Chapter 195: Extra — The Disappearance of Xiao Sijin (2)
People make their own way, but the reasons why they do so are intriguing.
Xu Wang and Wu Sheng both lifted their chins, glancing sideways at the “suspect”.
The anxiety and irritation surrounding Chi Yingxue dissipated as Kuang Jinxin’s whereabouts became clear, leaving only innocent confusion. “If he left on his own, why can’t I reach his phone?”
Wu Sheng leaned back into the sofa, ceding the spotlight—emotional analysis wasn’t his strong suit.
“That’s what you need to explain.” Xu Wang leaned forward, getting close to his friend. “What exactly did you do last night?”
“I didn’t…”
“No denials. Think harder!”
Chi Yingxue fell silent, clearly reluctant, but once again delved back into his memories.
As he was retrieving fragments of his memory, three phones in the living room chimed simultaneously.
It was Qian Ai creating a new group chat on WeChat without Kuang Jinxin, sending two messages:
Ai Qian: @Beautiful Chi Yingxue, what’s going on with you and Xiao Kuang? How come he has gone back to his hometown?
Ai Qian: @WangWang @ShengSheng, Xiao Kuang asked me to tell you both that his phone was stolen on the train, but he has safely arrived home. Don’t worry if you can’t get through to him.
Just as Xu Wang and Wu Sheng finished reading the messages, Chi Yingxue’s reply zipped over—a voice message. “His phone was stolen. How did he contact you?”
Qian Ai quickly responded with a voice message. “It seems like he borrowed a family member’s phone to enter my live stream.”
Then, adding another, “Hey, what’s with that tone? Are you jealous because he contacted me first? It’s not my fault you don’t have a live stream, hahaha…”
Xu Wang silently looked out the window. Adding fuel to the fire, that’s Lao Qian for you.
Chi Yingxue pressed the talk button, and his eyebrows knitted tighter without squeezing out a word, eventually releasing a long silence.
After a long while, ensuring Qian Ai had listened to the entire silence, the reply finally came, “Are you, are you threatening me…?”
The once formidable Anchor Qian’s tone suddenly weakened.
Xu Wang sighed and took over, trying to smooth things over. “Lao Qian, Xiao Xue is with us. He couldn’t get through to Xiao Kuang and was worried something had happened. It’s good he’s safe at home.”
“Ah? He doesn’t know why Xiao Kuang went back to his hometown?” Qian Ai’s curiosity was piqued.
“Right, he doesn’t know,” Xu Wang replied, quickly taking control of the conversation. “Besides being safe at home, did Xiao Kuang mention anything else to you?”
“Nothing else…” Qian Ai initially said uncertainly, then quickly added, “Oh right, he said he’s going to buy a new phone and get a replacement SIM card and will contact us as soon as it’s done.”
Xu Wang: “Okay, Lao Qian, you go ahead. We’ll talk in the group chat when we get in touch.”
“So why did Xiao Kuang suddenly go back home?” Qian Ai persisted with the fundamental question.
Xu Wang glanced at the still perplexed Chi Yingxue, his tone turning determined. “I’ll find out.”
After ending the group chat, Wu Sheng seriously continued the analysis. “Looking at this, it’s very likely something happened at Xiao Kuang’s home. He didn’t have time to explain and had to go back immediately.”
Xu Wang was speechless.
Didn’t have time to tell them, and not even time to tell Xiao Xue? They shared a bed; wouldn’t saying goodbye be as simple as a kick?
Sighing, Xu Wang patted Wu Sheng on the shoulder. “From now on, just be a quiet pretty boy.”
His gaze returned to Chi Yingxue, taking the no longer cold ice water from his hand, and placing it on the side table. The glass made a crisp sound when it collided with the table.
“Tell me again what happened last night.”
Chi Yingxue frowned, disliking being questioned. “I’ve already said what I thought was important.”
Xu Wang narrowed his eyes. Intuition was telling him that the signpost to the truth had already appeared. “I want to hear about those ‘unimportant’ things’.”
Chapter 194: Extra — The Disappearance of Xiao Sijin (1)
Xiao Sijin had disappeared. There was no sign of him, and his phone was unreachable.
Chi Yingxue came to seek help on a weekend afternoon in August. Xu Wang was watering the plants on the balcony, and Wu Sheng was pondering over a new company name in the study, when Chi Yingxue arrived unexpectedly, with an anxiety more intense than the scorching summer sun.
“What do you mean by ‘disappeared’?” Xu Wang settled his friend in the living room and offered a cup of iced water. “Did he vanish right before your eyes, or did he disappear behind your back?”
If it was the former, it must be related to the Owl; if it was the latter, the possibilities were numerous, but the most unwilling yet easily conceivable was kidnapping. The Chi family is wealthy and has many coveters. Lately, Kuang Jinxin has been inseparable from Chi Yingxue. Perhaps those targeting Chi Yingxue kidnapped the wrong person.
Chi Yingxue held the ice water but didn’t drink it. His beautiful eyes drifted further away in thought upon hearing Xu Wang’s question.
From the moment he entered, Xu Wang noticed that Chi Yingxue was in a state of disarray, even doubting whether Chi Yingxue realized he had just taken a cup of iced water.
After a long silence, Chi Yingxue finally blinked lightly, focusing on Xu Wang with serious inquiry. “I was right beside him, but I didn’t see anything. Does that count as a whoosh or a snap?”
Xu Wang was stumped. His previously clear train of thought was now becoming as erratic as the other’s.
Wu Sheng, who was sitting next to him, wasn’t easily led astray and calmly got straight to the point. “Xiao Xue, describe in detail how Xiao Kuang disappeared.”
Chi Yingxue frowned, clearly reluctant to dredge up those unpleasant memories, but forced himself to “reload” them for the sake of finding the person.
“Last night, I took him for a drive. Then we went to the mountaintop to view the night scene. After that, we returned to the hotel together. When I woke up in the morning, he was gone.”
Driving, night view, hotel, early morning.
Xu Wang glared at Chi Yingxue, finding it impossible to think innocently. “What exactly did you do to Xiao Kuang? Did you force him when he was unwilling…”
“He was willing,” Chi Yingxue interrupted, defending himself. “I like to sleep holding him, and he likes being held by me.”
“Holding, sleeping?” If it were anyone else, Xu Wang could imagine a thousand-word erotica, but coming from Chi Yingxue, it likely meant just that. “Nothing else?”
Chi Yingxue thought for a moment, then honestly confessed. “I kissed him, then we fell asleep.”
Xu Wang silently looked toward Wu Sheng.
The latter nodded understandingly—this is how pure adolescent love is.
Since graduating and leaving school a month ago, Chi Yingxue brought Kuang Jinxin to the hotel, and the two of them have been inseparably together every day, with nothing much to do but eat, drink, have fun, and enjoy their time as if on a honeymoon. The hotel expenses were signed off by President Chi, who naturally knows these matters like the back of his hand. As for whether he has investigated the matter of his younger brother possibly being in a relationship, or whether he’s worried about it, no one is clear. But on the surface, he appears to have given his tacit approval.
“Did you check the hotel surveillance?” Wu Sheng suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
Chi Yingxue replied, “My brother is looking into it.”
Xu Wang understood immediately; their friend couldn’t wait and, after delegating the task to President Chi, came to them straight away.
Driving, viewing the night scene, and sleeping together in the hotel.
The main facts seemed fine at first glance, but Wu Sheng believed the devil is in the details. “Xiao Xue, your recollection is too vague. If you want to find him, you need to give us more details.”
“Details?” Chi Yingxue pondered the word, then fell into deep thought, like a student questioned by a teacher.
Wu Sheng and Xu Wang exchanged glances, waiting patiently.
Something came to Chi Yingxue’s mind, and he suddenly smiled, like ice melting under the early spring sun—clear, sparkling, and dazzling. “When we were at the mountaintop viewing the night scene, Xiao Sijin drank orange soda. I kissed him, and his lips were sweet.”
Xu Wang facepalmed.
Wu Sheng felt complicated.
They fully sensed Chi Yingxue’s happiness, but… why were they, clearly not single, still being fed dog food!
“Anything else?” Wu Sheng asked, suppressing the sourness.
“Uh…” Chi Yingxue tilted his head, continuing to fish through his memories. “Right, when we were coming down the mountain, a car deliberately overtook me on a bend. Then I overtook it, and it overtook me again, and I overtook it…”
“In short, you were drag racing.” Xu Wang summarized succinctly.
Chi Yingxue shrugged, admitting, “But I won in the end.”
Wu Sheng asked, “Did the other party cause you trouble?”
Chi Yingxue shook his head and said glumly, “It was Xiao Sijin who was unhappy. He said I shouldn’t be reckless, and that driving like that was dangerous.”
“How did you respond?” Xu Wang had a bad feeling.
“I said not to worry. They couldn’t beat me.” Chi Yingxue returned to his confident self from the previous night.
Xu Wang rolled his eyes speechlessly. He knew it.
But Xu Wang didn’t believe that Xiao Kuang was such a person because he was angry with Chi Yingxue for driving too fast that he would disappear in a huff. Despite his young age, perhaps due to family background, Kuang Jinxin had always been more mature and sensible than his peers. Running off over a disagreement seemed more like something the childish Chi Yingxue might do.
Wu Sheng asked, “Did you remember the model and license plate of that car?”
Losing a drag race and seeking revenge made sense.
Chi Yingxue replied, “Silver Ferrari, license plate XXXXXXX. My brother is looking into it too.”
Xu Wang raised an eyebrow, surprised that he remembered the license plate.
Wu Sheng wasn’t surprised; he had noticed during their time in the Owl that Chi Yingxue had a good memory, just often too lazy to use it.
The call from Chi Zhuolin came at that moment.
Chi Yingxue answered immediately, and after a brief exchange, his face turned from anxious to mildly puzzled. “Are you sure?”
The other side must have confirmed, as Chi Yingxue didn’t ask further, instead hanging up in a daze.
“What’s the situation?” Xu Wang asked worriedly.
Chi Yingxue slowly raised his head. “My brother said the hotel surveillance captured Xiao Sijin leaving with his luggage by himself.”
Qian Ai signed with a company, transforming from an unknown streamer to a reserve Internet celebrity broadcaster with backing and publicity. Actually, it might not even be appropriate to call him “reserve” anymore. Right after signing the contract, the company launched a marketing campaign for him, allowing him to taste a bit of fame after years in the industry. He is now working even harder to turn this small flame of success into a roaring fire.
The latter two events are relatively straightforward: Kuang Jinxin graduated, and Chi Yingxue got his driver’s license.
“Brother, the car keys.” On a rare leisurely weekend without social obligations, President Chi was enjoying some downtime in his home’s second-floor study when his younger brother came looking for him.
Chi Zhuolin was initially surprised. It was only ten in the morning, and Chi Yingxue, who usually wakes up in the afternoon, appeared refreshed and obviously ready to go out. Upon hearing his brother’s request, his brow furrowed. “You just got your driver’s license yesterday, and you want to drive today?”
Chi Yingxue looked at him incredulously. “Isn’t that the whole point of getting a license?”
Chi Zhuolin placed his iPad on the desk, took off his Bluetooth headset, and said earnestly, “What I mean is, you’ve just got your license. It’s best to choose a car you’d like to drive and get familiar with it over a few days before hitting the road for real. The stuff you learn for the driving test and actual road conditions are quite different.”
“Never mind, I’ll just rent a car.” Renting a car seemed less hassle than taking one from their home garage.
As Chi Yingxue was about to leave, Chi Zhuolin, having no other choice, quickly changed his tone. “Alright, which one do you want to drive?”
Chi Yingxue stretched out his hand. “The G500.”
Not a sports car, but a Mercedes G-Class convertible SUV, which was a bit unexpected for Chi Zhuolin, who thought his brother was itching for a speed thrill.
Suppressing his surprise, he called the driver to bring the car out.
Soon after, the driver came upstairs to knock on the study door, delivering the keys.
Chi Yingxue took the keys, casually thanked him, and then naturally headed out.
These days, Chi Zhuolin occasionally hears a word of thanks, which has somewhat boosted his immunity, but not enough to prevent a burst of happiness at this moment. Just as this bloom of joy blossomed, his brother was about to vanish from the doorway. President Chi hurriedly asked, “Where exactly are you going?”
Without turning back, Chi Yingxue waved his hand and cheerfully replied, “For a drive.”
After sitting in the SUV, Chi Yingxue belatedly realized that the iPad Chi Zhuolin had placed on the desk had its screen on, playing something. He had been too focused on getting the keys to notice. Now, thinking back, the interface seemed familiar and flashy, and the silhouette on the screen was vaguely recognizable.
But that was as far as the recognition went. With limited peripheral vision and attention elsewhere, remembering even this much was good.
“Still wearing headphones in your own study,” Chi Yingxue muttered as he started the car, attributing his failure to recognize to Chi Zhuolin not playing the sound out loud.
From a second-floor window, Chi Zhuolin watched the SUV drive off, followed by an inconspicuous Toyota, which reassured him. He returned to his chair, put the Bluetooth headset back on, picked up the iPad, and fell into serious contemplation about what to have for lunch.
When Chi Yingxue arrived at Kuang Jinxin’s school, it was just past eleven. External vehicles weren’t allowed on campus, so he parked and strolled leisurely into the campus.
The sun was scorching, but the campus was shaded by lush trees. Walking under the shade, Chi Yingxue passed by students without realizing the attention he was drawing, only focused on what Kuang Jinxin’s expression would be upon seeing him.
Crossing the shaded path to a grassy square, he saw people in graduation gowns posing for photos in various formations, enthusiastically taking photos.
Oh, it’s graduation season.
Chi Yingxue was unfazed and continued forward, stopping abruptly after taking a step.
Xiao Sijin was also a senior.
He looked back at the wide lawn, his gaze scanning the crowd in graduation gowns like a facial recognition system, finally resting on a group near a sculpture.
The sculpture was abstract and incomprehensible to Chi Yingxue, who found the scene under it of several young men in gowns, each holding a cup of tea, creating quite a Buddhist-esque scene.
“One, two, three.” The photographer clicked the shutter.
The group, dignified a moment before, burst into laughter, lively and vibrant like the bright summer.
A boy jumped onto Xiao Sijin’s back, only to be playfully tossed off, leading to a retaliatory scuffle. The others joined in, turning the scene into a playful mess, with gowns getting tangled together.
Chi Yingxue approached the nearest tree, squinting against the bright sunlight.
Kuang Jinxin didn’t discover Chi Yingxue until much later. By that time, they had almost finished shooting and were quite tired, preparing to go to the cafeteria together. When he looked up, he saw someone under the tree at first glance.
He was stunned and hurriedly asked his classmates to go ahead without him, and he rushed over in one breath. The joy was still on his face, but there was an additional kind of happiness in his eyes.
“When did you get here?” His face was flushed and running too fast made him a bit out of breath. “Why didn’t you say something in advance?”
Not long after leaving the Owl, he had taken his friends around his school and enjoyed a meal at the cafeteria. Kuang Jinxin hadn’t expected Chi Yingxue to visit again.
“Do I need to announce my visit in advance?” Chi Yingxue leaned against the tree, showing no intention of moving.
“Why are you making such fuss?” Kuang Jinxin, in high spirits, spoke his mind. “I was just worried you’d miss me if I wasn’t at school today. Besides, you saw me, why didn’t you call out?”
“I thought you’d see me soon enough,” Chi Yingxue replied confidently.
Kuang Jinxin couldn’t help but laugh and reached out to pull his arms. “Come on, let’s go for some sweet and sour pork ribs.”
Last time, Chi Yingxue ate two portions in a row and seriously considered poaching the cafeteria auntie.
Chi Yingxue looked down at his arm being grabbed by Kuang Jinxin, gave up resisting, and followed him.
Near the end of their meal, Chi Yingxue mentioned, “I got my driver’s license. I’ll take you for a drive.”
Kuang Jinxin was stunned. His chopsticks paused in mid-air as he said, “Ah?”
Chi Yingxue frowned, feeling slighted. “What’s with that reaction?”
“It’s not that,” Kuang Jinxin hurried to clarify, misunderstanding the concern. “I’m not against going for a drive with you, but we have a class gathering this afternoon for a farewell meal.”
“Why have a gathering if you’re already parting ways?” Chi Yingxue glanced at their empty plates, reminding, “You just finished eating.”
“We’re meeting in the afternoon for some singing and board games, then dinner in the evening,” Kuang Jinxin patiently explained the schedule. As for why the group had to have a farewell gathering, Kuang Jinxin doubted whether Chi Yingxue would understand.
As more people gathered in the cafeteria, the noise grew louder.
Chi Yingxue said, “Then go to your gathering,” then walked away.
On his plate, there were still two pieces of ribs left—the two largest pieces of the portion. He liked to save the best for last, something Kuang Jinxin remembered well.
Throughout the afternoon, Kuang Jinxin was somewhat distracted, until the evening when the whole class gathered for a meal and the atmosphere of parting became real. It was then that he snapped back to reality, feeling a surge of reluctance as memories of the past four years welled up in his heart.
The dinner lasted until after ten o’clock, when the male class monitor got so drunk that he ended up crying and hugging anyone he saw. The other boys quickly protected the girls, dragging the class monitor into a taxi.
Once the class monitor left, the gathering dispersed. Everyone gathered in twos and threes at the roadside to hail cabs. A black Mercedes G500 stopped across the street, honking a long, deliberately drawn-out honk.
“Wow, that car is cool,” a male classmate beside him said, eyes gleaming. “Hey, he seems to be looking at us.”
The convertible’s top was down, and the driver, with one hand on the steering wheel, turned and looked steadily their way. His features weren’t clear in the night, but his gaze pierced the darkness, coming straight at them.
Kuang Jinxin swallowed unconsciously.
He made an excuse that he still had things to do, intentionally waiting until all his classmates had left before turning back to the restaurant.
Chi Yingxue narrowed his eyes, his irritation building to its peak after simmering all evening.
Kuang Jinxin came out again, holding something in his hand. Only when there were no cars passing by did he dash across the street to the car. “You didn’t wait here all evening, did you?”
“And all afternoon.” Chi Yingxue has never been one for “modesty”.
“You couldn’t have sent me a message?”
“Weren’t you going to have what’s it called,” Chi Yingxue paused, thinking, “Oh, right, the farewell dinner.”
So, he waited in silence, from outside the KTV to outside the restaurant.
“Are you stupid?” Kuang Jinxin was both angry and sympathetic, shoving something into his hand.
