the suppression can be lifted, and no additional medication is required.”

“…I see.” Ai Xiaoxiao snorted. “So, you’re here to see them?”

“Yes, I need to record the body data of everyone. The Old Fourth caravan has also been contacted, and the transportation of ‘Bellflower’ and the patients won’t be a problem.”

“Follow me.” Ai Xiaoxiao grabbed her keychain and headed deeper underground.

The bottommost level of the Ai’s Clinic.

Massive mechanical devices hummed as the hibernation pods lay quietly, arranged horizontally.

“203 people.” Ai Xiaoxiao’s tone was cold. “I have recorded the body data of each person, without missing a day, for the past fourteen years.”

Zhu Yanchen walked past the coffin-like hibernation pods and stopped in front of the one in the middle. He reached out his hand and gently stroked the lid of the hibernation pod.

Fourteen years ago, the Ai’s Clinic didn’t have such a deep underground level.

At that time, Zhu Yanchen was about to turn fifteen and had started to handle relatively simple governmental affairs. Ai Xiaoxiao, at that time, was one of those “practice questions”.

The situation was simple. The outpost had discovered a girl who was attempting to make contact with players, but she had a strong counter-surveillance awareness and couldn’t be captured immediately. The outpost manager didn’t pay much attention to it, but they still reported it according to protocol. Coincidentally, Zhu Yanchen was studying on-site at the outpost, so Zhu Sheng handed the matter over to him.

“Capture her,” Zhu Sheng had said, “and follow the procedures.”

For Zhu Yanchen at the time, tracking her was simple. The girl was quite cautious, but she had an obviously incapacitated companion who couldn’t run far.

When he approached her, he deliberately kept his subordinates away. It was their first meeting, and Ai Xiaoxiao hid in a rocky cave on the edge of the erosion zone. Her eyes were full of hatred.

“Don’t touch my patient!” She was filthy all over, baring her teeth threateningly and trembling as she held a gun.

A female player lay unconscious behind her. Her body had been severely eroded, with almost only bones remaining in her lower half, but her wounds had been treated neatly. An unconscious person couldn’t achieve this level of care, so it was likely the doing of this girl.

However, even so, if she didn’t receive proper treatment promptly, she wouldn’t live much longer.

“This injury… She fell into the Erosion Swamp.” Zhu Yanchen approached the player, ignoring the gun aimed at him. The girl let out a scream, nearly pulling the trigger.

“Stay away from us!” The girl gnashed her teeth.

“You don’t know how to use a player’s gun. The safety isn’t even off.” Zhu Yanchen crouched down and carefully examined the woman’s injuries. “You’re not a player.”

“So what?” The girl gritted her teeth. “You’re here to ‘deal with her’, aren’t you? I saw it all—they escaped from the Erosion Swamp, those severely injured patients, and what happened when the ‘rescue’ troops arrived? They killed everyone. I saw it clearly… If they didn’t think this sister was dead…”

As the heir of the Zhu family, Zhu Yanchen was already well aware of the fate of the synthetic humans.

The lucky ones died in battle, straightforward and clean, or they were euthanized when they reached a certain age. The unfortunate ones were those who had managed to reclaim half a life on the battlefield but couldn’t return and couldn’t die. If such people were discovered, the troops would usually kill them all.

This “patient” clearly fell into the second category. The girl covered in black mud, probably realizing the danger, gave this player some rudimentary bandaging before carrying her away.

Zhu Yanchen took out a handkerchief, dampened it, and wiped the woman’s face. “This isn’t your first time doing something like this, is it?”

The girl looked at Zhu Yanchen warily—a handsome and clean-cut young man in a brand-new uniform stood before her, clearly not an ordinary person.

“Don’t be nervous. I just wanted to say that your emergency treatment is quite good.” Zhu Yanchen retrieved the handkerchief. “If you’re willing to tell the truth, I can help you.”

He raised his hands, indicating for the girl to remove the gun from his waist. After hesitating for a moment, the girl complied.

“Ai Xiaoxiao.” After kicking the gun away, she introduced herself begrudgingly.

“Zhu Yanchen.”

“Zhu Yanchen from the Zhu family?” Ai Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes.

“Yes.” Zhu Yanchen nodded. “If you haven’t been discovered, where do you want to take her?”

“A certain settlement.” Ai Xiaoxiao, naturally, didn’t plan on revealing everything. “Somewhere with people to take care of her. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re plotting—you want me to take you there and then wipe us all at once.”

She protected the woman behind her while her body trembled slightly.

“I can argue with you here, but this lady can’t afford to wait.” Zhu Yanchen pointed out mercilessly. “If I wanted to harm you, I could immediately contact the outpost, and their interrogation methods are much more professional than mine.”

“You want to take all the credit for yourself.”

“I’m also in better control.”

The girl fumbled with the gun in her hand for a while, but she couldn’t find the safety mechanism designed for players’ guns. Exhausted herself, it was difficult for her to silence a young man her age. Caught in a dilemma, she had to compromise. “I still have a knife. Once we have a signal, immediately terminate the tracking mission and dismiss your subordinates. No unnecessary chatter, got it? If you do as I say, I can take you to my place.”

Zhu Yanchen didn’t say anything.

The girl draped a cloak over the player and took out another one for Zhu Yanchen to cover his face and disguise himself. She pressed the knife against Zhu Yanchen’s lower back. After struggling for a while, the three of them managed to make their way to the nearest settlement. There was a crude clinic near the settlement, with a sign that read “Ai’s Clinic” in crooked letters.

“Granny!” After entering the clinic, Ai Xiaoxiao locked the door and shouted at the top of her lungs. “Granny, I’m back!”

An old woman walked out from the inner room. Her back was twisted and one of her eyes swollen with a purple blister, resembling a goldfish’s eyeball.

“Xiaoxiao, who is this…” The old woman glanced at Zhu Yanchen and coughed twice. Then she acted, but luckily, Zhu Yanchen reacted quickly. He grabbed a nearby book and held it up to block the incoming object—

A small needle quivered and wavered, piercing into the book.

Taking advantage of Ai Xiaoxiao’s lack of response, Zhu Yanchen swiftly took the knife from her, pressing the tip against Ai Xiaoxiao’s neck. “Take me to the ‘patients’.”

Ai Xiaoxiao was furious, rolling her eyes. The old woman sighed and resignedly picked up a bunch of keys.

The clinic wasn’t large, but it had a crude basement. As soon as they entered the room, a nauseating stench filled the air. Two figures lay on the sickbed, with IV drips hanging from their hands, sleeping deeply. Their muscles had varying degrees of atrophy and deformation, undoubtedly having been in this state for a long time.

One of them looked somewhat familiar.

“Xu Kan,” Zhu Yanchen whispered softly. “According to official records, Xu Kan passed away three years ago.”

“My dad isn’t dead.” Even with a knife at her throat, Ai Xiaoxiao’s tone was far from friendly. “I’m the one who broke the law, so you can kill or torture me as you please. Granny is old now. Even if my dad and the others regain consciousness, they can’t do anything. If you want to take someone, take me. Two or three living dead aren’t worth much credit.”

Zhu Yanchen smoothly put away the knife. “Forced artificial coma, and then… Let me see, hmm, these drugs. I didn’t expect this purification combination. Did you come up with it yourself?”

Suddenly regaining her freedom, Ai Xiaoxiao was a bit dazed. “You…”

“The artificial coma is to prevent them from facing the harsh reality and falling into madness—I understand that.” Zhu Yanchen crouched down beside Xu Kan’s sickbed, observing attentively. “But by keeping them unconscious all this time, can it really solve the problem?”

Ai Xiaoxiao was still in a daze. “No, wait, surname Zhu, you…?”

“I said from the beginning that I can help you, as long as you’re willing to tell the truth.” Zhu Yanchen turned around and spoke in a calm tone. “First, tell me what exactly happened with your ‘father’.”

Ai Xiaoxiao wiped her face with both hands. “Fine, let me settle that sister first.”

Ai Xiaoxiao’s story wasn’t complicated.