A bottle of orange-flavored soda, just taken out of the fridge, cold and refreshing, instantly dispelling the sultry heat and irritation of a summer night.
Chi Yingxue rolled the soda bottle across his face, soaking up the coolness. “Get in.”
Saying it was a drive, they really went for a drive. The car never stopped once they started, driving all the way past the Sixth Ring Road. Eventually, Kuang Jinxin no longer recognized the area. Eventually, it wasn’t even a road, but a dirt track surrounded by wasteland. The desolation made Kuang Jinxin anxious, fearing Chi Yingxue was truly angry and planning to leave him in a deserted place, unable to return to school.
At half-past midnight, thankfully, the car stopped.
Kuang Jinxin’s face was numb from the wind. He thought he’d never want to go for a drive again for the rest of his life.
The car stopped in a vast field, which had unknown grasses growing, emitting a special plant smell that was light and simple yet pleasant.
Chi Yingxue turned off the car.
The night sky in the suburbs was clear, with each star visible.
“How is it here?” Leaning back in the seat, Chi Yingxue glanced over, moonlight highlighting his beautiful profile.
“Open, vast,” and somewhat lonely. Kuang Jinxin didn’t say the last part out loud. Looking around, he made a new discovery. “There are no mosquitoes here.”
In the summer wilderness, it was practically a base for mosquitoes, but here there was only the distant sound of cicadas and close-up tranquility.
“Yan Wang says it’s because the grass here repels mosquitoes.” Chi Yingxue placed his hands behind his head, gazing at the night sky.
Kuang Jinxin stared at him blankly. “Yan Wang?”
The wind blew across the field, rustling the grass.
“Yan Wang likes to come here.”
Kuang Jinxin’s seat was reclined to the same angle, and he lay back, feeling somewhat uneasy. Finally, he turned to face Chi Yingxue, leaning against the back of the seat.
Chi Yingxue was still looking at the sky. “I used to wake up and find myself lying here.”
Kuang Jinxin was puzzled. “Aren’t you supposed to know everything Yan Wang does? It shouldn’t be a surprise.”
“I would know if I wanted to, but most of the time, I’m not really interested in his affairs.”
“But this, I’ve always been curious about.”
“What?”
“Why he likes coming here.”
Kuang Jinxin paused before asking, “Do you like it here?”
“I don’t.” Chi Yingxue answered quickly and with certainty.
His nose and jawline created a beautiful profile, which looked good no matter whether he was being unreasonable or petulant.
“You’re not telling the truth.” Kuang Jinxin bluntly pointed out.
Chi Yingxue turned and raised his eyebrows.
Kuang Jinxin raised his eyebrows too, deliberately meeting his gaze. “If I had just gotten my driver’s license, I’d definitely go to my favorite place first.”
Their eyes locked, and suddenly the air was still. Even the sound of the cicadas seemed to disappear.
Chi Yingxue leaned in, completely flattening the backrest, pressing down on him, and kissed him. He pinned him down firmly yet kissed with extreme caution, as if testing the boundaries of what wouldn’t be rejected.
Kuang Jinxin was a bit disoriented by the kiss, vaguely recalling the first time Chi Yingxue kissed him, which could hardly be considered a kiss but more like a unilateral stamp of possession, flaunted before competitors.
It was a slight sting.
Kuang Jinxin suddenly came back to reality, the one who bit his lip came back for more, gently licking the bitten spot. A slap followed by a sweet date.
Suddenly, that person stopped, propped up his upper body, and looked down at him with a hint of confusion and unease. “Why are you being so good today?”
Kuang Jinxin didn’t speak; he just looked at him, his eyes bright.
The simple plant smell filled the night air, as if the moonlight itself was tinged with it.
This was a place hidden deep within Chi Yingxue’s heart.
This was the first time he had opened that door, inviting him in, saying, “Please come in.”
At this moment, Kuang Jinxin thought, if Chi Yingxue was also willing to look into his heart, he would continue to be good.
That day, when they returned to the hotel, Xu Wang went straight to bed. When he woke up, he ordered room service, ate, and then continued to sit in the room, doing nothing all day, completely zoning out until night came again.
Wu Sheng’s activities weren’t as empty. He read books all day.
At midnight, Wu Sheng lay on the bed, with Xu Wang resting his head on his legs, the two of them occupying the large bed of the presidential suite, lying in different directions, quietly staring at the ceiling.
0:00:01, 0:00:02, 0:00:03…
The second hand made another round; it was a minute past midnight.
No owl hooting, no purple vortex—nothing happened.
“It’s really over…” Xu Wang muttered to himself, clearly feeling the last string in his heart loosen.
Wu Sheng quietly sat up and looked down at his face.
His shadow enveloped him, as if two souls quietly merged together. Wu Sheng wanted to see him clearly but didn’t want to move away.
Xu Wang waited for a while but didn’t hear any words or actions. He blinked, then chuckled. “Are you mesmerized by looking at me?”
Wu Sheng didn’t catch what he said. His attention was taken by the slightly parted lips.
The antique clock ticked away, and the fresh lilies in the glass vase gave off a faint fragrance.
Wu Sheng leaned down for a kiss.
These lips robbed him of his attention, so he robbed it.
Xu Wang was caught off guard by the kiss and forgot to close his eyes.
After the kiss ended, Wu Sheng released the lips he bullied into redness and kissed his eyes tenderly.
Xu Wang suddenly closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly, but his hand was still on Wu Sheng’s neck, responding to him awkwardly.
The scent of the lilies seemed even more intense…
“Ding!”
The sudden notification sound made both of them stiffen for a moment.
After a few seconds, Xu Wang reluctantly sat up, reached for the mobile phone on the nightstand, unlocked it, and saw, indeed, it was the WeChat group. “How idle are these guys!”
“Didn’t you set it to Do Not Disturb?” Wu Sheng had set it at noon, not because he didn’t care for his friends, but because there were dozens of messages a minute. When one chat ended, and another started. Both he and his phone were a bit overwhelmed.
“I did,” Xu Wang sighed. “But I can’t help it when I’m @mentioned.”
Wu Sheng leaned in from behind, feeling his warmth, and rested his chin on his shoulder. “Who @mentioned you?”
He asked, but without waiting for Xu Wang to answer, Wu Sheng already saw—
Marshal Yue: @Wangwang you’ve been diving all day. Time to surface!
Xu Wang was typing when his phone was suddenly taken away.
He looked puzzled at Wu Sheng. “Hm?”
“We can’t always stay in a hotel like this.” Wu Sheng moved closer to lick his lips. He rubbed the tip of his nose against Xu Wang’s, and his warm breath fell on his face. His voice was sexy and husky.
Forget the mobile phone; forget Marshal Yue—Xu Wang forgot everything at that moment. He was just dumbly following Wu Sheng’s words. “Yeah, after all, it’s Xiao Xue’s brother who’s paying…”
“Let’s look for a house tomorrow.”
“Okay…”
When he was kissed again, Xu Wang struggled with the last bit of his rationality, thinking, what were they just about to do?
……
Saturday, suitable for moving, suitable for settling in.
“Are you here for camping?” Xu Wang looked at Qian Ai carrying an induction cooker in one hand, an electric fan in the other, and a bulging backpack, suddenly a bit scared to let him into the new house.
“Ah, I knew you couldn’t do without me.” Qian Ai confidently walked in, naturally changing shoes, passing the entryway, and entered the living room. After scanning around, he chose a spot next to the dining table for the induction cooker, then plugged it into an extension board.
Chi Yingxue and Kuang Jinxin, who arrived earlier, had already toured the new house of their captain and advisor. Before Qian Ai arrived, they were watching TV on the sofa, but now they just watched Qian Ai busy himself.
After setting up the power, Qian Ai took the empty pot to the kitchen to fill it with water.
The three-bedroom apartment had an open kitchen. Wu Sheng, who was washing fruits, watched his teammate’s “enthusiasm” the whole time and immediately made way at the sink.
Qian Ai nodded at him appreciatively. “I knew you’d understand.”
“……” Wu Sheng didn’t quite understand, but it didn’t stop him from pretending.
The pot was placed on the induction cooker to boil.
Qian Ai sat on the floor waiting.
Xu Wang stood by him, while Xiao Kuang and Xiao Xue sat on the sofa, and Wu Sheng stood in the kitchen, waiting with him.
When the water boiled, Qian Ai connected the electric fan and started blowing it around the room while directing Xu Wang, “Open the windows—”
Xu Wang immediately complied, fearing any delay would lead Qian Ai to conjure some other trick.
The boiling water bubbled, steam rose, and the fan joyfully spun, circulating comfort in the cool breeze.
“For a housewarming, it must be lively with rising wind and water*!” Qian Ai stood in the center of the room, making a grand statement.
*(风生水起) Metaphor referring to if something is done well, it’ll develop quickly within a certain period of time and can grow rapidly. It’s also used as an explanation for Feng Shui (which is what it’s applying to in this case).
Xu Wang looked at him for two seconds, then suddenly squatted down and turned the induction cooker to its highest setting, making the boiling water livelier.
For the housewarming meal, they had hot pot. Given that Qian Ai brought an extra induction cooker, the five of them, using two pots, were quite imposing.
“Qian Ge, why didn’t you live stream today?” Kuang Jinxin suddenly asked mid-meal.
Xu Wang then realized that no wonder the meal felt strange, lacking the background music of “brothers, double-click 666”.
“Stopped.” Qian Ai precisely picked up a piece of tofu from the pot. “Taking a break for a while.”
Xu Wang was surprised. “Thinking of changing careers?”
“That’s not it. I’m just rethinking the positioning and direction of the live broadcast.” While Qian Ai spoke, his movements didn’t stop. The tofu on his chopsticks trembled as if ready to fall at any moment but ultimately landed intact in his oil dish, showcasing his superb skills.
Xu Wang was amazed. “Don’t change it. Just do food broadcasts. You’re the man chosen by the God of Food.”
After swallowing a piece of hot tofu, Qian Ai was invigorated. “Really?”
Xu Wang nodded emphatically, very sincerely. “Absolutely true.”
“Okay, enough about me,” Qian Ai said, though his smile stretched ear to ear. “What are your plans for the future?”
“I’ll look for a job,” Xu Wang pointed at Wu Sheng, “and he’ll start over with a new business.”
Qian Ai asked, “What about the previous company? After partnering for so long, can’t you go back?”
“He could, but he doesn’t want to.” Xu Wang sharply spotted another piece of tofu, made a move with his chopsticks, and it broke.
Wu Sheng took the ladle, catching the last intact piece of tofu in the pot, and placed it in Xu Wang’s oil dish, then said to Qian Ai, “I have a new research direction now, which no longer aligns with the old company.”
Qian Ai was curious. “What are you researching?”
Chi Yingxue and Kuang Jinxin also looked interested.
Wu Sheng had a determined look. “Artificial intelligence.”
The three friends: “…”
With no chance to teach NPCs to behave, he finally turned to his own products…
After dinner, the five continued chatting in the living room until it started to get dark. Then Kuang Jinxin and the other two friends left.
After seeing off the friends, Xu Wang washed the dishes in the kitchen, occasionally looking back at Wu Sheng tidying up the living room, feeling indescribably satisfied.
“If you keep sneaking looks at me, there will be a charge.” Wu Sheng teased with a raised eyebrow.
Xu Wang scoffed. “I’m afraid if I stop looking, you’d have to pay me to look.”
Wu Sheng was shamefully silent.
Xu Wang placed the sparkling, clean dishes on the rack, one by one, in perfect order. The bone china shone under the light, extremely beautiful.
Somehow, a surge of impulse came over him, and he blurted out, “I often thought in high school, what it would be like if we dated?”
Wu Sheng stopped, feeling an inexplicable tension, as Xu Wang brought up their high school days for the first time. “What would it be like?”
Xu Wang was silent for a long while, then turned around, his eyes and brows tinted with childishness, as if he had returned to that teenage boy. “I wanted to be on duty with you, run laps on the playground together, watch movies, play games together.”
Wearing an apron, standing in front of the sink, and looking back, it was the first time Wu Sheng saw this scene, yet it felt like he had replayed it many times in his mind.
If happiness had a form, it would be this moment.
“As far as I know, we didn’t miss out on any of these.” They hadn’t dated at the time, but they did everything mentioned above.
“Yeah.” Xu Wang chuckled slyly, as if his cunning plan had succeeded. “So I hypnotized myself into thinking we were already in puppy love.”
Wu Sheng stared at him for a long while. Then, without warning, he walked over, first dried Xu Wang’s hands, then neatly untied his apron, and led him towards the bedroom.
Xu Wang realized something and suddenly became hesitant. “The dishes aren’t finished yet…”
After returning home, Qian Ai remembered that during his house visit, the two bedrooms and a study were all tidied up and had some personal items, making it look as if both rooms were occupied.
Could it be… these two were still living separately?!
Qian Ai was startled by his conclusion, thinking it couldn’t be. After being so affectionate in the Owl, they must be passionately involved after coming out. But then again, the advisor always seemed to prioritize theory over practice and was now treating the captain like a treasure. Perhaps he would be too hesitant to make a move…
In the end, Qian Ai realized, damn, he left his electric fan and induction cooker at their new place.
He immediately called Xu Wang, intending to pick them up the next day. Just as they started their beautiful new life, an electric fan in the living room would be quite an eyesore.
The phone rang for a long time before being picked up. “Qian Ai…”
The voice sounded normal at first, but upon closer listening, there seemed to be slight panting and some rustling background noise?
“The fan and induction cooker—I forgot them. If you two are home tomorrow, I’ll come by to pick them up.”
“……”
No response. There were only rustling sounds, as if something was rubbing against something.
Qian Ai swallowed nervously. “Captain?”
“Don’t… Don’t do that first…” A very soft reprimand from the other end, with urgency and a bit of annoyance.
Qian Ai was dumbfounded.
“I told you to stop for a moment—” Anger mixed with embarrassment and awkwardness from the other end. Then, a “clang” sounded, like someone falling from a sofa or bed.
“Uh, you’re busy. Send my regards to Wu Sheng, bye!” Hanging up in a hurry, Qian Ai was unprecedentedly panicked.
Should he still go to pick up the fan and induction cooker tomorrow?
No, he couldn’t go. If he did, the advisor would surely target him for elimination…
The author has something to say:
Although we hit a red light along the way, the captain and advisor’s car still made it to the end, driving triumphantly* (～￣▽￣)～
*Clarity: Basically saying they finally did it (car), though they hit a bit of a snag reaching there (text/call interruptions… and also censorship, so we can’t read all the details).
Five people popped out from the Owl, and only Qi Shan ended up hanging from a tree.
“Stop gawking. Hurry up and save me!” Hanging from a branch four meters high, he dared not even move his fingertips, fearing he’d upset the balance.
“Hold on, I’ll find some stationery to catch you.” Li Xia, pretending to be serious, lifted his arm and started scribbling on his empty hand.
“……” Qi Shan considered jumping down to take him down with him.
“Is it done?” Li Zijin asked Han Buting, his confusion mixed with uncertain trepidation.
Han Buting opened the WeChat group on his phone. The first message was also from a cautious teammate, asking—Did we succeed?
Followed by Captain Xu’s immediate response—Before 5:00, all thirteen Owl Jades were destroyed. What do you think?
There was also an attached smirking emoji.
From there, the newly established Beijing Owl Travel Group WeChat group was flooded with messages. It had been less than half a minute since they came out, and the screen was filled with “hahaha” and various “laughing out loud emojis” of various styles, genders, and species, turning into an ocean of emoticons.
Li Zijin, relieved and laughing, finally dared to ask. “What exactly did I dream about?”
He hadn’t expected to be the one left in the dark compartment, clueless about the nightmare he had. When he woke up, he only felt his head was a mess and even more uneasy.
Thankfully, his teammates succeeded. Otherwise, he would have been the sinner.
“What did you dream about?” Li Xia said with a meaningful tone. “You should ask Qi Shan.”
Li Zijin looked up. The moon was half-visible, shining on Qi Shan, hanging by the tree.
“Your Millennium Falcon!” Qi Shan eagerly claimed credit, but at the crucial moment, he became a bit shy, lowering his voice for the latter half. “And my Tetris.”
Li Zijin widened his eyes. “Your Tetris?”
If Qi Shan had been closer, he would have caught the dangerous rise in tone, but alas, he was hanging too high.
“Surprised, huh? Let me tell you, I was too. It took half the battle to realize the operating system was too damn familiar! Once we removed the metal plate, we were in your Millennium Falcon! Guess who was the source of fear?”
“You,” Li Zijin said expressionlessly.
Qi Shan compensated for his lack of emotion with his own mixture of shyness and excitement. “How could we be so fated to bump into each other in such a niche game! If I had known the Millennium Falcon was yours back then, I wouldn’t have destroyed you every time. I would have carried you to the top on a palanquin!”
Li Zijin: “……”
Qi Shan: “Too bad we couldn’t record it. The battle just now was beautifully fought. I’m so familiar with Tetris’ tactics, it was like playing for fun to me. I indirectly avenged you, right?”
Li Zijin walked to the tree, opening his arms. “Come down.”
His figure was still slender like a young man’s, seeming like a younger brother ready to catch his elder brother. Qi Shan, fearing he might harm his idol, said, “Let Yan Ge come over.”
Li Zijin didn’t move, looking up at him. “It’s okay, come down. I have something to say to you.”
Qi Shan’s heart raced as he reached behind the hooked piece of clothing. Without hesitation, he tugged down, letting himself fall freely.
Li Zijin was ultimately knocked off balance, falling to the ground, but the moment Qi Shan pounced on him, he wrapped his arms around him, firmly protecting him.
The two fell together, unharmed.
Qi Shan, allowing himself to lie on top of his idol, was blissfully content. “What do you want to tell me?”
Li Zijin, as calm as an emotionless assassin. “You’re expelled from the fan club.”
Meanwhile, Zhu Mo in Guizhou received a message from HBT: Did we succeed?
The WeChat group was ecstatic, and this person was asking him alone…
If it weren’t for the status of “being awkwardly flirted with”, Zhu Mo might have taught Han Buting how to flirt hand in hand.
Zou Jun saw him staring at the phone with a complex expression and glanced at the screen casually. “Very… weird? Who is this person?”
Zhu Mo was startled. Usually, he would change the remark of someone he wasn’t very familiar with to their real name for easy recognition. When remarking on this person, to avoid any misunderstanding from anything inappropriate sent impulsively, he took a detour and changed the remark to initials.
Now, he felt guilty.
Zou Jun merely asked casually, then turned back to join the emoji battle with his own phone.
Zhu Mo changed Han Buting’s remark back, hesitated, and replied: Yeah.
Normally, seeing such a one-word reply, anyone should understand the meaning.
But Captain Han wasn’t just anyone.
Han Buting: Sent the wrong message?
Zhu Mo, tired, more so than from any challenge: No.
Han Buting: I’m very happy.
“……” Zhu Mo felt a subtle pressure, like being reviewed by an old professor.
Han Buting: Wait for me.
A few minutes later.
Han Buting: Okay, let’s continue.
Zhu Mo was curious: What did you do?
Han Buting: Logged out.
Zhu Mo: ???
Zhu Mo: Aren’t you talking to me right now?
Han Buting: The one talking to you now is the main account.I logged out of the secondary account.
Zhu Mo: Why log out?
It’s not strange to have multiple WeChat accounts, but Zhu Mo couldn’t understand why, in the middle of a conversation, the idea to log out of the secondary account suddenly came up.
Han Buting: Since you’re willing to chat with my main account, there’s no need for the secondary one.
“……” Now he understood.
Han Buting: When I get back, I’ll send you my resume. If you think it’s okay, we can move on to the next step.
Resume? The next step? Zhu Mo recognized every word, but when combined, they baffled him, and he dared not ponder too deeply, fearing the sight of a huge pit with a chilling breeze blowing from its bottom.
Han Buting: You understand what I mean, right?
Zhu Mo took a deep breath. The air of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau finally calmed him down: Actually, I don’t quite understand.
He didn’t want to know his height, place of origin, hobbies, career history, and all the potentially bizarre information!
Han Buting: No problem. You go back to the hotel and have a good sleep. There’s plenty of time ahead.
Sitting in the back of a taxi together, Zou Jun saw Zhu Mo earnestly tapping on his phone. On the screen was the WeChat page for changing remark names. The original remark had been deleted, and Zhu Mo was entering new characters—Very Weird.
“See, changing to a straightforward description.” Zou Jun had seen “HBT” last time and “Very Weird” this time, completely unaware that there had been another change in between.
Far away in Guangdong, Han Buting didn’t know that before becoming “Very Weird”, he briefly had a real name.
If any team was seriously navigating levels that night, it was the Colorful Assault Gray Man’s Team. At 4:37, their storyline was at the point where Handsome Senior B’s mother came to school to report Delinquent Boy D for leading her son astray, resulting in Delinquent Boy D being suspended. Throughout, Handsome Senior B didn’t dare speak a word in his defense.
After popping out, the first thing the captain of the Colorful Assault Team did was scold him, genuinely and fervently. “Scumbag!”
The actor playing Handsome Senior B, part of the unsuspecting team, endured a night of madness from their opponents, especially since he, forced by the script, repeatedly ended up in the mini-KTV with Delinquent Boy D, working hard like a laborer, only to end up with such a reputation?
Moreover…
“This is the storyline you guys picked up!” The screenwriter blamed the actors—what kind of logic is this?!
But their two opponents didn’t care about them anymore, hugging and jumping together in celebration, joyful as if they were at a wedding party.
Handsome Senior B, unable to suppress his curiosity, had to ask, “What are you guys laughing about? What succeeded?”
“Senior,” Delinquent Boy D, Red Wine, still used the familiar address. “From now on, you, us, everyone from the first thirteen levels, don’t have to enter the Owl anymore!”
Handsome Senior B and his teammates, all five of them, stepped back in unison and turned to hail a taxi.
Madness, absolute madness.
In Henan, but in different cities, Yue Shuai’s team and the Broom Team were on a call.
Yue Shuai: “How do you plan to celebrate?”
Broom Team Captain: “Wait for the breakfast stall to open. Then have a bowl of spicy soup.”
Yue Shuai: “What lofty ambition, always thinking about eating. Can’t you think of something healthier and slimming?”
Broom Team Captain: “Like?”
Yue Shuai: “Like, travel. Finally, we have the time and mood. No need to run around blindly. Take this opportunity to explore Henan.”
Broom Team Captain: “I’ve been here so many times but never really explored. Do you want to see the peonies in Luoyang or seek out Justice Bao in Kaifeng? We’re all for it.”
Yue Shuai: “Shaolin Temple on Mount Song.”
Broom Team Captain: “……”
Fu Wenqing and Wang Duanran, the two captains in Hunan and Jiangxi, respectively, had identical reactions after popping out—calmly looking up at the sky, like philosophers.
Their teammates had to suppress their celebratory urges, carefully asking, “Captain, what are you thinking about?”
Fu Wenqing, staring up, motionless, had thought about a lot, but in the end, he uttered only one sentence, with a profound calmness. “In this lifetime, I mean this lifetime, don’t ever let me see Aeroplane Chess again.”
Wang Duanran held his curly hair, reminiscing about sitting on a giant pumpkin all night with longing eyes. “I want to eat pumpkin porridge.”
They harbored joy for their success, but this joy was covered by a greater peace, gently enveloped. That peace came from the end of the nightmare, from returning to normal life, from the mundane yet precious moments of everyday life.
At 4:37 Beijing time, in two more hours, the city would awaken.
Mao Qiping would bring back his wife’s favorite breakfast and soon find out he needed to look for another job. President Chi would start a busy day and, in the near future, receive a notice of the dissolution of the Beijing Owl Travel Group.
Prophet Lilith leaned against the rough walls, squinting in the sunlight.
Dorothy said she was going to attend a dragon conference, leaving Lilith alone in the room again. Truth be told, she had spent most of her time alone since arriving in this world—first in a dark cage, then in a sealed tent.
She was surprised to find that she wasn’t even accustomed to the morning breeze blowing in her face.
Regarding “going to Paradise”, she still felt uneasy. Maybe after this conference, they could get an explanation of Paradise… Maybe, though she wasn’t very hopeful about it.
The feeling of being controlled and losing her memory was too terrifying. She didn’t remember anything, only the crushing discomfort upon waking. Just when she thought she could live normally again, waves of terrifying unknowns hit her.
When alone, the terror of the unknown felt like lead water. Lilith breathed in the fresh air, trying to calm her nerves.
It’s funny, she thought. This time last year, she was worried about her exam results, upset because she had a fallout with her desk mate, and her biggest wish was for her family to get a better phone. Now, all she wanted was to survive, and if she could suffer less, that would be even better.
Such a significant downgrade in wishes.
Lilith’s fingertips glided over her cold scales, smooth and hard, yet they conveyed a subtle warmth. Did she even remember how to walk on two legs normally?
A shaft of golden-red sunlight filtered through a crack, illuminating the yellow-brown rocks.
Lilith stared at it wordlessly, suddenly feeling a very strange impulse—if back on Earth, given her recent streak of bad luck, she’d visit a temple to pray. In this world, should she pray?
The system quests only mentioned “God”, not specifying which one. She was unclear about the true names of the Goddess of Life and the Eternal Son. She only knew of one god.
The ancient god worshiped by the Priest Serpent Clan, the God of Fate, Perradat.
It seemed she was nearly fully influenced by this world, Lilith mused with a bitter smile. She rummaged through her pack, taking out a piece of cheese she hadn’t finished eating and placing it ceremoniously in the light.
As if seeking some luck, she suddenly understood those with deep-rooted customs of worship.
“Perradat, I call upon you.”
She prayed formally. “Please protect me and my family, keep us healthy and safe, and allow us to reunite soon…”
A discordant sound of spatial distortion rang out, as if something was struggling inside a leather bag. Seconds later, the egg-sized piece of cheese began to emit bursts of black light.
[My prophet.] A cold, ethereal voice of a young girl spoke. [Why do you call upon me now?]
Whoa!
Lilith was dumbfounded. In a way, she indeed managed to cast aside her troubles and fears. What’s going on? Is calling upon a god this easy? Even a mouse trap doesn’t work this fast!
“Are you Perradat?” Lilith asked in shock.
God of Fate: [What you ask for…]
“Do you only need a piece of cheese?” Lilith hadn’t quite recovered. “Uh, should I offer more sacrifices. You’re not going to take my soul, right…”
God of Destiny: [Listen to me first…]
However, as an atheist high school student, she didn’t have much faith to begin with. Lilith felt like she had accidentally bumped into the principal while running in the hallway. “I didn’t do it on purpose. I’ll prepare better next time. Are you really Perradat? I’ve heard demons might disguise themselves—”
[Can you be quiet for a moment? I am Perradat!]
The girl’s voice couldn’t stay cold. She sounded like she wanted to hit someone. [This is the Dragon’s Lair. Even if you are my high priest and have called upon me willingly, I… haa, can’t hold on for too long…]
Lilith immediately clamped her mouth shut.
[I can reunite you with your family,] Perradat said weakly. [In exchange, I need you to do something for me.]
“Anything!” Upon hearing she could see her family, Lilith’s heart felt like it had been hammered, almost leaping out of her chest.
[My kin. I want you to become my Chosen One, my voice.]
The girl’s voice tensed up again. [I will guide you to a nearby battlefield, where a fragment of my divine body lies. Swallow it, and I can communicate with you.]
Lilith was silent for a few seconds. “You mean the battlefield where I lost my memory before?”
This “communication” made her wary. If reuniting meant losing herself, the deal seemed too sinister.
[That was the vile one using your spirit, descending forcefully through magic.]
The girl’s voice turned disdainful. [The serpentmen is a race I created. I wouldn’t do such a disrespectful thing to my own kin—you will automatically acquire the skill “Invoke God”, and I can only use your voice with your permission. When necessary, I will whisper in your ear. That’s all.]
There was no guarantee though. Lilith stared at the glowing piece of cheese.
She knew little about this world. Establishing a vow or contract with a god was like an electronics novice stepping into a computer mall—whether she’d get cheated depended on the other party’s conscience.
But a god who could communicate through cheese seemed a bit less malicious.
Should she discuss it with Paradise? What if Paradise disagreed?
Would Dorothy agree? If Dorothy disagreed, could she really give up this chance?
According to the Priest Serpent Clan’s internal mythology, Perradat seemed more like a neutral god. Not an evil god, so it shouldn’t be too bad, right…?
“Tell me the location,” Lilith said, biting her lip.
[Very well.] The girl sounded pleased.
Using wind magic, Lilith soon arrived at the remnants of the battlefield. Though called a battlefield, the situation was actually not too bad. There was only one, uh, undead dragon napping under the sun. The strong sunlight seemed to sap its energy.
Telistam, supposedly, wasn’t an enemy.
Lilith tiptoed around the skeletal giant dragon. The further she got from the Dragon’s Lair, the more restless the cheese in her pocket became. Initially, the voice was full of abundant and ethereal divinity, but later, she sounded like Lilith’s cousin screaming at a game console.
[Left! Right! Three steps forward! Ah, how can you even walk off course like this!]
[Turn left again… No, no, you turned your head to the right. Yes, yes, just like that, keep going forward!]
[Off course again. God, it’s so hard to describe distance to a serpentman—]
Such a noisy guy.
Lilith had a headache from the noise and couldn’t help but interrupt. “You said we need to find your divine remains, so you’re dead?”
[Half-dead,] the God of Fate murmured miserably. [In your terms, it’s like being paraplegic and also missing a heart.]
“In our case, that usually means certain death. Without a heart, how are you still alive?” Lilith spoke irreverently.
Perradat: [My old nemesis thought they took all my power, but I kept a bit. It’s that simple. Unfortunately, this little power is very limited, basically only enough to speak.]
Lilith: “I can tell.”
[Mind your manners, little girl. Your prophetic power comes from me. Be careful or I might turn it off.] The cheese god complained in Lilith’s pocket.
“Actually, up until now, I was quite worried about this deal. Now, I’m not worried anymore,” Lilith said.
[That’s good you understand my leniency.]
[……]
[Are you scolding me?]
Amidst the quarrel between a serpent and a piece of cheese, Lilith finally arrived at the indicated location.
She saw several drops of strangely colored blood. Oddly, they were right there, emanating an eerie power. But she needed the God of Fate to point them out before she could notice their presence.
[That brat brought out my body. At least he did something humane.]
Perradat sighed at the drops of blood, which rose from the soil and formed into a pearl-like small orb.
[Swallow them. They will grant you strength.] The God of Fate Perradat became serious. [I promise, by today, you will be reunited with your loved ones.]
Lilith took a deep breath, caught the drops of blood with her fingertips, and swallowed them with her eyes closed.
The black glow on the cheese suddenly disappeared. A few seconds later, Lilith opened her four eyes, revealing eyes that had turned dark.
She felt power and joy filling her body, the cheers from her Priest Serpent Clan lineage. There seemed to be a rumor among her clan that over two hundred years ago, their clan had a descendant of the God of Fate. They were powerful, majestic, and invincible.
Although she really couldn’t understand how a cheese god could be majestic.
The system turned her newly acquired power into a skill named [Whisper of Fate] which she could toggle between active and passive modes. In active mode, she allows the “God of Fate” to temporarily control her body. In passive mode, she can hear the God of Fate’s whispers in her mind.
‘Unfortunately, there’s no off switch,’ Lilith thought. ‘That’s probably the cost.’
“You… okay, you didn’t lie to me.” Lilith looked at her hands. “What do I do now?”
[Wait here. Fate has its plans.]
This time, Perradat’s voice came directly into her mind, light and clear.
[The decision you’ve made is more important than you think, child.]
……
In the Dragon’s Lair, the leader’s cave.
“So, your request is for me to stabilize Nolerwin’s power so you can invade his mind.” The voice of White Dragon Subelbot carried a hint of mockery. “What does this have to do with our God?”
“This is the Dragon’s Lair. I wouldn’t be foolish enough to renege here.” Teest waved his hand, his gaze stuck on Nol. “Explaining isn’t my style. I could offer our Lord Painter as collateral. If I’m lying, you can kill him.”
Painter grimaced and raised his hands. “Fine. In this matter, I don’t doubt your honesty. But you have better options.”
“This is the choice that makes me happiest,” Teest said.
Nol was just watching Subelbot up close, and despite the inappropriate context, he was still amazed by his beauty. The white dragon noticed his gaze and turned his head away, somewhat displeased. Upon seeing Nol’s gaze, a hint of surprise and hesitation appeared in his large dragon eyes.
It was a very strange look, distant yet affectionate.
A Dracolich, a corrupted being, shouldn’t have such a gaze. It made Subelbot slightly uneasy yet also felt a subtle impulse to get closer, as if encountering a long-lost relative.
“I promise,” he heard Nol say.
It was hard to tell whether that was a promise or a command, Subelbot thought. He could sense something very special, but as he tried to discern it, the feeling gradually faded.
But he didn’t smell of corruption.
It seemed he had underestimated Paradise. The White Dragon silently turned his head, narrowing his eyes, and after half a minute of deep thought, said, “I will lend my power, come with me.”
He led them to his nest.
Nol secretly breathed a sigh of relief and telepathically messaged Teest, [The defensive magic here is very comprehensive, and there are many items that resist strong magical bursts. I’ll point them out to you later.]
“Why did you follow?” Teest turned to Painter with dissatisfaction.
Painter: “In case Lord Subelbot needs to bite me and I’m not around, that would be impolite.”
After saying that, he paused meaningfully. “And now, someone isn’t absolutely rational. Considering the relationship between Paradise and the Dragon’s Lair, I feel it’s necessary for me to be here.”
Teest clicked his tongue lightly and said no more.
“Let’s start.”
Nol found a piece of adamantite slate and lay down on it cautiously.
Before closing his eyes, he cast hundreds of isolation and binding spells on his limbs, akin to a magical straitjacket. Just a few seconds after lying down, he suddenly sat up like a measuring worm and cast a spell on everyone present to immunize them against mental disturbances.
This time, Subelbot took over Painter’s role. Just as he found his position—
Mr. Nol struggled to get up and threw a terrifyingly powerful magical shield on everyone present, then lay down again with difficulty.
“That’s enough, Sir,” Painter said subtly. “If you make another move, we’ll all be sealed here.”
Nol chuckled dryly. Looking at the top of Subelbot’s nest, he suddenly had a strange illusion. It was like a life-and-death operation, and he didn’t know if he would wake up once his eyes were closed. Even if he did wake up, he was unsure if he could remain the same.
Luckily, he didn’t have to face this alone.
Unfortunately, they had to face this together.
He hoped the past events he remembered wouldn’t drastically change his personality. He somewhat wanted to pray to someone. Funnily enough, he was theoretically the supreme god of this land.
Throughout the process, the system remained silent.
“Let’s start,” Nol said again.
The magic aura of the White Dragon was cold and heavy, like an avalanche. Painter’s expression stiffened, and his eyes were filled with a trace of melancholy. Teest, unusually, took several deep breaths before diving into Nol’s consciousness again.
The familiar pure white space, the familiar faint stench of decay.
And that familiar figure.
The deformed Nol, with black hair and eyes, was still sitting on that strange swivel chair. Different from last time, there were several thin, semi-transparent chains around his wrists and ankles.
He lifted his head towards Teest, his features flickering, misaligned, and moving. Even for someone as skilled as Teest, it was hard to discern any emotions. Behind “Nol”, that weird machine box with its screen still pitch black.
It perfectly backed the black-eyed Nol’s head, like a rectangular piece of black divine light.
Referencing Kando’s memories, that was probably Nol’s sealed memory—not scattered like Kando’s memories, but closely pressed together, guarded by this bizarre “Nol”.
“It’s you again,” the strange Nol said, his voice weirdly stuttering. “And the power of a dragon.”
He raised his hand, his flowing features gathering at the wrist chains.
“And you, honey.”
Teest bowed. “You are the embodiment of the knowledge seal, I guess?”
“You do not have—”
“I don’t have the permission, I know.” Teest interrupted directly. “If you didn’t keep unsettling Nol every now and then, I wouldn’t want to disturb your peace. Now, for his safety, I have to verify this knowledge.”
He stepped forward, moving towards that strange figure.
The stench of decay grew stronger, containing odors that shouldn’t belong to humans, as well as a damp, rotten smell more akin to decaying vegetation.
Nol tilted his head stiffly—not in a charming way, more like the head of a car crash victim being straightened—and opened his mouth, which contained nothing but teeth and hollow blackness.
“Do not approach. Do not approach,” he murmured. “Forbidden, forbidden, forbidden.”
“I wouldn’t want to approach either. If you could chat with me more cordially, I’d rather never come here again. We both have no choice. What a pity.”
The strange Nol fell silent.
After a long time, as if he thought of something, he began to unbutton his shirt.