She didn’t remember her biological parents. Ever since she could remember, she had lived like a rat, learning to scavenge for food near the outpost.

Players would pass by this area and, seeing her pitiful state, occasionally leave behind some food and money, barely enough for her to survive. Until Xu Kan appeared, she wasn’t much different from an ordinary stray cat.

Xu Kan was kind to her.

“I have a younger daughter who’s a little smaller than you, but unfortunately, I can’t see her regularly.” He sighed and patted her head. “Take these clothes and food. Don’t go near the erosion zone. I will take care of you. What’s your name?”

“I… don’t have a name.”

“Then let’s call you Xiaoxiao.”

He would allocate half an hour every day to visit her and teach her many things.

“Don’t let anyone touch your body, especially the lower half. Remember that? There is crime in this world. In our previous mission files… Never mind, that’s beside the point.” His tone was quite serious as he spoke. “In any case, at most, let others pat your head. If someone touches you, you should struggle and call for help loudly. It’s best to run to the jurisdiction of the guards.”

“Can’t you do it too?” she asked. “I want a hug.”

“No, I can’t.” He shook his head. “No one can.”

She felt a little disappointed, but she followed Xu Kan’s instructions and managed to shake off many strange people.

As she grew a little older, he began to bring her books. She particularly liked medical books—every time after a mission, Xu Kan would be injured, which made her unhappy. When Xu Kan wasn’t around, she would wander around and eavesdrop on the conversations of merchants and guards in the settlement to pass the time.

With those fragments, she couldn’t piece together the whole truth. But Ai Xiaoxiao knew that the guards didn’t truly respect Xu Kan. According to them, her “foster father” seemed to have a limited lifespan.

She felt frustrated and became more diligent in her studies.

Xu Kan was pleased with her progress. “Recently, I met an old woman. She runs a clinic near the settlement, and her place is very close to here. I talked to her, and she is willing to take you in as her student.”

“Will you come to see me then?”

“I have to go on missions.” He patted her head again. “And in a while, I’ll retire, so we probably won’t be able to see each other.”

Xu Kan was going to meet his real daughter, and Ai Xiaoxiao felt a pang in her heart. “But you’re still my dad! I won’t go.”

Xu Kan was taken aback. “Don’t be silly. Be good. Granny Ai is a very kind person.”

“I still won’t go!”

“Xiaoxiao, listen to me.”

She secretly cried all night but eventually obediently went with Xu Kan to the clinic. Granny Ai was indeed a lovely old lady, and from that day on, the orphan girl near the outpost had a real name—people in the settlement started calling her Ai Xiaoxiao.

Xu Kan would occasionally come to see her, and he would also bring some food for Granny Ai, who had difficulty with daily life. Granny Ai didn’t object to them meeting, but she seemed a little sad.

One day, Xu Kan, who had promised to come and see her, was late.

“Granny Ai, where’s my dad?” she asked. “He said he would come to see both of us after he finished his mission.”

“You’re not a child anymore, Xiaoxiao.” Granny Ai sounded quite weary. “I’ve been a doctor here for decades. I know quite a lot about what should be known and what shouldn’t. Listen carefully to what I’m about to tell you…”

However, Ai Xiaoxiao didn’t want to accept that reality.

After learning the truth about the player system, she disappeared from the Ai’s Clinic. Two days later, the girl dragged a figure wrapped in a cloak—or more accurately, half a person—unsteadily to the door.

“Granny Ai,” she murmured in a dreamy state, “I found my dad.”

Her face was covered in black mud, and tears left two prominent trails. “He’s still alive, but he doesn’t recognize me… Can you save him?”

This one rescue would take three years.

“He can’t hold on much longer.” After listening to Ai Xiaoxiao’s account, Zhu Yanchen fell silent for a long time. “Based on the medication you’ve been using, three years is about the limit.”

“I know.” Ai Xiaoxiao’s eyes turned red. “But I owe him. He gave me a life, a way out. But him and his people—”

“I can send them back.” Zhu Yanchen extended his hand. “As long as we cooperate, I can find a way to send them back to that world. That would at least be better than being in a coma until death, don’t you think?”