Teest immediately jumped back two steps. “Wait, wait, honey. I didn’t mean that…”
His words were cut off, suddenly stuck in his throat.
The clothes of the black-eyed Nol were as bizarre as he was. Taking them off was like peeling off a layer of skin. Now, the strange Nol stood naked in front of Test, quietly observing him.
Behind him, the screen remained pitch black, looking like an even larger, hollower eye socket.
“You know, this is the first time I’m proud of my profession.” Teest murmured to the figure in front of him. “It ensures that I remain conscious, so I don’t faint on the spot.”
While at the Eternal Church, he received similar education—to understand human anatomy, their instructors would have them chop up corpses, sew them together, chop them finer, sew them tighter.
During this time, naturally, some had a perverse interest in creating something new. For instance, sewing different species together or creating a “new species” with an excessive number of limbs. Teest didn’t need to develop any gruesome imaginations. He just had to look around.
However, the most exaggerated “creation” he saw was nothing compared to the existence before him.
Beneath the clothes, countless dizzying chunks of flesh were visible. They were of various colors, protruding strange limbs beyond human comprehension, entwined and adhered to each other, barely forming a human shape.
Semi-transparent, fruit-like tissues, hard shells with dense compound eyes, and tumor-like growths glowing blue-green… At the position of Nol’s heart, a piece of white scale lay quietly.
Looking at each part, Teest could feel the discomfort of staring directly at a “God”. What was more, each chunk of flesh responded differently.
They came from different individuals.
They came from hundreds and thousands of different gods.
The author has something to say:
Nol: Bad news, I’ve been working overtime alone.
Nol: Good news, it seems I’m not working overtime alone anymore.
…sorry for the hell (.
Honestly, they are a perfect match… Normal people probably couldn’t handle this wave of sc*…
*Sensitive/shocking content.
Kinky Thoughts:
Wouldn’t be a Nian Zhong novel without a little horror and gore.
The wind was blowing—not too strong, but with a biting chill.
Yun Xiangrong’s hair had been cut short, just reaching her shoulders. The wind lifted her hair, making her figure appear even more slender and gaunt. At the moment of eye contact with her, Zhou Qian felt the knapsack move on its own.
He guessed that it was Gao Shan inside the Rib of God sensing something.
Zhou Qian patted the knapsack, barely soothing the Bone Spirit, and then, without saying anything for the moment, turned and led the way to the inn.
As Zhou Qian walked, Bai Zhou naturally followed closely behind.
Shortly after, all eight players, under the system’s guidance, entered the Tatat Inn together.
The innkeeper was a middle-aged woman wearing a white long dress draped with a woolen plaid shirt, currently sitting in front of the fireplace knitting a sweater.
Upon seeing the eight guests walk in, she looked up, smiled at them, and said, “You can choose your rooms. It’s almost festival time. I’m very busy, so please make your choice within ten minutes. I advise each of you to choose a room; it’s best not to crowd together, as there’s only one bed per room.”
Festival?
The fields had already been harvested, and the foliage was showing signs of withering yellow, indicating that it was deep autumn.
What festival could the people in this instance, in this season, be celebrating?
Zhou Qian looked carefully around the inn’s lobby, noticing dried meat, corn, and chili hanging near the door.
Particularly unusual was the seven large pots placed near the entrance, all simmering with meat, the aroma filling the entire lobby.
In fact, the players had already smelled the meat before even entering the inn.
However, the combination of meat and the inn inevitably led to associations with rumors of cannibalistic eateries, and thus, no one dared entertain the thought of coveting that meat.
Turning back to the innkeeper, Zhou Qian asked, “What festival is it? Is this meat prepared for the festival?”
“Yes. There will be banquets these next few nights. Everyone can eat as much meat as they want.” The innkeeper smiled at Zhou Qian. “Eat as much as you like.”
He Xiaowei, beside Zhou Qian, obviously swallowed. “That meat smells so good. But I dare not eat it. How can you eat meat randomly in such instances?”
“That’s not necessarily the case. Don’t the game designers like to play with people? The more it seems you can’t eat, the more likely you can.” Zhou Qian laughed and walked towards the second floor. “Anyway, let’s find rooms first.”
He Xiaowei sighed. “Qian’er, although I’ve been playing games with you for so long, many times I still can’t tell if you’re joking or serious.”
“Really? Then can Zhou Ge tell?” While walking upstairs, Zhou Qian nudged Bai Zhou with his elbow, asking very pointedly.
Bai Zhou glanced at Zhou Qian, grabbed his hand, and before he could reply, He Xiaowei, following behind, added, “Don’t always ask others. Reflect on yourself!”
“Hey, He Xiaowei—”
He Xiaowei couldn’t continue, as he was knocked on the head by Hidden Blade.
“Master, why did you hit me?”
“Trouble comes from the mouth. Focus on choosing a room.”
“Does it matter which room we choose?” He Xiaowei asked.
Hidden Blade: “You forgot that—”
“Oh right, I remember now…”
He Xiaowei didn’t finish his sentence as Zhou Qian’s hand covered his mouth from behind.
Then he heard Zhou Qian tell the two girls. “Ladies first. You choose.”
By this time, all eight people had already made their way up the stairs to the second floor.
Realizing something, He Xiaowei paused, a bit unclear about Zhou Qian’s intentions.
What is he doing? He surely doesn’t mean harm to the two girls, right?
This Yin Jiujiu had a falling out with everyone last time, and she is somewhat naive and impulsive, but her enemy is Situ Qing. She hasn’t intentionally caused trouble for others. She doesn’t really have a grudge against us. At the beginning of the game, would they really just eliminate her so simply and crudely?
As for Yun Xiangrong, she’s even more of a pitiable girl. Zhou Qian shouldn’t be harming her, right?
What is he trying to do?
Noticing He Xiaowei’s gaze, Zhou Qian roughly guessed what he was thinking but didn’t explain much. When he looked at the two girls, his gaze even carried intentional mockery.
When their eyes met, Yun Xiangrong seemed to understand the provocation and mockery in Zhou Qian’s eyes. She immediately turned colder and said with a mocking tone, “I received that prohibition too—’one must not stay overnight in a house where one can still see the firelight from the window after sunset’. You don’t need to try using the asymmetry of information against me.”
Hearing this, Yin Jiujiu’s gaze shifted back and forth between Yun Xiangrong and Zhou Qian. “Do you two have a grudge?”
She then looked at Zhou Qian and asked, “But Zhou Qian… you won’t trick me, right?”
“You misunderstood. Of course, I’m not tricking you,” Zhou Qian said with a smile to Yin Jiujiu, then walked a few steps closer to Yun Xiangrong, staring into her eyes. “I really thought you didn’t know this information, which is why I let you two choose first.”
“But what I’m doing is not to harm you. I just wanted to play the hero who saves you after you trigger a crisis due to lack of information.”
Yun Xiangrong nodded and continued mockingly, “Oh. A familiar tactic. In the instance where Shan Ge died, didn’t you do the same to Situ Qing? How is it, you played a tactic and won her heart at that time… But after you used her and left the instance… You seemed not to care about her?”
“You two are, of course, different. She was indeed an enemy trying to kill me at that time. But at least you were once a teammate I could trust. This time, it’s just a little trick I played to express my goodwill towards you. Now that you know the prohibition… fine, I can’t play this trick anymore. There’s nothing more to say. But…”
Zhou Qian said seriously, “I want to tell you that Shan Ge has become my Bone Spirit now. He has the chance to be revived. And only I can truly revive him.”
“So, what you should do now is immediately leave the Peach Blossom Legion and come join me. You’ve seen it. My team is growing stronger. My people and I can completely protect you.”
“Is that so? Would you give me your weapon then?”
Yun Xiangrong coldly curled her lip, extending her hand towards him. “Give me your weapon, then I’ll believe you.”
“Rong Mei, that’s not fair. What if I give you my weapon and you turn to kill me?” Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes. “I haven’t forgotten. You said I was your first target for revenge.”
“Besides, without the Rib of God, I have no skills. All my skills depend on it.”
“So you see… you dare not give me your weapon.”
Yun Xiangrong turned back, walked into the corridor, randomly opened a room, and walked to the bed, looking through the window at the village outside. “I knew you weren’t sincere.”
“You’re being unfair now.”
Zhou Qian said, “The real insincere one is the Peach Blossom Legion. Can’t you see they’re testing you? If they really wanted to help you kill me, they wouldn’t let you face so many of us alone.
“They’re testing the real relationship between you and me. They want to see if I would harm you in this instance, to eliminate you as a future threat. After all, I have never spared my enemies. So Yun Xiangrong—”
“If I let you go this time, those who want to kill you after we leave this instance might be them.”
Zhou Qian said this was partly a performance for the “traitorous gambler” to watch and for the Peach Blossom Legion to see.
On the other hand, he was genuinely persuading Yun Xiangrong, wanting her to completely abandon the path of being a traitor. After all, the Peach Blossom Legion clearly didn’t trust her, and sending her this time had sinister intentions—
It wasn’t a good opportunity to kill Zhou Qian in this instance. There were eight players, with six on Zhou Qian’s side, and two of them were Rank God players.
The Peach Blossom Legion sending her was obviously testing Zhou Qian’s attitude towards her.
Under such circumstances, she would either die at Zhou Qian’s hand or, due to the fact that Zhou Qian let her go, the Peach Blossom Legion might consider her to be pretending to defect but actually still standing with Zhou Qian and thus choose to kill her.
Thus, no matter the path, Yun Xiangrong seemed to have only one way out—death. Unless—
Unless there were two other possibilities.
The first possibility was that, for some reason, Yun Xiangrong had indeed defected to the Peach Blossom Legion.
In that case, her daring to come here or the Peach Blossom Legion daring to send her here might just be because they calculated that Zhou Qian would let her go. Perhaps Yun Xiangrong’s purpose in coming here was only to get some important special reward from the instance, and she and the legion didn’t plan to kill Zhou Qian in this instance.
The second possibility was that the Peach Blossom Legion still wanted to kill Zhou Qian, but they had other pieces in play, such as Yin Jiujiu, or among the five people with Zhou Qian, there might be problems.
In Zhou Qian’s view, except for Bai Zhou, he trusted no one else.
It wasn’t that he easily doubted his teammates’ character. But someone like He Xiaowei, who was usually less guarded, could be controlled without knowing, which wasn’t impossible.
Zhou Qian was aware that the direct methods of the Peach Blossom Legion had failed, and of course, they would turn to the people close to him that he trusted.
Numerous thoughts flashed through Zhou Qian’s mind when he heard Yun Xiangrong say, “What exactly does your Rib of God do, and what exactly are the souls it produces? It’s still unclear. Maybe you can’t revive Shan Ge at all; you might just create a monster.”
“Shan Ge is a living, thinking, and perceptive soul, but now he’s trapped in that bone day and night. If it were me, I can hardly imagine what that feels like…”
At this point, a brief poignancy appeared in Yun Xiangrong’s words, followed by a sudden icy look in her eyes.
After a while, her gaze continued out the window, showing a bit of yearning as she continued, “But in the Peach Blossom Legion, I’ve seen it with my own eyes… That’s the real power of resurrection. Don’t you have two Rank God players by your side?”
She glanced back at Bai Zhou and Hidden Blade, her eyes shimmering with a certain brilliance. “You’ve heard of the Peach Blossom God, Xie Huaying, right?”
He Xiaowei, standing behind the group, quietly asked Hidden Blade, “Master, who is the Peach Blossom God?”
Hidden Blade replied, “It’s said she was one of the first players to enter this game and achieve godhood. I have indeed heard… she could resurrect people. Not just in the game, but in real life as well.”
“But she hasn’t appeared for a long time. Some say she never existed, and the legend is just a ploy to lure us into training. Others say… she has long been dead.”
“Ah? Did they say when she died?” He Xiaowei asked.
“She disappeared about six years ago,” Hidden Blade replied. “I don’t know the specifics.”
Six years ago?
Wasn’t that a year after Bai Zhou entered this game?
Does he have anything to do with this?
Hearing this, Zhou Qian inevitably linked the matter to Bai Zhou.
From the moment they entered the instance, he and Bai Zhou were equipped with props that allowed them to chat privately without being heard by other players or even the gamblers.
With doubts in his mind, Zhou Qian turned to look at Bai Zhou.
Catching Zhou Qian’s gaze, Bai Zhou guessed what he wanted to ask.
Without waiting for him to speak, Bai Zhou immediately said in the private chat, “I’m not involved in this matter. But I heard from Shao Chuan that he killed Xie Huaying and another Rank God player I don’t recognize years ago. It was also because of that incident he suffered severe injuries.”
This news was somewhat surprising to Zhou Qian.
However, with only ten minutes at his disposal, he had to first solve the first puzzle—”choosing a room” before considering anything else.
The inn was a square building, with the second floor built around a corridor precisely aligned with four directions.
There were four doors on each side, making a total of sixteen rooms.
Four of the rooms were at the corners, slightly larger, each with two windows facing different directions. The remaining twelve rooms each had only one window.
As per the innkeeper’s instruction, now the players had to choose eight rooms to stay in.
Zhou Qian first asked his teammates to quickly open every room door. After taking a glance in each to get a rough idea of the structure, he began to enter the rooms for a detailed inspection.
One thing was clear: all sixteen rooms contained a fireplace, plenty of firewood, and candles. The village had no electricity. If lighting was needed at night, candles would have to be used.
After checking several rooms, He Xiaowei was the first to say, “I have an idea… This puzzle might not be related to which room we choose. We just don’t light any lights!”
Right then, Zhou Qian pulled open the simple wooden wardrobe in one of the rooms, then patted He Xiaowei’s shoulder.
“What’s up?”
He Xiaowei turned his head and saw many odd costumes in the wardrobe, each more bizarre than the last—some with skull and ghost patterns, others with red blood stains.
Suddenly, Zhou Qian picked something from the wardrobe and threw it to He Xiaowei, who caught it only to be startled by what it was—a pristine white skull!
“Don’t panic, Xiaowei Ge.” Zhou Qian stepped forward and picked it up. He tied a plastic rope on the back around his head, donning it, and then, with hands outstretched like grabbing something, he stepped closer to He Xiaowei.
Only then did He Xiaowei realize it wasn’t a real skull but just a skull mask.
Still, He Xiaowei retreated step by step until Zhou Qian had him cornered against the wall.
He Xiaowei, trying to invoke some intervention, said to Bai Zhou, who was rummaging through something on the large bed, “Hey… aren’t you going to do something? Let me tell you, I’ve been in love before, so I have experience. If you don’t intervene now, later he’s going to walk all over you! When it comes to love, whoever lowers their stance first will have a harder time raising their status later on!”
Before he could finish, He Xiaowei saw Bai Zhou also take out a yellow head from under the covers, then looked down at it silently, as if measuring something. Then he turned to look at He Xiaowei. “You want to play with this?”
He Xiaowei: “…………”
Deciding to no longer follow Zhou Qian and giving up on seeking help from Bai Zhou, He Xiaowei turned to find his master in another room.
Just as he reached the door, a chill ran down his back as if someone had blown on him, causing his heart to race.
With a surge of courage, he turned back, only to find a yellow ghoulish face right in front of him.
Unable to hold back, He Xiaowei screamed, “Ahhh, a g-ghost—!”
Then, the yellow head lowered, revealing a white skull mask behind it, which was then removed to reveal… Zhou Qian’s face.
It turns out both ghosts were Zhou Qian.
Somewhat frustrated and feeling wronged, He Xiaowei complained, “Qian’er, you know I’m scared of this!”
“Take a closer look at what this is. You can smell it.”
Picking up the skull again, Zhou Qian didn’t wear it this time but set it aside.
Then he raised something else in front of He Xiaowei, who cautiously sniffed it and recognized it was a hollowed-out pumpkin.
Carved with facial features, it looked somewhat ghostly. But at its core, it was still just a pumpkin.
Pumpkin heads, skull masks, odd costumes…
He Xiaowei suddenly went to the window and looked out.
The sun hadn’t set yet. In the light of the setting sun, he could see many grains, pigs, and sheep, as well as many bones that seemed to be from animals, arranged in circles as if for some ritual.
“This, this…” He Xiaowei suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
Zhou Qian said, “Actually, you should be able to easily associate this with a Western festival.”
“Halloween!” He Xiaowei said. “Odd costumes, skull masks…these are for a costume party, right?! And there are also pumpkin lanterns! Do we need to prepare candy? Will kids come knocking on the door at night to ‘trick or treat’?”
“Halloween, November 1st, the timing does indeed fit. However, the costume party of Halloween can be traced back to an even older festival—Samhain*.”
*A Gaelic festival on November 1st marks the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or “darker half” of the year. Often associated with Irish mythology, early literature says great gatherings and feasts marked Samhain when the ancient burial mounds were open, which were seen as portals to the Otherworld. Some of the literature also associates Samhain with bonfires and sacrifices.
Zhou Qian continued, “Some believe November 1st is the beginning of the new year, and on the night of October 31st, before November 1st arrives, there is a period of transition between the old and new—a time that doesn’t exist. During this time, the gates between the worlds of the living and the dead open, and Death and ghosts return to the mortal world to find replacements.”
“To avoid being recognized by Death, people would dress up as ghosts and ghouls. Besides that—”
“People welcoming Samhain would light various offerings at sunset, including burning animal bones to appease the spirits. This is what’s displayed in the square.”
“Not only in public areas would offerings and bonfires be burned, but every household must also keep their fire burning. On the night of Samhain, one must light the fireplace at home to prevent ghostly disturbances. So Xiaowei Ge, do you see the contradiction in the solution you just proposed?”
He Xiaowei realized it.
The prohibition related to the players was that they couldn’t stay overnight in a room where firelight can be seen from outside.
He initially thought that not lighting a fire would suffice.
But now it seemed this plan wouldn’t work. If they didn’t light the fireplace at night, they might very well die from ghosts returning from the other world.
“Damn it.” He Xiaowei couldn’t help saying, “So I’ve come to the instance I fear the most… This time, there really are ghosts.”
“We can’t say that for sure. It’s just one possibility,” Zhou Qian said.
“How should we choose the rooms then?” He Xiaowei pondered and suggested another idea. “Why not just completely block up all the windows with bricks and cement!”
“That would indeed be quite a drastic solution. But what if something unusual happens outside the house? Then you won’t be able to see it at all,” Zhou Qian said.
He Xiaowei was at a loss. “Yes. If we can’t see the information, we might miss a lot of it. So what should we do?”