“Is the young master of the Zhu family not doing well?” Ai Xiaoxiao bared her teeth. “Kindness has its limits, and charity is not easy to do—I’ve thought about invading the player system before. It would require being close to the command center and a lot of money to obtain the hibernation pods. Hacking the machinery is even more complicated and not very effective without internal system permissions… If you just let us go, that’s enough. I’ll be quite touched. Let’s drop the big talk.”

“You can open a shop in Y City and arrange for an underground basement. That should be close enough. As for the hibernation pods, some old models have been phased out, and parts are available on the market. If you’re determined, you can get your hands on them.”

Zhu Yanchen spoke in a solemn tone.

“Regarding hacking the machinery, I’ve been considering it for a full two years, and while there are still some design flaws, it runs without any issues. As for internal system permissions, being a member of the Zhu family, I naturally have some.”

“What do you want?” Ai Xiaoxiao asked straightforwardly. “I don’t believe in pies falling from the sky.”

“I want these people to find peace. I want a treatment method for synthetic humans. I want loyal, capable subordinates who share the same interests and courage.” Zhu Yanchen closed his eyes. “…And the possibility of seeing someone again.”

Ai Xiaoxiao pondered for a full half-hour and eventually shook his hand.

From that day on, fourteen years passed, and the hacked machinery “Bellflower” became increasingly sophisticated.

At first, it could only create one-way passages for the synthetic humans to return to the “other side”. It wasn’t until three years ago that it could truly rewrite internal data without a trace and without being detected by the player system.

Ironically, the command center was researching related subjects, attempting to create low-cost expansion machinery to increase production for synthetic humans. If they were to hand over “Bellflower”, it would likely be instantly approved.

Zhu Yanchen looked up at the flickering lights on the ceiling.

“Send me their physiological data, take care of them these days, and prepare them for soft hibernation.”

“Um, what about the transfer time?”

“The eve of the Reunion Festival.”

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 54: The First Person

Hu Yan had never encountered such a bizarre situation in his life.

He sat on the edge of the table, unsure whether to get up or lie back down. After a few dazed seconds, he let out a breath and spoke with a serious tone. “What’s going on? What’s going on? Sister-in-law has an impressive figure, and her voice is unique. I’ve never seen such a girl before, Shu Ge, you’re amazing, even the choice of partner is so unique.”

Two inexplicable strings of information came crashing down, and Hu Yan chose to focus on the one that was easier to understand. However, Mr. Hu’s head wasn’t quite clear from listening to the statement.

Shu Jun’s expression froze. As soon as Hu Yan spoke, he could feel it—although Marshal Zhu hadn’t revealed himself, Zhu Yanchen seemed even more confused than Hu Yan himself.

Hu Yan came from an affluent family. His parents were busy with work and were rarely at home. Hu Yan had been living in the school dormitory since he was young, with a distant relationship with his family. He was also known for being carefree and always finding something silly to do. Shu Jun chose to “wake him” first with this consideration in mind.

Who knew Hu Yan would react so strangely?

“Hu Yan!” Shu Jiu raised his voice and put on his former captain’s demeanor.

Hu Yan took a sharp breath, and his back straightened instantly. “Here!”

“Be more alert. I’m talking to you about serious matters. Alright, stop staring at Smoke. He’s a man.”

Hu Yan slowly turned his gaze back, looking at Shu Jun with a somewhat mournful expression. “Sister-in-law is a man? Shu Ge, that’s really… unfortunate for you.”

Shu Jun cracked his knuckles. “…So what if he’s a man, huh?”

“No, no. In any case, don’t be too upset—”

Shu Jun: “…”

“Hu Yan, 25 years old. You live in Struggle District IU-E-08. This morning, you added two spoons of sugar to your soy milk, fried five eggs, and toasted four slices of whole wheat bread.” Unable to tolerate the confusion between the two, Zhu Yanchen straightforwardly brought the conversation back on track. “Before logging into <Erosion>, you threw a blue tie into the laundry basket and almost tripped over a low stool.”

Unable to evade any longer, Hu Yan reluctantly faced reality. “Sis… I mean, ahem, Smoke Ge, it’s not appropriate. Even if it’s for a show, we still need to respect others’ privacy.”

He still tried to brush it off with a joking tone, hoping that the two would laugh and tell him it was just a prank.

As someone who had “died” before and couldn’t find customer service, Shu Jun reluctantly bought Zhu Yanchen’s story. Although Hu Yan was a bit slow, he wasn’t stupid. Even if Shu Jun was his comrade, words alone weren’t enough to convince Hu Yan of this absurd situation.

“I know it’s hard to accept, and I didn’t expect you to accept it all at once.” Shu Jun took back control of the conversation and his tone became heavier.

Hu Yan stopped smiling, and for a moment, this big man seemed a bit helpless.

“Here’s what we’ll do, Hu Yan. Log off for now, go back, and get some rest to stabilize your emotions. Then, go to my house—yes, my house. There’s a tactical notebook I’ve written. If you go and get it, it shouldn’t raise any suspicion in the system. I’ll let you know the resident password and the location of the notebook later. When you arrive, we’ll find a way to prove it to you.”

“Captain… This joke isn’t funny. Stop messing around.”

“It’s not a joke.” Shu Jun ruthlessly denied. “Considering our friendship over the years, please trust me. Keep this matter to yourself, and don’t mention it to anyone. Of course, you can contact the so-called ‘me’ on the other side, but never bring up this matter.”

Hu Yan responded in a daze.

The Blackbirds had just completed a mission and were in their resting period, so Hu Yan headed straight for the stronghold, lay in the hibernation pod, and then woke up in his familiar home.

The room was filled with a familiar scent, and sunlight illuminated the crumpled sheets on the bed. Unlike in <Erosion>, the sky outside the window was clear and bright. Hu Yan stared at his hands for a while, and the red marks from splattered oil during breakfast were still visible on the back of his hand.

Everything felt so real.

‘It must all be part of the show,’ Hu Yan thought. ‘Shu Ge has so many tricks up his sleeve, he’s probably planning a huge prank to see how I’ll react.’

Hu Yan opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of chilled soda. After downing it in one breath, his dizziness lessened.

Smoke turned out to be a man, and the world was fake. Shu Ge’s imagination was as wild as ever, but he revealed a flaw—he reacted too calmly to Smoke being a man. After all, Smoke was more than just an ordinary online friend to Shu Jun.

Hu Yan squeezed the aluminum can a few times, unable to resist picking up memories and carefully comparing them.

In the past, Shu Jun was equally cheerful, but he was like a ship without direction, blindly going with the flow—because he was a combat player, he studied the game diligently; because he was the captain, he worked diligently and earnestly. Always striving, always optimistic, never revealing any flaws in his daily life, and Hu Yan had never seen him break down.

But a normal person shouldn’t be like that.

A person with strong determination should have a corresponding pillar of support, knowing why they strive. Hu Yan couldn’t see Shu Jun’s support, and the positivity of Captain Shu was like a castle in the air. Hu Yan occasionally had strange thoughts. Compared to a living person, their captain seemed more like a “perfect character”—impeccable in action but with a missing corner in their soul, drifting in aimless emptiness.

Until Smoke appeared.

For some reason, after getting to know this person, the strange sense of discord in Shu Jun disappeared. Captain Shu fell from the position of the “perfect character” and crashed into the human world, becoming vibrant. His whole being brightened.

Shu Jun would share his daily trivialities with Smoke and talk about his personal matters with the team members. A few unintentional smiles appeared on his face, and his eyes shone brighter. The hollowness that Shu Jun exuded vanished without a trace, and the missing corner of his soul seemed to be filled by “Smoke”.

Witnessing the whole process, Hu Yan felt his eyes ache, thinking that Shu Jun and Smoke were in love.

However, when they started chatting, Hu Yan realized that Shu Jun actually considered Smoke a “friend”, and their conversations were indeed in a friendly tone—relatively calm, that was.

Can a friend whom you’ve never even met have such a great influence?