But he heard Zhou Qian say, “Let’s just choose randomly for now.”
He Xiaowei: “?”
“There’s not enough information at the moment, so just choose randomly.”
He Xiaowei saw Zhou Qian smiling and saying, “The prohibition mentioned ‘overnight’, which means as long as the night isn’t truly over, not until the last moment, we’re not considered to have broken the prohibition. So the consequences of breaking the prohibition can’t take effect.”
“Wow… right. Then we can just keep moving!” He Xiaowei said.
“Right. Although the proprietress reminded us, it’s best for each person to have a room and not to stay together. There’s probably some reason behind it. But there’s no specific prohibition saying we must stay alone. So…”
Zhou Qian walked out of the room, just in time to see the two girls coming out of their rooms. They both seemed serious, probably also thinking about how to avoid the prohibition.
Zhou Qian then said to them, “At the beginning of the game, follow my lead. There are eight of us, so every two people will choose a room in one direction. We can adjust as the situation changes later. You two ladies can choose rooms in two different directions for easy support.”
Everyone agreed to Zhou Qian’s arrangement and chose their rooms. With a few minutes left of the innkeeper’s time requirement, they didn’t immediately go downstairs to report but continued to search the second floor.
After a while, Qi Liuxing found a room with a problem with the ceiling. After testing it, he found that several bricks were loose and could be removed.
After removing some bricks, a large hole appeared in the ceiling—large enough for someone to climb onto the roof.
After finding out, Zhou Qian was the first to follow Qi Liuxing. Bai Zhou and Ke Yuxiao followed behind, and the four of them climbed onto the roof together for a better view of the entire village.
After a round of observation, Zhou Qian could clearly see a rather tall stele in the west.
Being so far away, the words on the stele couldn’t be read, so Zhou Qian took out binoculars.
Beside him, Qi Liuxing glanced at him and couldn’t help saying, “Did you use this binocular back when you were like the ‘waiting for your husband stone’?”
Zhou Qian: “……”
Qi Liuxing rarely got a chance to tease Zhou Qian. Seeing him not responding, he mimicked Zhou Qian’s pleased smile.
But soon, he felt that deliberately smiling like that made him feel awkward, almost as if his facial muscles were twitching, so he stopped and just looked up at the stele.
At that moment, he felt a gaze that one couldn’t ignore—a spine-chilling gaze.
Turning his head, Qi Liuxing met Bai Zhou’s eyes.
In that instant, as if enlightened, Qi Liuxing responded, “The person he’s waiting for is probably you.”
“Brother Sword God, have you been hanging out with Xiaowei Ge too much? If you talk too much, you’ll lose your coolness, and your Sword God persona will collapse,” Zhou Qian immediately cautioned him.
Qi Liuxing calmly replied, “Doesn’t matter. My persona has already collapsed a million times in front of you.”
Zhou Qian: “…………”
Then Zhou Qian saw Bai Zhou walk up beside him, seemingly with a smile in his eyes, looking at him.
Zhou Qian didn’t look at him. His ears were tinged red by the setting sun.
Then he cleared his throat and said, “The stele is inscribed with the third prohibition: Do not circumnavigate Brega clockwise.”
……
The ten minutes for choosing rooms ended.
The eight players went to the first-floor lobby to inform the innkeeper of their decision.
The innkeeper put down the sweater in her hands and smiled at them. “Good. Now please come with me to the square. The evening’s festival activities are about to start. I’ll take you to the first one.”
He Xiaowei couldn’t help asking, “Do we need to prepare candy?”
He was still thinking about the “trick or treating” of Halloween.
“No need.” The innkeeper smiled. “Do you like sweets?”
He Xiaowei seemed to realize—so, tonight’s festival is indeed the ancient Samhain?
After a while, Yun Xiangrong asked the innkeeper, “May I ask what the first activity tonight is?”
“A little game. Similar to Drop the Handkerchief*. It’s very fun.”
*It’s a children’s game that’s similar to Duck, Duck, Goose. It involves a group of children sitting in a circle, facing inward. One child is designated as “it” and walks around the circle holding a small handkerchief. As they walk, they drop the handkerchief behind one of the seated children without them noticing. Once the handkerchief is dropped, “it” continues to walk or run around the circle. The child who discovers the handkerchief behind them picks it up and chases “it” around the circle. The goal is to tag “it” before they can sit down in the vacated spot. If “it” is caught, they must perform a task, a penalty, or continue to be “it.” If not, the child with the handkerchief becomes the new “it.”
The innkeeper said, “There are rewards for the winners of the game and penalties for the losers.”
Drop the Handkerchief?
The kind where a group of people play in a circle?
Zhou Qian immediately caught on to something.
Without waiting for him to ask, Yun Xiangrong seemed to realize too and immediately asked, “So… how many people will participate? Also, what is your name?”
The author has something to say:
Do not walk counterclockwise around Tara
Nor circumnavigate Brega clockwise
Do not stay overnight in a room where firelight can still be seen from outside after sunset
All three prohibitions come from: Instructions from Nimueh to King Conall of Cornwall. The story behind seems interesting, but I haven’t found it. I’ll organize the information and tell everyone later~
The map showed that the location of the Owl Jade in 11/23 was in the Marshal’s Mansion. It wasn’t until Teacher Wei and his companions arrived that they realized the information wasn’t specific enough. To be precise, it was under the bed in the Marshal’s bedroom.
As they sneaked in using invisible stationery, the Marshal was being flipped by the red waves of the mandarin duck*.
*It’s a euphemism for basically saying he’s having sex that comes from classical poetry.
Flying thief Wei Menghan, famous actor Zhu Mo, second-generation heir Zou Jun, pawnshop owner Ji Yunlei, and amateur detective Feng Rang were all stunned by the Marshal’s variety and stamina. Absorbed in their observation, they were distracted, and their invisible stationery malfunctioned.
The Marshal was having a great time until suddenly five uninvited guests appeared at the bedside. With a shout, he could no longer regain his composure. Seeing the situation turn sour, they fled using the [(Defense) Yunhai* Imperial Sword].
*Sea of Clouds. It’s a poetic term in Chinese referring to the surroundings of a mountain’s summit.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t fight, but the Owl Jade was their top priority. If the Marshal were to summon all his soldiers, breaking through would be hard and would affect their efficiency.
So, at this moment, the Marshal was in his bedroom, staring blankly at the lingering clouds, wondering if he just had a nightmare about an immortal descending from the heavens on a sword to view an erotic scene; meanwhile, the five were crouched at the northwest corner of the outer wall of the Marshall’s mansion, contemplating how to infiltrate a second time. They no longer had invisible stationery, and the mansion was now on high alert.
“Shall we lead the tiger away from the mountain?” Teacher Wei pondered.
“How?” Ji Yunlei raised his eyebrows.
Zhu Mo, Zou Jun, and Feng Rang looked at each other and smiled. “Just find something to keep them busy.”
At the same, in 4/23 Moonlight Maze.
“Don’t go. You have to play with Xiao Bai!” A girl in a white lace princess dress sitting on a vine wall demanded petulantly.
The vine wall grew out of nowhere, blocking the path through the maze.
The camouflaged team captain patiently tried to reason with her. “Miss, we really have urgent matters to attend to. We’ll come back and play with you after, okay?”
“No!” The girl in the white dress swung her parasol, and a thorny vine shot out towards the camouflaged team, who narrowly avoided it, feeling utterly frustrated.
They had been lost for three hours and were finally close to the Owl Jade’s location, only to encounter this lady. Their past encounters with her had a win rate of three out of five—losing three times out of five challenges.
Under normal circumstances, they could have taken a chance, but not today. With so many teams competing, they couldn’t afford to be stuck here!
“Plan D!” Camouflaged Muscles shouted, rallying his team.
“Received—” his companions responded in unison and immediately turned to run in the opposite direction.
Xiao Bai was momentarily stunned but soon seemed unconcerned, leisurely swinging her feet. The next moment, the vine wall turned into a single vine, rapidly chasing after the three and quickly catching up, calmly rebuilding the green barrier in front of them. Xiao Bai was lifted back to the top of the wall by a leaf, yawning out of boredom. “You guys are so weak.”
The camouflaged team’s members breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s okay. We have the captain.”
Xiao Bai paused, then looked behind them, only to see the large man already turning the corner, disappearing in a flash.
Sacrificing a pawn to save the chariot, in short, Plan D*.
*Clarity: The D is referring to [diu] (丢), which in this context means to sacrifice/lose (a pawn).
9/23 Inner Hell.
“Boom—”
A laser cannon precisely hit a distant, arrogantly lingering enemy ship, illuminating Qi Shan’s excited eyes. He snapped his fingers. “Got another one.”
“Are you calling this game trash?” Li Xia, following Qi Shan’s orders, was monitoring the battleship’s defense system, struggling just with defense. Qi Shan was commanding the whole operation and sniping remotely, managing everything smoothly, as if it were just a game.
Li Xia’s remark made Xu Yan also feel puzzled. “Didn’t you say you weren’t good enough to be a professional player and can only be a fan of professional players, which is why you became a fan of Li Zijin?”
“That was a different game.” Qi Shan adjusted the laser cannon, aiming at the next target. “I’m not good at the games played in domestic clubs. I suspect the developers specifically targeted me, making me handicapped no matter how I play.”
“Boom—”
Another enemy ship was destroyed.
Qi Shan grinned, his white teeth shining in the interstellar gunfire. “But for simulations like this, to put it modestly, if all the top players from both domestic and international scenes came at me, I’d take them down one by one, two by a pair.”
Li Xia: “Captain, you seem to have mixed up modesty with boasting.”
“Tsk, don’t believe me? When I played that game, there wasn’t a separate server. All players worldwide were on the same leaderboard, using their battleship names as IDs. My ‘Tetris’ was at the top of the list,” Qi Shan proudly held up a finger, “for a year.”
Li Xia was speechless, wondering about such a bizarre name. “And after a year, someone took you down?”
“That’s because I stopped playing.” Qi Shan shrugged. “Being undefeated is boring.”
“……” Li Xia wanted to hit him with a laser cannon.
Han Buting had switched from the captain’s position to the deputy’s, responsible for radar monitoring. Usually diligent, he finally couldn’t help but return to his captain’s demeanor. “Stop joking around. Think about what the source of fear really is.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the spaceship was hit again, this time more severely than before. Amid the shrill alarm, an emotionless voice repeated—
[Spaceship is under attack. Currently 46% damaged.]
“Li Xia.” Qi Shan became serious. “Activate the super defense.”
“We can’t sustain the energy for too long.” Li Xia quickly got into action.
“I know. Just start it for five minutes.” After Qi Shan said this, he asked Han Buting, “Location of the enemy ship.”
Han Buting was silent for a second. “Unknown.”
Qi Shan looked at him in astonishment. “What?”
Han Buting shook his head. “It’s not showing up on the radar.”
“That’s impossible.” Qi Shan got up and quickly went over to check closely. Indeed, there was no trace of any enemy ship on the radar.
Qi Shan stared at the radar screen, lost in thought for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand and performed a series of frantic operations.
Han Buting was dumbfounded. It all seemed completely random to him.
Qi Shan pressed the final button and stopped.
A new voice filled the cockpit—
[The anti-stealth device activated.]
An enemy ship immediately appeared on the radar. Han Buting was surprised and couldn’t hide his admiration. “You really did it!”
But Qi Shan’s face showed no joy—only disbelief. “How is this possible…”
Han Buting picked up on his tone. “Is there a problem?”
Qi Shan raised his head, saying, “This is a hidden skill, only available in the game I played.”
3/23 Doomsday City.
“That’s the situation. As long as the Owl Jade is destroyed, no outsiders will come here, and maybe even the zombie vaccine will start to work!” Ding Xiaoche squatted behind the wall of the Three Religions Hall, brainwashing his immortal boyfriend. “Just help them out.”
The more Meng Zhang listened, the more convinced he became that the outsiders were swindlers. After cheating him out of a vehicle, they now aimed to deceive Ding Xiaoche.
“But there’s no loss. At worst, things stay the same. But what if it works?” Ding Xiaoche looked at him hopefully. “I could find a job closer to here, and I wouldn’t have to resign every day.”
Hearing this, Meng Zhang finally felt a tug at his heartstrings.
The wall flipped, and the Azure Dragon, carrying Ding Xiaoche, landed gracefully. He approached Yue’s Second Circle Team and simply said, “Dare to deceive him, and I’ll show you what ascending to heaven really is.”
Three minutes later, a group of five men and one god landed by the moat.
Meng Zhang dove into the water, transforming into the Azure Dragon. In a blink of an eye, he emerged, holding a piece of purple jade in his claw, which he casually dropped.
The purple jade landed on the riverside railing, shattering crisply.
The Azure Dragon carried Ding Xiaoche into the sky, looking down with a sense of superiority.
[Is that all?]
The Azure Dragon didn’t speak, but Meng Zhang’s voice directly entered the minds of the Yue’s Second Circle Team, just like how Xu Wang communicated with them!
13/23 Amnesia Building, Finance Office.
“Brilliant!” After a long wait, Xu Wang finally received good news again. “Now find a place to hide, stay safe, and avoid getting hurt by zombies. There are only three levels left. It won’t take long.”
“Don’t worry, the Azure Dragon God is with us. He said he’d stay with us until the end.” The voice of the captain of Yue’s Second Circle Team didn’t sound very happy.
Xu Wang was puzzled. “Isn’t that good?”
The team captain: “If it turns out we’ve deceived Ding Xiaoche, he’ll eat us whole, without spitting out the bones.”
Xu Wang: “……”
[Huff… Xu Wang… Huff… Xu Wang…]
“Xiao Mi?” Captain Xu immediately switched lines and accurately identified the other’s identity.
[I’m here… Huff… Might be in a bit of trouble…]
Xu Wang became serious. “Don’t panic. Take your time.”
[I can’t not panic… Huff… I’m afraid if it’s any later… this girl in black won’t give me a chance… to leave a last message…]
“Black?” Xu Wang was startled. “You’ve encountered Hei Momo?”
[Yellow, White… Black… I’ve encountered them all… I left them all to Xiao Bai… Huff… Now it’s just me…]
Wu Sheng grabbed Xu Wang’s arm.
Xu Wang covered his hand, giving his own advisor a “don’t worry, I understand” look.
“Xiao Mi, throw the card at her!”
[……]
Camouflaged Muscles suspected that Xu Wang was playing him.
But at this life-and-death moment, he might as well try anything—reaching into his pocket, he threw the card. The card beautifully shot out like a goddess dispersing flowers.
Just as Hei Momo was about to strike the final blow, her movements halted amidst the scattered cards, and her brow slightly furrowed.
Reaching out, a card fell into her palm.
Holding the card against the moonlight, she saw dense text. She pulled out a half card from her pocket, comparing the two.
The content of the words was different, but the font, as well as the paper and pattern of the card, were exactly the same.
“Who are you?” Hei Momo looked towards Camouflaged Muscles, with confusion and inquiry. “Where did you get this card?”
At this moment, Camouflaged Muscles’ intelligence took the high ground. “The answer is right under your feet. Dig it out, and you’ll know.”
Five minutes later.
[Damn, what kind of magic card is this…]
“Useful?” Xu Wang was surprised. He had already given up hope, letting Camouflaged Muscles throw the card was merely a console to the advisor.
[It’s not just useful, it’s miraculous. The Owl Jade is destroyed.]
“Did Hei Momo help you?” Xu Wang was overjoyed, but soon, he noticed the other side wasn’t very excited. “Xiao Mi, you seem a bit down…”
Camouflaged Muscles: “I tricked a young girl and am currently in a state of ashamed reflection.”
Switching back to 11/23, Xu Wang sent a message of comfort to Wei Menghan. “Everything going smoothly?”
Wei Menghan: “That depends on what you consider ‘smoothly’…”
Xu Wang: “Teacher Wei.”
Wei Menghan: “Alright, we set a fire, successfully drew everyone in the mansion to the fire, smoothly entered the Marshall’s bedroom, moved the bed, dug the ground, and then…”
Xu Wang: “Is there a twist?”
Wei Menghan: “There’s a secret passage under the bed.”
Xu Wang: “Where does it lead?”
Wei Menghan: “Still crawling.”
Xu Wang: “Vertically downwards?”
Wei Menghan: “How could that be? It would become a well then.”
Xu Wang: “Crawling sideways, wouldn’t that deviate from the mark?”
Wei Menghan: “……”
Xu Wang: “……”
Wei Menghan: “Brothers, crawl back the way we came!”
At 4:15 Beijing time, Teacher Wei’s good news also arrived. The Owl Jade was in the earthen wall at the entrance of the tunnel.
Xu Wang took a deep breath and reported to the waiting friends. “3/23, 4/23, 11/23 success…”
The word “success” was swallowed back into his throat.
In the cramped finance room, a very tall man appeared out of thin air, even taller than Qian Ai by a head.
He was like some kind of high-tech projection, projected in the middle of the room. At first, the edges were pieced together bit by bit, and even at the beginning, it was possible to see uneven, jagged edges, but slowly, as his image became clearer, that electronic feeling also vanished.
That was a real person, appearing in front of them like a ghost.
[Xu Wang?]
[What’s wrong? Why aren’t you speaking?]
[Shit, don’t tell me there’s a problem with level 13 again?]
[Xu Wang—]
The concerns of friends at various levels intertwined into a mess in Xu Wang’s mind, but he had no time to care.
Wu Sheng and Chi Yingxue almost simultaneously stood up; the former turned off the [(Defense) Safety Isolation Barrier], the latter used the [(Defense) Flashing Diamond Shield].
Xu Wang, Kuang Jinxin, and Qian Ai quickly stood up, and the five formed a defensive formation.
The raised [Isolation Barrier] and [Diamond Shield] stood between them and the unwelcome guest.
The tall man in a white suit, like a groom going to church, had no expression on his face, giving him a non-human mechanical feel.
[Owl: Targeted elimination, begin.]
The sudden prompt in their ears made everyone’s breath hitch.
The next moment, the man pulled out a gun and fired at the five without hesitation.
The bullet left the barrel, passed through the [Isolation Barrier], and hit the [Diamond shield].
The shield cracked with a snap and shattered.
The bullet didn’t stop, continued forward, and hit Xu Wang in the abdomen.
Xu Wang fell to the ground in severe pain, his head hitting the floor hard, but he no longer felt it. The world seemed to have only that bullet left, burning him with pain.
“Xu Wang—”
He couldn’t hear who was shouting.