Hu Yan found it strange again, but luckily this time he found a reason—being blinded by love, Shu Jun saw Smoke as a friend without realizing his true feelings.

After that day’s conversation, Hu Yan began calling Smoke “sister-in-law.” Although it was a playful nickname, as a friend, he genuinely hoped that Shu Jun would be happy and that the two of them could be together.

Years passed, and eventually, Hu Yan was almost certain that Shu Jun had truly fallen for Smoke.

However, considering the recent situation, Smoke turned out to be a man who was a few centimeters taller than Shu Jun. Ah. Hu Yan rolled his eyes inwardly—Shu Jun had never shown the slightest interest in men before. Knowing that Smoke was male, it would be strange if Captain Shu wasn’t taken aback.

But just now, Shu Jun remained calm, and there was no trace of hesitation in his gaze towards Smoke.

Hu Yan threw the beverage can in his hand and decided to go along with this poorly staged play. After all, he had seen through Shu Jun’s fake act, so giving him some face wouldn’t hurt.

He opened the communicator and sent a message to the Shu Jun who was supposed to be “traveling”.

[Captain, can I use that tactical notebook you wrote?]

Shu Jun, who was traveling, quickly replied: [What notebook?]

Hu Yan hesitated for a moment and carefully chose his words: [The tactical notebook. The one you said you handwrote. Since you won’t be using it, why not let me take a look?]

[I don’t remember having any notebook. You must be mistaken, Lao Hu.] The other side responded almost instantly. [Now you’re the Blackbirds’ captain. Don’t rely on your seniors all the time. Use your own brain.]

Hu Yan frowned. Even if Shu Jun was joking with him, he wouldn’t go to such lengths. Moreover, the other side’s attitude had subtle differences from the “Shu Jun” he knew—had it been the previous Captain Shu, he would probably laugh at him and then come up with a few temporary plans.

Hu Yan unconsciously held his breath: [Forget it. You still don’t know me. If it’s inconvenient for you, I can go to your place and get it.]

[Ah? Lao Hu, don’t make it difficult for me. I don’t even remember the password now.]

[Fine, fine, fine, I won’t bother you anymore. Go and have fun with sister-in-law.] Hu Yan typed this with a straight face.

The other side immediately sent a picture—Shu Jun was leaning against a beautiful and voluptuous woman on a beach during sunset. They looked incredibly happy, with visible tans on their bodies.

If this had happened before, Hu Yan might have envied them, but now, as he looked at the photo, he felt a chill in his heart.

He prepared a simple dinner for himself, went to bed early, and the next day went to Shu Jun’s spacious apartment.

Hu Yan had been to Shu Jun’s apartment once or twice before for offline meetings. The room was spotless, and everything was in its place. If Shu Jun had indeed confirmed his relationship with Smoke and gone on vacation, there should have been some changes in the house.

But all the daily items were still in their original positions, as if the owner of the house would return in a few hours.

Hu Yan walked around the spacious living room and entered the master bedroom. Following the prompt from “White-haired Shu Jun”, he found a thick handwritten notebook in the bottom drawer of the desk.

As he picked up the notebook, he hadn’t fully straightened up when the computer on the desk was activated, projecting a screen in the air.

“Lao Hu.” On the screen was the world of <Erosion>, and White-haired Shu Jun was looking at him with a serious expression. “Lao Hu, can you hear me speaking?”

“I… I can hear you.” Hu Yan glanced at it and realized that the “sender” of this video call was Smoke.

“Thank you for believing in me. Now look outside the window.”

Hu Yan swallowed his saliva and looked outside from Shu Jun’s bedroom—it was a great view from the high-rise, and he didn’t see anything unusual.

“In five seconds, a swallow will fly past the window and land on the windowsill,” Shu Jun said. “Five, four—”

“Ah?”

“Three, two, one.”

Sure enough, a swallow landed on the windowsill.

If it was a mechanical swallow, it should be possible. Although he was a bit shaken, Hu Yan still tried to convince himself.

“Next, it’s a leather shoe.” Shu Jun began the countdown again.

“….?”

However, after the countdown ended, a leather shoe walked along the wall, stopping next to the swallow.

Hu Yan was instantly horrified.

“Shu Jun…” He shook his head frantically, trying to shake off the scene in front of him. But the shoe continued to step in place, as if it were a living creature.

“A’Yan, is this really okay? What if we get caught or something…” White-haired Shu Jun turned his head, whispering in a low voice. After a while, he seemed to have received an answer. “Hmm, okay, okay, I understand. Alright, Lao Hu, let’s continue.”

“I… I don’t understand.” Hu Yan leaned against the edge of the bed and slowly sat on the floor. Despite the quiet and peaceful surroundings, he felt like he was on the edge of an abyss.

“You are the current captain of the Blackbirds. Remember that and stay calm.” Shu Jun lowered his voice. “Lao Hu, look outside the window, keep looking.”

“Captain Shu, tell me this is a joke.” Hu Yan pleaded, but still forced himself to look up. He faintly sensed the scent of the truth, but that scent was too cold, and he didn’t want to get closer.

“Whether it’s the swallow or the shoe, you guys prepared these props in advance, right? It’s a virtual projection, isn’t it? Or you can bring out a person with four arms and legs—fuck!”

No sooner had he spoken that the thing he described appeared outside the window.

A humanoid creature climbed onto the windowsill. Its legs twisted into a tangled mess, and it contorted at an unnatural angle like a flesh-colored spider. It stretched out a bony arm and slowly pushed open the window.

The window lock had been undone at some point.

It crawled into the room like that, its eight limbs twitching, and its movements weren’t very coordinated. Hu Yan had never seen a monster in this paradise-like city before. He sat there motionless, his hands and feet ice-cold.

The thing approached slowly, one hand gripping Hu Yan’s wrist tightly, and then it transformed into countless fragments of light, dissolving into the air.

Only a red handprint remained on Hu Yan’s wrist.

“A virtual projection can’t do this,” Shu Jun said. “You should have felt its body temperature and the texture of its skin. That was a simple model created by Smoke on the spot, directly entering the virtual world.”

He sighed, “Hu Yan, you know, I never joke about these things. If it were for a show, I definitely wouldn’t scare you like this.”

Hu Yan held onto the thick notebook, slumped on the edge of the bed, staring at Shu Jun on the screen, his eyes slowly turning red.

“What should I do?” he asked in a daze.

“Play the whole act. Take the notebook home and then immediately log into the game to come see me—Smoke can only interfere with the data near my house, but you can’t stay at my house for too long.”

“I understand.” Hu Yan said with difficulty, “When we meet, you have to tell me everything.”

……

“Interference completed, disconnected.” Ai Xiaoxiao commanded and adjusted the drip’s infusion speed with her hand.

She was in the deepest part of Ai’s Clinic, in the middle of the room with countless locks. Upon receiving instructions, the mechanical assemblage on the room’s ceiling rumbled, and the indicator lights flashed frantically.

“Our signal is reconnected. Everyone, log in again. Fifteen seconds after the connection is complete, administer the awakening agent to all personnel.” Her voice echoed in the dark space.

“Just a moment.” Then she lowered her head and looked at the hibernation pod in the center of the room—within the pod, the near-liquid mass of flesh wriggled slowly, offering no response. Fifteen seconds passed, and the wriggling of the mass of flesh increased in speed, following a rhythmic pattern.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Ai Xiaoxiao muttered. “There’s no other way. Someone surnamed Zhu wants to borrow my equipment to heavily interfere with ‘the other side’… I can only ask you to log out for a while. He’s also helping you all. You don’t mind, do you?”

The almost liquefied mass of flesh still remained silent, continuing to undulate peacefully.

Ai Xiaoxiao smiled. “Goodnight.”

The indicator lights stopped their frantic flashing, gradually settling into a regular pattern. Dim light illuminated the label on the hibernation pod. The label was handwritten, with crooked and twisted characters, and the paper had turned yellow with age. The label bore mottled traces, as if it had been dampened by water, but the words were still discernible with some effort—

[Patient No. 1, Xu Kan.]

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