His arm was lifted, as if someone was searching his stationery…
[Owl: Someone used [(Illusory) Kong Rong Giving Up Pears] on you~]
[Owl: Someone used [(Illusory) Time Reversal on you~~]
In the last moment before losing consciousness, Xu Wang finally remembered. [Kong Rong Gives Up Pears] was Wu Sheng’s and [Time Reversal] was his own. Wu Sheng had stolen the latter and then used it on him.
Consciousness snapped back.
Xu Wang blinked. He didn’t know when he had stood up again. The bloodstain on his abdomen disappeared. It didn’t hurt to touch it, and there was no sign of being shot at all.
Before he had time to think, suddenly a gust of wind swept him away, and when he opened his eyes again, he was in the stairwell. Fortunately, his friends were all there.
“It’s the Owl’s healing power.” Wu Sheng slapped the stair railing in frustration. He spoke quickly and urgently. “I should have thought of it. It wanted to modify the position of the Owl Jade, naturally, it had to clear all unstable factors.”
Kuang Jinxin deactivated the [(Defense) Concealing Wind] used for escaping. “Sheng Ge, you mean the Owl has now locked onto us, wanting to eliminate us?”
Wu Sheng nodded. “We neither entered the last ten levels nor left. This doesn’t conform to the Owl’s pattern. In other words, our existence is now a bug in the Owl.”
“But we’ve already destroyed the Owl Jade of this level.” Qian Ai was puzzled. “Even if it forces us out, it’s useless.”
Chi Yingxue leaned against the wall. “The executor just appeared in front of us, but the order of elimination might not have been issued just now.”
Qian Ai thought for a moment, then understood. Since the Owl could prepare to change the position of the Owl Jade so many days in advance, it indicated that it had already detected the presence of unstable elements in the Owl, probably initiating the repair and elimination back then, only now truly locking onto them.
“And it’s not about being forcefully ejected.” Wu Sheng touched the spot where Xu Wang was just shot, his eyes darkening. “I’m afraid it’s real death.”
If a single shot didn’t eject you back to reality, it meant they didn’t want to let you leave.
9/23 Inner Hell.
“What’s happening on Xu Wang’s side?” Qi Shan commanded Xu Yange to change the flight path, playing hide and seek in space with that invisible enemy ship. Seeing Han Buting’s brows furrow tighter, he couldn’t help but ask.
Han Buting remained silent for a long time.
The moment the connection with Xu Wang was cut off, he had a bad feeling, and now that the connection was restored, his premonition had come true.
“Captain?” Xu Yange and Li Xia also became anxious.
Finally, Han Buting spoke up without any preamble, succinctly stating, “They encountered a powerful NPC responsible for targeted elimination.”
Xu Yange didn’t understand. “Eliminate what?”
Han Buting said gravely, “Eliminate the five of them.”
“Does eliminate mean… forcefully eject?” Li Xia guessed.
Han Buting shook his head.
Qi Shan’s face changed. “They won’t actually die, right?”
“Xu Wang was shot and is still in the level.”
Qi Shan’s hands, holding the control console, trembled slightly. “Can they defeat it?”
“They can’t.” Han Buting didn’t give him any hope. “Their defense stationery can’t defend; their offense stationery can’t hit. Now they can only flee within the building.”
Qi Shan no longer spoke. His gaze fell on the control console, where each button and switch suddenly seemed menacing, bearing life and death, and a wrong choice meant no more chances.
“He said they would hold out until we destroy the Owl Jade.” Han Buting gently patted Qi Shan’s shoulder from behind. “Do you think we can do it?”
Qi Shan was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath. “Xu Yange, readjust the trajectory. Let’s face it head-on! Li Xia, activate the super defense again—”
12/23, Wang Duanran sat on a giant jack-o-lantern in Halloween Town, leisurely lighting a cigarette. As one of the first teams to finish, they had been waiting for nearly four hours. “Do you think we can make it?”
Gu Nian looked up at the starry sky. “That’s a question for Dachuan.”
Chen Guan nudged Jiang Dachuan, who was silent next to him.
Jiang Dachuan jolted, then sighed. “I think it’s going to be tough.”
Kong Lizhe breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, if Dachuan says it’s tough, then it’s definitely going to work.”
Wang Duanran, Gu Nian, Chen Guan: “Yeah.”
Jiang Dachuan: “… Damn!”
5/23, Yue Shuai lay under a peach tree, blowing the cold wind, watching the will-o’-the-wisps, silently spitting out words of encouragement towards the cloud-covered sky: You can do it.
At this moment, brothers in every level were thinking this phrase.
13/23, Amnesia Building.
“Xiao Xue, lure him into the elevator!”
“Lao Qian, cut the power!”
“Sheng Ge, we’ve trapped him in the elevator car!”
“It won’t hold him for long, but it’ll buy us some time. Head to the rooftop!”
9/23 Inner Hell.
“It’s catching up from behind.” Han Buting closely monitored the radar.
“Boost defense on the stern?” Li Xia asked Qi Shan.
Qi Shan narrowed his eyes, slowly shaking his head. “No, this is a feint. It really wants to hit the belly of the ship.” He looked at Xu Yange and said slowly but firmly, “Adjust the trajectory. We fire first.”
“If it fires at the same time, we’re done for.” Xu Yange hesitated.
“It won’t.” Qi Shan was almost certain. “It’s charging its laser cannon.”
Boom—
Everything went as Qi Shan predicted. The enemy didn’t fire and got hit squarely. Although it also had its super defense activated, it wasn’t fatally wounded, but was definitely severely damaged.
But what concerned the team more was Qi Shan’s uncanny prediction, as if the battle was following his script.
Before his teammates could ask, Qi Shan spoke first. “Li Xia, do me a favor.”
Li Xia pressed down his confusion. “Say it.”
Qi Shan adjusted the targeting point, relocking on that battered warship. “There’s a metal piece on the cockpit door. Take it down for me.”
The defense system Li Xia was responsible for was in a stable state and didn’t require his operation. This was why Qi Shan specifically asked him.
Without saying another word, Li Xia took tools to the door and quickly removed the metal piece. He turned it over and over, and seeing nothing special, was puzzled. He raised it towards Qi Shan. “There’s nothing…”
“It’s not about looking at the metal plate—look at the door.” Qi Shan couldn’t help but laugh. “Is ‘Millennium Falcon’ engraved on the door?”
Li Xia hadn’t even heard clearly, but when he lifted his head, the door panel that was blocked by the metal plate indeed had a string of English engraved: “M-I-L-L…”
Qi Shan: “No, this is the second ranked spot that was clinging onto me in the game rankings at the time.”
Han Buting, Xu Yange, Li Xia: “……”
First place was called Tetris. If they were in second, they’d also want to knock out number one!
Wait.
Han Buting suddenly realized something. This was Li Zijin’s nightmare, and if the Millennium Falcon was his home field, then the source of his fear…
“Qi Shan.” He looked steadily at his fellow captain. “Now that we’re piloting the second-place ship in the game, where is the first-place ship, your spaceship?”
Qi Shan raised an eyebrow at him, blinking innocently.
Han Buting, looking at the radar where the battleship they had been fighting for half a day was displayed, had a bad premonition. “Don’t tell me…”
“Turn left by 20 degrees. It will definitely target our fuel storage next.” After deploying with Xu Yange, Qi Shan turned back to Han Buting, sighing. “How was I supposed to know that my idol’s nightmare was me!”
The attack came as expected, indeed targeting the fuel storage.
The battleship moved in time, avoiding a fatal hit but still causing the damage index of the spaceship to rise further.
[Spaceship is under attack. Currently 77% damaged.]
The damage to Tetris should be around 60%. Qi Shan didn’t need to guess; he just remembered from all those games played in the past.
However, this time, the outcome might be reversed.
“Yange, turn right by 45 degrees!”
“Li Xia, turn off the defense. Transfer all energy to the laser cannon!”
This time, it was his turn to target the fuel storage.
Qi Shan held his breath, aimed, locked on, and fired.
The blinding laser cannon hit the Tetris’ fuel storage precisely!
The battleship turned into a ball of fire under the laser cannon, its bright light illuminating a large area of the universe.
Li Zijin’s Millennium Falcon finally took down Tetris.
Qi Shan thought, with such a big sacrifice as blowing up his own spaceship, he must claim credit from his idol upon returning.
As the flames gradually died down, a point of purple light flickered in and out of visibility among the wreckage.
“Forward—”
The battleship moved closer to the wreckage, close enough to see the outline of the Owl Jade. Qi Shan aimed and locked on, using the weakest-level laser cannon.
The Owl Jade shattered into countless pieces, like microlights in the universe.
13/23 Amnesia Building, rooftop.
Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, Qian Ai, Kuang Jinxin, and Chi Yingxue, lined up, retreated to the edge of the rooftop.
Though White Suit’s gun was destroyed by them, he still had countless weapons, and his defense was invincible. Now, he stood in front of them, unharmed, still with an expressionless face.
In just twenty minutes, they had almost exhausted all the stationery they could use, and now they were at a dead end.
Jumping off the building or being shot to death was a difficult choice.
“Do you regret it?” With half a foot already outside the rooftop, Xu Wang asked his companions.
Qian Ai: “Regret is useless.”
Kuang Jinxin: “We’re not dead yet.”
Chi Yingxue: “I need time to regret…”
Wu Sheng: “Might as well punch him a few more times.”
Chi Yingxue was the first to move, almost hugging and pouncing on White Suit. Wu Sheng and Qian Ai were a step late, each grabbing an arm. Kuang Jinxin dove to hug the legs, and Xu Wang was the last to spring forward, using all his strength in this life to punch White Suit hard in the face!
It was 4:37 Beijing time when the last Owl Jade in 9/23 shattered.
“Thud!”
“Thud!”
“Thud!”
“Thud!”
“Snap—”
“Damn, why do I always land face-first!” Qian Ai grumbled, rubbing his cheek as he got up.
Xu Wang sat on the ground, under the pitch-black night sky, bathed in the warm streetlight.
“Did we… get out?” Kuang Jinxin was a bit incredulous. He almost died just a moment ago.
Chi Yingxue smiled and pulled him into an embrace, messing up his hair. “Not just out, but left.”
Wu Sheng showed the time on his phone, shaking it at Xu Wang. “It’s not even five yet. We made it.”
Xu Wang lunged forward, hugging him tightly, as if wanting to hold him in his life forever.
Qian Ai looked left and right, realizing no one cared for him, so he had no choice but to rub his own cheeks.
In the distant night, there were no more owl hoots.
The Owl, had flown away.
The author has something to say:
This marks the end of the main story. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be posting extras about the daily lives of our little group. The Owl saga is over, but life goes on, right? Can’t just flirt without giving some sweetness~~
When I first envisioned this story, I wanted to separate the first thirteen levels from the last ten. Writing twenty-three levels in the same mode could easily become repetitive, and it might lose its fun for you guys. In “Midnight Ten”, the last ten levels will introduce a new mode, keeping some elements of the Owl while changing the format, content, and items of the challenges, hoping to bring you a fresher experience. The synopsis for “Midnight Ten” is ready, and I welcome you to subscribe.
Finally, thank you to my friends for sticking with me all this way. Whenever I felt tired, seeing your comments and support reenergized me. Seeing you guys feel sorry for Lao Qian, well, I can’t help but laugh. Locking the CPs and throwing away the key. Every one of you is a little angel. Love you all.
Kinky Thoughts:
This marks the end of the main story for Midnight Owl. I was quite interested in the novel before, and when I read Suddenly Trending (by the same author) it convinced me to pick up this project since that novel is quite good. I highly recommend you read it, especially if you like entertainment circle novels.
Unlike other unlimited flow novels I’ve read, this one is a bit different. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, which adds a lot of comedic effect. Unfortunately, since there are no real stakes (no one can actually die—well, except in this last chapter), there’s less solemnity in the storyline, which makes getting invested in the plot a bit more difficult (for me personally).
The romance is cute, but there’s not enough of it. Hopefully the extras will give more sugar.
For those wondering, there is a sequel called Midnight Ten which is around the last 10 levels of the Owl. It follows Fan Peiyang and Tang Lin, who had a minor appearance in this novel.
If you did enjoy it, please consider supporting the author by buying the raws. You can use Google Chrome with their auto translate and this guide on how to buy novels on jjwxc. Remember, only with your (financial) support can artists continue to produce more great works.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone for your comments, encouragement, help with my translations, and ko-fi donations. It in part fuels my motivation to release so frequently and try to finish this novel as soon as possible.
At 1:00 a.m. Beijing time, exactly one hour into the Owl, Xu Wang finally received the first message from 9/23.
“Sorry, something unexpected happened.” Han Buting’s voice was as cold as ever, making it hard to detect any emotional fluctuations, but the fact that he started with a reflection showed he understood the gravity of the situation.
“What happened?” Xu Wang’s expression became serious. Since it wasn’t a deliberate lack of response, they must have encountered a problem.
Wu Sheng, Chi Yingxue, Kuang Jinxin, and Qian Ai all turned their attention to him upon seeing this.
The Owl Jade of level 13 had been found, and now all they could do was wait.
“Okay, got it. There’s still time. Take it slow.” After the communication ended, Xu Wang looked up. “Han Buting and his team encountered a new hell.”
Qian Ai widened his eyes. “A brand-new one?”
Xu Wang: “A newly launched hell, unboxed for the first time.”
“Doesn’t that mean starting from scratch?” Kuang Jinxin asked worriedly. “Can we still find the source of fear?”
Xu Wang sighed. “Hard to say.”
It was a level without a map to begin with, only knowing that the Owl Jade was hidden in the “source of fear”, but exploring the core of an unfamiliar hell wasn’t so easy.
“What kind of hell is it?” Wu Sheng inquired.
“World War?” Chi Yingxue offered an irresponsible guess.
“You’re very close to the truth.” Xu Wang patted Xiao Xue’s shoulder. “Star Wars.”
Wu Sheng, Qian Ai, Kuang Jinxin, Chi Yingxue: “…”
“They are now piloting a spaceship, dealing with a fleet of some unknown force.” Xu Wang faithfully relayed the situation. “Captain Han says it’s only a matter of time before they’re shot down.”
Qian Ai cautiously asked, “Shot down, and land where?”
Xu Wang: “Disintegrate—turned into dust drifting in the universe.”
Qian Ai: “……”
Wu Sheng frowned. “Isn’t there any chance of victory?”
Xu Wang pondered for a moment. “It depends on whether Qi Shan can perform a miracle.”
The four companions looked puzzled, not understanding.
“Only Qi Shan knows how to pilot the ship.” Xu Wang spread his hands. “He’s now the captain.”
Qian Ai was astonished. “There are schools for learning to pilot spaceships now?”
“It’s said that there are many simulation spaceship games abroad, with control panels and consoles being quite similar, and Qi Shan was really into it for a while.”
Qian Ai: “Their team really is full of talent…”
Wu Sheng wondered. “If Qi Shan is piloting the ship, whose nightmare of Star Wars is it?”
Xu Wang: “Li Zijin.”
Qian Ai: “Clubs here don’t play those kinds of games, right?”
Xu Wang: “Maybe it’s a white moonlight hidden deep in his heart.”
The four companions: “…”
This glimmer of moonlight is too hardcore.
Meanwhile, 10/23 Aeroplane Chess.
[Owl: Someone used [(Offense) Poseidon’s Wrath] on you~~]
The chessboard’s water surface surged with waves, crashing against the pitted stone walls. The stained glass cracked, drenching all the friends playing Aeroplane Chess.
A young man with a buzz cut finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you guys ever going to stop?! Are we playing Aeroplane Chess here, or is it forced demolition?!”
For sixty minutes, they hardly moved a few steps on the chessboard, and the entire space was nearly destroyed by these two mad teams.
Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes—it was like a grand assembly of disaster-themed stationery.
And the stationery wasn’t even used on them but on the buildings and water; it wasn’t considered an attack on the challengers by the rules.
“Lao He—” Fu Wenqing couldn’t care less about his colleague, focusing on controlling the waves caused by the stationery to a suitable scale, close to but not touching his teammates, to avoid a direct attack.
The wave surged right beside He Lanshan, with a hint of purple barely visible in the water.
He Lanshan reached into the curtain of water and grasped firmly.
Just like the previous times, the Owl Jade soaked in water was slippery like an eel. In addition, the water waves weren’t stable, so it slipped away as soon as it was caught!
“Tsk!” He Lanshan voiced his frustration at another failed attempt.
They had managed to bring out the Owl Jade early on, and since then, it had been elusive in the water. They dared not use [Great Yu Controls the Flood] or similar stationery for fear the Owl Jade would be carried away by the water, leaving them nowhere to cry.
“Captain Fu, we can’t leave the chess square. It’s too restrictive.” The captain of Yue’s Fourth Circle Team provided a new idea. “Let the stationery go on its own.”
Let the stationery go on its own?
Fu Wenqing paused, then understood.
“Muchen.”
Zhao Muchen knew what Fu Wenqing meant. As soon as the captain of Yue’s Fourth Circle Team finished speaking, he got it, probably needing to use his special stationery. It wasn’t about reluctance; it was just that he had kept it for so long and inevitably formed a bond with it.
But thinking about the Owl’s closure and never seeing these stationeries again, it was better to witness its true form now. After all, it carried countless romantic and beautiful fantasies…
[Owl: Someone used [(Illusory) Mermaid] on you~~]
[Poseidon’s Wrath] suddenly calmed, and beneath the rippling water, a figure flashed and dived deeper, leaving only a graceful illusion to those onshore.
Zhao Muchen held his breath, staring fixedly underwater, not daring to blink, while continuously sending the thought of finding the Owl Jade to the other side.
Fu Wenqing’s team and Yue’s Fourth Circle Team involuntarily quieted down, their tension palpable in the faint sound of water.
The buzz-cut young man and his teammates were also tense. Facing two mad teams, should they stubbornly play to the end, or escape early for safety?
Splish.
The Owl Jade emerged from the water as if thrown, bringing a small splash and landing in Zhao Muchen’s arms.
The buzz-cut young man squinted, suddenly realizing he might have overlooked something. These two teams weren’t mad; they had found a treasure worth going mad for.
What exactly was that translucent purple object…
Crack!
Without wasting a second, Zhao Muchen grabbed the Owl Jade and crushed it underfoot, his specially worn spiked shoes finally proving their worth after an hour of discomfort.
The buzz-cut young man: “……”
Not playing the game, just throwing stationery around as if it cost nothing, finally digging up the treasure, and then crushing it.
Crushed it.
This is madness—all ten of them!
Splash—
A larger splash and a wet head appeared, leaning on the edge of Zhao Muchen’s chess square, looking up at him with a smile.
A mermaid.
Zhao Muchen looked into those eyes that shone like stars, forgetting to breathe… out of anger.
Fu Wenqing, He Lanshan, and Wu Yanchao all looked away, hardly bearing to watch.
Qin Rui, just a square behind him, reached out to comfortingly pat his back. “Well, there’s always a gap between ideals and reality…”
The mermaid was beautiful, the kind that could make all the men in the world pale in comparison—handsomely beautiful.
13/23, Finance Office.
“Did we succeed?” Xu Wang couldn’t help but clench his fist in victory. “That’s great!”
“Is everyone okay?” After the joy, he asked worriedly again.
“Uh, basically,” Fu Wenqing unusually hesitated for a moment.
Xu Wang immediately sensed something was wrong and directly messaged Qin Rui, the least likely to hide anything—[Did anyone in your team get hurt?]
[Eh, how did you connect to me? No one’s hurt. Oh wait, does heartbreak count?]
[Who’s heartbroken?]
[Zhao Muchen. Ah, he’s been fantasizing about a mermaid sister. Just now, when we used it, it turned out to be a big brother, though also really good-looking…]
[Wait, wait, used?!]
[Used it to find the Owl Jade.]
[…Oh.]
[Xu Wang, were you thinking of something not suitable for children just now?]
[No!]
Decisively cutting off the communication, Captain Xu calmed himself for two seconds, just about to share the good news with his teammates, when another message came through the always ready captain’s hotline in his mind.
“Captain Xu, this is 1/23. The Owl Jade is dealt with. It’s now broken into four big pieces and two small ones. Do we need to grind it down further?”
“Uh… if you’ve got nothing better to do, go ahead.” It’s always better to be thorough.
“The first and tenth levels are also completed.” Xu Wang immediately reported the progress to his teammates.
1, 10, 12, 13 completed—nine more to go.
Wu Sheng suddenly asked, “How’s Le Xing and his team?”
Zhao Yukang had said they would reach the Owl Jade location in an hour during their first connection. Xu Wang checked his phone; it was now 1:14. An hour had passed.
Concentrating, he called out to Le Xing.
No response.
He then signaled Zhao Yukang, trying several times but to no avail.
Xu Wang opened his eyes, his heart sinking. “I can’t connect with Le Xing or Zhao Yukang.”
The four companions looked at each other while Wu Sheng frowned. “Try connecting with someone else.”
Fu Qi, Jing Jinglin, Dong Xi.
Xu Wang silently recited these three names, sending the message continuously.
Finally, Jing Jinglin and Fu Qi responded—
[Captain Xu.]
[Xu Wang?]
“How’s it going? Did you reach the location?” Xu Wang directed this question to both.
Jing Jinglin: “We’re here, digging now.”
Fu Qi: “We’re here. Don’t rush. It’s almost done.”
Xu Wang didn’t want to disturb them, but he was really worried: “I can’t get in touch with your captain or Zhao Yukang.”
Fu Qi: “The three of them went ahead.”
Xu Wang: “Three?”
Fu Qi: “And Dong Xi. All were forcibly ejected.”
Xu Wang got alarmed. “What happened?”
Fu Qi: “The electric stove exploded during a game of Fight the Landlord.”
Xu Wang: “Why is there an electric stove in Fight the Landlord?!”
Fu Qi: “Hot pot Fight the Landlord. It’s a lot of fun to play while eating. Luckily, the table couldn’t fit five, or we’d all be gone.”
Xu Wang: “……”
Jing Jinglin: “Ah—”
Fu Qi: “Fuck!”
“What happened?” Xu Wang’s face changed.
Wu Sheng’s heart tightened, and after a while, he saw Xu Wang looking over. “Fu Qi said the tour leader, and the two college students started fighting. Trouble’s brewing.”
If Fu Qi and Jing Jinglin were also forcibly ejected, that would really be the end.
The team leader is the tour guide, and during their challenge, there were two college students in the team, along with a pair of female best friends, a long-distance couple… Wu Sheng remembered clearly because he had sent them cards.
“Tell Fu Qi to throw a card.” Wu Sheng suggested.
Xu Wang swallowed hard. “Really try it?”
They indeed had each team carry a stack of the advisor’s custom-made cards 3.0, but…
“If it works, it’s a bonus. If not, no loss.” Wu Sheng, after so much research and practice without seeing results, was still not ready to leave the Owl without trying.
Xu Wang reluctantly suggested to their side. “Throw a card over there. See if you can divert their attention?”
Fu Qi, Jing Jinglin: “……”
Despite their doubts, they followed through.
“How did it go?” On this side were Captain Xu and Advisor Wu’s eager expectations.
“It worked.” Came the resigned response from Fu Qi and Jing Jinglin. “The corner of the card scratched the team leader’s face. Now we’re officially joining the fight.”
Meanwhile, 2/23, the Red-Eye Flight.
“This—this passenger. Please stop rummaging through the overhead bins.” The flight attendant was near tears yet dared not truly intervene. Several male attendants had already been magically wiped out by these ruffians, leaving her the only crew member besides the pilots.
Long Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, and Fair Face also wanted to cry. The luggage compartment was clearly marked, right in the middle, but even after rummaging through all the luggage and prying open people’s carry-ons, there was nothing. They even got into several fights with the passengers involved.
“The location has to be here,” Fair Face said, holding the map for comparison. “If it’s not in the luggage compartment, then the only place left is…”
“Inside the plane?” Stick Figure’s heart trembled.
Long Legs frowned. “Are we supposed to dismantle the airplane?!”
In an inconspicuous seat in economy class, Ma Liuba looked out at the clouds, feeling very peaceful inside. He had planted a bomb on the plane, intending to sacrifice everyone on board for himself. He knew that some force would warn the chosen ones about the bomb in advance, and these people would prevent his sacred and great ritual.
He even looked forward to confronting them and letting them know that God cannot be defeated by mortals.
But he had been waiting, and no one had come to stop him.
God felt disappointed.
3/23 Doomsday City, South of the City.
A lemon-yellow Jeep sped towards the southernmost end of the city.
The car was crammed with five people, nearly squashing Ding Xiaoche into a pancake, who was still worried about the outsiders. “What kind of map are you guys using? Are you sure it’s accurate?”
“Shut up!” Yue’s Second Circle Team had always been polite to this NPC but couldn’t stand his constant nagging anymore. His incessant chatter was driving them crazy.
Ding Xiaoche didn’t want to talk too much. Meng Zhang had said that the outsiders had their own set of rules, and they just needed to cooperate. Talking too much could cause trouble. But today was different; he had lent his car countless times, and only this time did the outsiders not head to the north but to the south, which was strange.
Ding Xiaoche knew he was too kind-hearted and couldn’t change. “Hey, shouldn’t you be going to the hospital? The hospital is in the north!”
His earnest persuasion finally caught the attention of the four outsiders.
The captain of Yue’s Second Circle Second Team, who was also the driver, slammed on the brakes, turning around incredulously. “What did you say?”
Ding Xiaoche felt a bit nervous under their gaze. “I-I said, the hospital is in the north…”
The captain of Yue’s Second Circle Second Team stared at him intently. “Do you know what we’re here for?!”
Ding Xiaoche: “…Huh?”
Everyone in Yue’s Second Circle Second Team: “Pretending to be dumb now is too late!”
“NPC awakened?!” Xu Wang, upon hearing the message from 3/23, was so shocked that he jumped up.
Wu Sheng’s eyes flashed with astonishment. Kuang Jinxin opened his mouth wide, and Chi Yingxue raised an eyebrow interestedly.
“What the hell?” Qian Ai doubted he heard correctly.
“The second team said, the NPC who lent them the car knew they were going to the hospital…” Xu Wang said, still finding it hard to believe. “And knew they were looking for a vaccine…”
Wu Sheng narrowed his eyes. “Is it the same person who lent us the car before?”
“According to the second team’s description, yes. He even said his name was Ding Xiaoche…”
“Is it really an awakening? Or maybe an update to the setting?”
Xu Wang couldn’t answer—not just because he wasn’t there, but even if he was, he might not be able to judge.
Wu Sheng said, “Ask the second team how many times he has lent the car.”
A minute later.
Xu Wang brought back the second team’s inquiry result: “He said he couldn’t remember how many times, but Meng Zhang told him to keep pretending to have amnesia.”
“Meng Zhang?” Wu Sheng repeated the name, then suddenly lifted his gaze. “The god from the Three Religions Temple?”
Xu Wang nodded. “His immortal boyfriend.”
Wu Sheng couldn’t stay calm anymore. The purpose of giving NPCs cards was to free them from the constraints of the Owl, granting them a form of autonomous consciousness. If it could cause disturbances affecting or even shutting down the Owl, that would be ideal. Unexpectedly, the one who wasn’t given a card awakened on his own!
“Tell the second team to tell Ding Xiaoche the truth.” Wu Sheng stood up. “Say they’re here to shut down the Owl, and once successful, no one like them will ever disturb the city again. If he and his boyfriend can manage to get the vaccine from the hospital, maybe the entire city’s zombies can be eradicated forever.”
“Are you just giving the NPC false hope…” Qian Ai felt this was far-fetched, no matter how it was spun.
“How do we know without trying?” Wu Sheng said. “We never expected NPCs could truly awaken before this.”
“And then what?” Qian Ai still sat on the ground, looking up. “After telling Ding Xiaoche all this, what’s next?”
Xu Wang walked over and put his arms on Wu Sheng’s shoulder. The captain and advisor smiled together. “Let him bring his boyfriend over to unleash some divine power.”
7/23 Story Relay, Game Room.
“Interruption!” The game had only reached its halfway point, and Elegant Gray had used his last interruption card.
By now, the story had twisted through nearly ten scenes, currently ending with Delinquent Boy D and Handsome Senior B breaking up.
Falling in love was the work of Elegant Gray; the breakup was a joint effort by Sports Jersey and Black T-shirt.
“Brother, they’ve already broken up. Don’t drag it back.” Sports Jersey was almost pleading. It was just a game of Story Relay, and the orientations were all getting twisted. They had finally managed to break them apart, only for the opponent to interrupt. He was genuinely scared of the other player’s shocking twists.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. No reconciliation, just reminiscing.” Elegant Gray sincerely reassured, “After the breakup, Delinquent Boy D, unable to forget his old love, returns alone to the place where their fate began—that mini KTV booth…”
“Xu Wang! He’s back in the booth. Hurry and have him keep digging! Just one tile left!”
Even Sport Jersey and Black T-shirt, who had become accustomed to his shocks and the horror of shouting into thin air, were scared for the hundred and first time.
In the finance office, Captain Xu quickly helped relay the message.
On the battlefield of the story, back in the mini KTV booth, Wine Red, using his bare hands, lifted the last tile, finally revealing the purple Owl Jade!
He lifted the floor tile, then smashed it down hard.
The tile and jade shattered, breaking the peace.
“Perfect completion.” This was the first time Xu Wang was responsible for delivering good news.
Elegant Gray and the captain of the third team got up and high-fived each other joyfully across the table.
Sports Jersey: “Can we still play?”
Black T-shirt: “If we don’t play, I’m flipping the table.”
Following closely after the 7/23 Story Relay was the quick report from 8/23 Unexpected Demon.
Jing Jinglin: “The fight’s over, and the Owl Jade is smashed.”
Fu Qi: “Is that good enough? How are the other challenges doing?”
“We’ve taken care of 1, 7, 10, 12, 13. With you, that’s six levels completed.” As happy as he was, Xu Wang was still a bit worried about Le Xing, Zhao Yukang, and Dong Xi, who left with injuries.
“Hmm, not a bad pace.” Fu Qi still had the leisure to comment.
Xu Wang: “Aren’t you worried about the three teammates who were forcibly ejected?”
Fu Qi: “Hey, it’s not the first time. Dying, for us, is just like going home in this level.”
“……” Every team has its own difficult scripture to recite.
2:30 Beijing time.
Messages from 2/23 Red-Eye Flight and 6/23 Castle Hotel came one after the other, one of joy and one of concern.
The Owl Jade on the Red-Eye Flight was completely destroyed, although the cabin was also damaged. Fortunately, they managed to seal the hole with stationery. They are now trying to find the bomb’s password. Although tonight’s goal was the Owl Jade, if possible, they still wanted to avoid experiencing an explosion in mid-air.
The Happy Broom Team encountered a little trouble in the castle. The location of the Owl Jade was in the room of a save-point NPC, but the NPC would only allow them to save, not dig through walls or floors.
“That old writer?” Wu Sheng’s eyes sparkled subtly.
“Yes.” Xu Wang nodded, understanding the other’s full desire, and closed his eyes to make a constructive suggestion to the other side. “Try throwing the card I gave you to him.”
Wu Sheng had given that old man the upgraded version 2.0. Xu Wang thought, maybe it really could…
“No reaction,” came the Happy Broom Team’s reply, interrupting Captain Xu’s optimism. “Actually, I still don’t understand why we had to print so many cards to bring in…”
“Cough, it’s not important. Keep it up and stay in touch.”
Half an hour later, the Happy Broom Team succeeded, and there was also news from Yue Shuai. “The Owl Jade is smashed, and I almost got killed—no, by a ghost.”
Xu Wang laughed, deliberately saying, “It’s fine as long as the Owl Jade is destroyed.”
“Hey—” Captain Yue felt aggrieved.
Xu Wang mercilessly exposed him. “If you were really about to die, could you still chat with me so leisurely?”
“I barely escaped. That Hungry Ghost—have you guys encountered it? It’s utterly fierce…”
Some memory fragments flashed in Xu Wang’s mind, stirring something in him. “If you meet him again, don’t fight, just run.”
Yue Shuai: “You think I can’t beat him?”
Xu Wang: “He’s my friend.”
By 3:00 Beijing time, nine levels were completed, leaving four more—3/23 Doomsday City, 4/23 Moonlight Maze, 9/23 Inner Hell, 11/23 Chaotic Republic Era.
At 10:00 Beijing time, Chi Yingxue closed the door of the venue from the inside and looked up to see their team captain already on stage, adjusting the microphone.
Xu Wang needed thirteen teams, but Yue Shuai had found sixteen for him, nine of which Xu Wang had previous interactions with, leaving seven completely unfamiliar teams. However, Yue Shuai trusted them, and Xu Wang trusted Yue Shuai.
With fewer than a hundred people, the large venue didn’t seem crowded. Especially since the teams had no organization or discipline; they could still communicate and exchange polite greetings upon arrival, but it wasn’t long before everyone started to do their own thing—chatting, drinking, browsing on their phones, playing online games, and the like. It hardly looked like a gathering plotting something significant.
Until Xu Wang finally greeted from the stage. “Hello everyone…”
The venue’s sound system was top-notch. This not-so-loud greeting enveloped every corner of the venue, as if whispering in everyone’s ear.
All eyes lifted at the sound, and no matter what they were doing, the atmosphere in the venue changed in an instant.
In those pairs of eyes, there was curiosity, amusement, wariness, and caution.
The moment their gazes met, Xu Wang threw away the speech he had prepared in advance.
“I won’t introduce myself. Those who know me already know me. Those who don’t should have inquired about me by now.”
Holding the microphone, Xu Wang leaped onto the table with one hand, finding sitting much more comfortable than standing, with his legs leisurely swinging.
“Why we’re gathered here today has already been made clear by Captain Yue when he contacted you. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. After that, those who wish to stay are welcome; those who want to leave, I won’t stop you. “Xu Wang took out his phone to check the time, placing it beside him on the table. “Ten minutes. Once time’s up, if you’re still here and haven’t left, I’ll consider you in.”
Silence, quiet.
It wasn’t shock; there really wasn’t much to ask. How Xu Wang’s team bought the intelligence, how they summoned the Owl in the Wish House, and how they ultimately gave up the chance to leave early in favor of shutting down. Yue Shuai was completely open about the whole process, even though the intelligence was bought with their money, without hiding anything.
Their presence meant they trusted Yue Shuai. But to follow Xu Wang’s command and arrangement unconditionally, anyone would have doubts. The intelligence was bought by Xu Wang’s team, and the Wish House was entered by them; who could prove what Xu Wang said was the truth?
But raising this doubt would hurt the harmony, and before anything was even done, injuring the harmony was something no team wanted to initiate.
“Six minutes left.” Xu Wang leaned forward slightly, as if ready for a heart-to-heart with the audience. “Not a single question? We’re in such agreement?”
“Tch, have you all gone mute?” Wang Duanran kicked the chair in front of him, easily breaking the silence. “I believe the Owl Jade part. If there weren’t any, it’d be obvious once you start digging.” He nodded towards Xu Wang. “But how can you prove that destroying the thirteen Owl Jades simultaneously will shut down the first thirteen levels and not something else?”
No one expected Mr. Wang to consider timing, place, or face.
With the boss speaking up, Jiang Dachuan had no choice but to follow on behalf of his teammates. “Right, only you and that Owl that’s bugged have talked. What if destroying the Owl Jades is to fulfill your personal wishes?”
“Bang!” Xu Wang slammed the table, the sound booming through the microphone, startling everyone.
Wang Duanran stood up abruptly. “Trying to scare me?”
“See, this is what it looks like when you’re serious about doing something!” Xu Wang jumped down from the table, finally showing some spark in his eyes. “I’m not afraid of your questions. I’m afraid you won’t ask. Xiao Duan, Da Jiang, good questions!”
Wang Duanran: “……”
Jiang Dachuan: “……”
Chen Guan, Gu Nian, and Kong Lizhe exchanged looks—deciding not to speak up was the right choice.
“How can I prove it? I can’t.” The question was raised by Wang Duanran, but Xu Wang’s answer was directed at everyone. “That’s why I’m giving you a chance to back out now. If you decide to stay and later on the battlefield you tell me you’re out, sorry, but you won’t have peace, whether inside or outside the Owl.”
Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, Xu Wang calmed down. His gaze became fiery and sharp. “Shutting down the Owl requires the combined effort of thirteen levels. Think it over before you join. If you back out at the last moment, it’s all for nothing for the brothers in the other levels.”
When the ten minutes were up, not a single team left.
“Lao Qian, distribute the maps—” Xu Wang placed the microphone back on the table and stepped down gracefully.
There were a total of thirteen maps, two copies per person—one in the soulful style, hand-drawn by Advisor Wu; the other in the realistic style, redrawn by Chi Yingxue based on the soulful drafts.
Including Xu Wang and Yue Shuai’s teams, there were eighteen teams in total. Seventeen teams earnestly reviewed the realistic maps, with only Captain Xu leading everyone to face the soulful version directly.
The location of the Owl Jade determined the difficulty level of being responsible for that level. After reviewing, each team had a rough idea.
Yue Shuai was next to take the stage. Not wasting words, he directly started the selection of levels. The main principle was self-nomination. If a level was desired by several teams, the best fit was chosen.
Fu Wenqing was the first to raise his hand without hesitation. “10/23 Aeroplane Chess. We are very familiar with that environment.”
Qin Rui, He Lanshan, Wu Yanchao, Zhao Muchen: “……”
Only their team captain could describe “never getting past this level” in such a refreshing and elegant manner.
The Happy Line Broom Team, not wanting to ride brooms anymore, immediately stated: “6/23 Castle Hotel, we…”
Yue Shuai: “Okay, it’s yours!”
Happy Line: “……” They wanted to say they absolutely didn’t want 6/23 Castle Hotel!
These two acts of “volunteering” reminded Lao Qian, who immediately turned to the Long Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, and Fair Face’s team two rows behind, kindly suggesting, “Why don’t you take 2/23 Red Eye Flight?”
“……” Long Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, and Fair Face didn’t want to speak, only wanting to throw a [(Offense) Words Like Pearls and Jade] at him.
Soon, eleven levels had their responsible teams, leaving only 7/23 Story Relay and 9/23 Inner Hell.
These two levels were the only ones without maps, with just four words of guidance on that page:
7/23 Third Scene
9/23 Source of Fear
The Colorful Assault Team’s Captain, Elegant Gray, had been waiting at 7/23, but Story Relay required at least two teams, so he was still missing a partner.
9/23 had no takers. No one wanted to face their or their teammate’s inner fears again.
Having already chosen 11/23 Chaotic Republic, Teacher Wei’s team, after a long discussion, saw Zhu Mo calmly raising his hand. “Captain Yue, maybe we should switch to nine…”
“We’ll take the ninth level.” Han Buting spoke up, his deep voice naturally resonating, easily covering Zhu Mo’s voice.
Zhu Mo glanced back at him.
Han Buting nodded slightly, all gentlemanly.
But remembering that this gentleman wanted to learn dancing from him as a pick-up line, Zhu Mo felt like hitting him every time.
In the end, the responsible teams for each level were as follows:
1/23 Snowy Forest — Yue’s First Circle Team (Full Name: Captain Yue’s Complex Circle of Social Relationships, Echelon 1)
2/23 Red Eye Flight — Long Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, and Fair Face
3/23 Apocalypse City — Yue’s Second Circle Team
4/23 Moonlight Maze — Camouflage Muscular Man Team
5/23 Haunted House Infernal Affairs — Yue Shuai, Su Mingzhan, Tao Anan, Wei Tianhang, Ji Yiming
6/23 Castle Hotel Exploration — Happy Broom Team
7/23 Story Relay — Colorful Assault Elegant Gray’s Team + Yue’s Third Circle Team
8/23 Unexpected Demon — Le Xing, Zhao Yukan, Fu Ziqi, Jing Jinglin, Dong Xi
9/23 Inner Hell — Han Buting, Li Zijin, Li Xia, Qi Shan, Xu Yange
10/23 Aeroplane Chess — Fu Wenqing, Qin Rui, He Lanshan, Wu Yanchao, Zhao Muchen + Yue’s Fourth Circle Team
11/23 Chaotic Republic — Wei Menghan, Zou Jun, Feng Rang, Zhu Mo, Ji Yunlei
12/23 Halloween Ghost Hunting — Wang Duanran, Chen Guan, Jiang Dachuan, Gu Nian, Kong Lizhe
13/23 Amnesia Building — Xu Wang’s Team
Three additional teams brought by Yue Shuai, not fixed to any level, remained fully mobile for backup in case of emergencies.
Distributing maps and confirming levels was just the first step. In the days to come, each team needed to rush to their respective locations—not every team was already at their designated level. Getting into position also required time.
Fortunately, this wasn’t an urgent matter; they had plenty of time to prepare and coordinate.
Xu Wang, holding the map, optimistically thought.
That night, at 0:00.
The snowy forest was desolate.
The friends had dispersed at noon, but even if they didn’t, entering together would still mean separating—each team was in its own independent space for the first level.
This made it convenient for Xu Wang to test communication.
The team he had previously conspired with was undecided, and Xu Wang, fearing unforeseen complications, resisted the temptation and didn’t use his ability, keeping it tightly under wraps.
Before the ice waterfall, Xu Wang confirmed with his friends, “Shall I start?”
“Hurry up.” His four companions were also looking forward to it.
Closing his eyes, Xu Wang concentrated, trying to establish some kind of connection in his mind, just like the first time he used a stationery. Unlike connecting to stationery, which has a specific direction, this communication connection involved Xu Wang sending signals in all directions, waiting for a response.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Three minutes.
The response came.
“Ah…” Xu Wang suddenly squatted down, clutching his head in pain.
Wu Sheng hurriedly squatted down. “What’s wrong?”
Xu Wang gasped for air, released his hands, and lifted a pale face. “A thousand ducks are quacking.”
Wu Sheng felt both distressed and angry. “Don’t broadcast to everyone. Private chat one-on-one!”
Xu Wang obediently closed his eyes again, regulated his breathing, concentrated, and switched to point-to-point mode. The first person to come to mind was, naturally, Captain Yue.
One minute.
Two minutes.
[Xu Wang? This is nuts. You can enter my mind?!]
“The ability given by the Owl.” Xu Wang slowly opened his eyes, testing to see if the communication would disconnect. “Can you still hear me talking now?”
[Yes. But this kind of telepathic communication is creepy…]
“Then use your mouth, like speaking and using the phone.”
“Damn, why didn’t you say so earlier!” Captain Yue’s voice rang clear in Xu Wang’s ear.
“As long as you can talk, I’m going to try someone else, talk later.”
“Hey, wait, how did the Owl give you this…”
Click.
Captain Xu cut off the voice communication unilaterally, sleek and cool.
Half a minute later.
Le Xing: “How many more hidden skills do you have that we don’t know about?”
Xu Wang: “Really, that’s all. I swear on my boyfriend.”
Le Xing: “…”
One minute later
Wang Duanran: “What kind of stationery is this? So damn cool! Do you have more? How much? I’ll buy!”
Xu Wang: “Someone connected with me, bye.”
Wang Duanran: “Okay, wait… You wait a moment. Can telepathy even cut in line?!”
Half a minute later.
Fu Wenqing: “Is this the communication you’re relying on the day we look for the Owl Jade?”
Xu Wang: “Yes.”
Fu Wenqing: “Good, it solves a big problem. Since we have such convenient conditions, I have some new ideas about the plan. Let’s talk again sometime.”
“……” How obsessed with “talking” is this friend!
The more he used his skill, the more proficient he became, and the waiting time for responses became shorter. After harassing various companions for over an hour, Xu Wang could basically communicate at any time.
After finding an ice cave to rest in, Xu Wang breathed a sigh of relief, thinking about trying a few more times in a couple of days once the teams left Beijing and reached other stages.
But with the long night ahead and nothing else to do, Xu Wang became restless again, wanting to try group chat. Communicating one-on-one was too inefficient; if it could be like a multi-person voice chat, where everyone was online at the same time, it would be more convenient for everyone.
Seeing Xu Wang’s posture, the four knew the captain was about to dial again, so they didn’t disturb him and just quietly watched.
This time, Xu Wang rebooted the first mode, extending the olive branch of communication to all eighteen teams, not leaving out his own teammates.
Soon, a cacophony arose in his mind, causing a headache.
Xu Wang gritted his teeth and persevered, trying to separate the familiar voices of his companions from the mixed sounds, organizing them.
[Didn’t you already try? Testing it again?] This was the impatient Wang Duanran.
[I was having a good dream, and you disturbed it.] This was Teacher Wei, yawning.
[Anything else?] This was the calm Han Buting.
[Only… six days left…]
Xu Wang suddenly opened his eyes, his face full of astonishment.
Wu Sheng raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Hmm?”
Xu Wang shook his head, not speaking, and closed his eyes again to search for that voice.
[Only… six days left…]
Intermittent, like an electric current—not a teammate, but the Owl!
“What six days?” Xu Wang panicked.
His sudden voice startled his four companions.
[In six days… the location of Owl Jade… will change completely…]
“Why? You didn’t say there was a time limit before!”
[You… have been detected…]
[Elimination… of instability… has begun…]
“Then wait for Owl Jade to change, and you give us a new map?”
[I… can’t find it…]
“Don’t joke with me.” Xu Wang’s confidence waned. Without a map, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. He couldn’t find thirteen needles in the sea overnight.
[Only… six days left…]
[Only… six days left…]
Owl’s last words echoed in Xu Wang’s ears like a nightmare, long-lingering.
A cold wind blew into the ice cave, making him shiver.
If he hadn’t recklessly sent out communication signals and if he hadn’t insisted on separating the noisy voices one by one, he might have missed this message. Just thinking about it scared Xu Wang.
“What’s going on?” Wu Sheng grabbed his cold hand, warming it. “What time limit?”
Xu Wang looked up at him and the other three companions. “In six days, the location of the Owl Jade will change.”
“Repair?” Chi Yingxue hit the nail on the head.
Xu Wang nodded. “It said we’ve been discovered, and the elimination of instability has begun.”
Qian Ai: “Then rather than moving the Owl Jade, they should move us, right?”
Chi Yingxue threw away the ice cube he had been playing with in his palm and said with a snap, “Maybe after moving the Owl Jade, they’ll move us.”
“……” Qian Ai decided not to interject anymore, to avoid hearing more demoralizing speculation.
Ten minutes later, the first successful group chat initiator, Captain Xu, dropped a time bomb—
“Six days?!”
This two-word roar was essentially the first reaction of all teams.
Then slowly, the prospects of each team became clear—
Camouflage Strong Man: “We’re fine. I don’t want to stay here another day!”
Wang Duanran: “With our strength, six days is too long.”
Happy Line team: “Okay, I can recognize every grass and tree in the ancient castle with my eyes closed.”
Elegant Gray: “Then there’s no chance for rehearsals…”
“Shit, we’re still on 5/23!” Captain Le Xing, responsible for 8/23.
A flurry of communications, tumultuous until nearly 5:00, finally quieted down.
Returning to the hotel, Xu Wang was exhausted, collapsing onto the bed without wanting to move.
Wu Sheng lay down next to him, enveloping him in an embrace.
“Only six days left.” Xu Wang closed his eyes, envisioning a road with a vague end.
“There are still six days.” Wu Sheng leaned down, kissing his hair.
Xu Wang gritted his teeth but rested his head against Wu Sheng’s chest. His voice became muffled, but there was no deterrent in its tone. “Keep being blindly optimistic.”
Wu Sheng corrected, “That’s called being optimistic based on strength.”
Xu Wang looked up at him irritably for a long while, then kissed him fiercely.
Five days later, 0:00.
“Hoot—hoot—”
Xu Wang couldn’t remember how many times he had heard this sound, but none were as nerve-wracking as today.
It felt like the final lap bell of a long-distance race, with the finish line ahead and success or failure hinging on this moment.
The misty building was empty and silent, without a soul in sight.
Their 13/23 level had been completed, and strictly speaking, they no longer belonged here. In fact, everyone who had passed this level wouldn’t have a second chance to return here—after submitting their papers successfully, they would directly enter the Wish House. Those who chose to leave would not be mentioned, but those who chose to take on the latter ten challenges would immediately enter the latter ten mode, completely cutting off from the first thirteen levels. Even if they failed to submit, they would follow the rules of the latter ten challenges and wouldn’t return to the previous thirteen.
So, until four days ago, no one knew what 13/23 really looked like, and those who knew had forgotten. Four days ago, Xu Wang and his team returned here, greeted by this building shrouded in cloud and mist.
They didn’t lose their memories again, or rather, the level wasn’t triggered at all. For four consecutive days, it was the same place.
What exactly they had experienced during the thirteenth level, whether it was also in this building, was no longer important to Xu Wang’s team at the moment.
The Owl Jade map for 13/23 was a floor plan of a building. After three recon missions, they had locked down the location of the Owl Jade—in a finance office on the tenth floor of a certain company.
Taking the stairs up to the fifteenth floor, the team familiarly made their way to the finance office. Entering the office didn’t need much explanation; the division of labor was already clear—Wu Sheng, Qian Ai, Kuang Jinxin, and Chi Yingxue swung shovels and picks, digging up the floor tiles, while Captain Xu sat in the corner, connecting with other teams and clearing space for his teammates to dig.
[How’s it going?] Xu Wang rapidly dispersed the message.
Fixed points in the twelve levels quickly received the message, and soon feedback came—
Yue’s First Circle Team: “Heading to the marked spot. We have the ice-breaking stationery. Don’t worry!”
Long Legs, Handsome, Stick Figure, Fair Face: “Just boarded the plane. Haven’t flown yet. It’s not good to dismantle luggage racks now.”
Yue’s Second Circle Team: “We’ve obtained a vehicle. No companions found yet. Zombies pose no threat to us. Rest assured.”
Camouflage Muscles: “Running… huff… Damn maze is too winding… huff… No time to talk more…”
Yue Shuai: “I’m now a Peach Blossom Ghost—so beautiful. Too bad I can’t send you a selfie…”
Xu Wang’s image as a cool commander broke down here. “Dear, your task is the Owl Jade, not ghost house cosplay.”
Yue Shuai hadn’t replied when the response from Happy Broom Team came first. “Ahhhhh—”
Xu Wang tensed up and quickly connected with them. “What happened?”
Happy Broom Team: “Nothing… Ahh… We’re good… Ahhh… About to reach the chimney ahhhhh—”
Xu Wang was silent.
Qian Ai finally dug up a floor tile, wiped his sweat, and asked, “What’s up? Who’s in trouble?”
Xu Wang said, “Nothing. The Happy Team is riding brooms again.”
Qian Ai, Wu Sheng, Chi Yingxue, Kuang Jinxin: “……”
Despite six lines, they all kept choosing the Happy Line—isn’t this just saying one thing but doing another!
Xu Wang could hear all the teams, but conversely, each team could only hear Xu Wang and their own voices. The teams in the next few levels were afraid of mixing up with the earlier reports, so they waited a bit, calculating the time difference before they all started speaking—
Zhao Yukang: “All normal, at the current speed of the travel group, we’ll arrive at the location in an hour, I’ll report promptly if there’s new information.”
Xu Wang puzzled: “Where’s Captain Le Xing?”
Zhao Yukang: “Just got grazed by a car, got a bit scraped by a flowerpot, and spilled hot coffee all over himself, so he’s cleaning up. It’s no big deal.”
“……” Xu Wang looked at his teammates, who were energetically digging, and thought they were like angels.
Captain Fu Wenqing, an expert in Aeroplane Chess, interrupted, “No time now; talk later. Qin Rui, stop throwing dice. We don’t need to take off now, use [(Illusory) Fishing for the Moon in the Water*]!”
*(水中捞月) Idiom referring to a fruitless attempt.
Xu Wang was startled, fishing—does this mean… the Owl Jade has appeared in the water? Such efficiency!
Wei Menghan: “Xu Wang, are you there?”
“Yes.” Xu Wang hurriedly replied, as busy as a person working in customer service while organizing information in his head. This classmate should be in 11/23, the chaotic Republic of China era.
“We five refreshed at different points. I’m rushing to the meetup point. Shouldn’t be a big problem.” Wei Menghan had just finished speaking when a gunshot pierced the air.
Xu Wang jumped. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“No problem. The patrol is catching a thief.”
“Then stay away from them.”
“I am the thief.”
“……”
Click!
The sudden sound of breaking interrupted Xu Wang’s call. Looking up, the ground was pitted and mixed with purple fragments.
Xu Wang couldn’t believe it. “Is it done?”
Kuang Jinxin chuckled, Qian Ai grinned widely, and Chi Yingxue’s eyes curved in a shallow smile.
Wu Sheng stood with his shovel, poised and graceful. “Told you, be optimistic based on strength.”
Xu Wang wanted to jump up and give each one a kiss, but Wang Duanran’s voice preempted him. “Done.”
“You too?” The double joy came so suddenly that Xu Wang was a bit overwhelmed.
“Too?” Wang Duanran’s tone rose. “Did someone beat us to it?”
“…No.” Xu Wang now had a broad perspective.
Levels 12 and 13 were completed, while levels 1-6, 8, 10, and 11 were supported.
They were just missing 7 and 9, the only two challenges without a map.
Xu Wang’s heart hung in suspense.
7/23, Story Relay, Game Room.
Elegant Gray, the team captain of Yue’s Third Circle Team—a young man in a sports jersey—and a mature man in a black T-shirt were sitting around a round table.
Everyone was very friendly, and the story relay proceeded in an orderly manner. The completed story went like this:
Cute Girl A secretly loved Handsome Senior B and slipped a love letter into his desk, but Green Tea* Girl C found it and secretly switched it to the desk of Delinquent Boy D, who was in the same class as Handsome Senior B. Delinquent Boy D mistakenly thought Cute Girl A liked him and asked her to go to the movies. After Cute Girl A arrived, she realized the misunderstanding, firmly rejected Delinquent Boy D, and told him her heart belonged to Handsome Senior B. After saying this, Cute Girl A left, and Delinquent Boy D watched the movie in the couples’ seat alone, only to discover that in the seat next to the next, Handsome Senior B was also watching the movie alone.
*It’s slang referring to someone who presents themselves as innocent, pure, or virtuous on the surface but, in reality, is very cunning or deceptive.
“When Delinquent Boy D saw B, he was filled with anger and was about to rush at B…” The man in the sports outfit was telling the story with enthusiasm when he was suddenly interrupted.
“Interruption!” Elegant Gray played his first interruption card, took a deep breath, and after brewing for two seconds, said, “The moment Delinquent Boy D grabbed the collar of Handsome Senior B, he suddenly realized that violence couldn’t solve the problem. It would be better to learn from Handsome Senior B on how to win a girl’s affection, so he decided to become his disciple…”
Elegant Gray played the [Becoming a Disciple] card.
Sports Jersey: “……”
Black T-shirt: “……”
“But becoming a disciple requires a ceremony, so Delinquent Boy D chose what he was most familiar with—a mini KTV booth!”
Elegant Gray played the [KTV] card.
As soon as the card was revealed, he couldn’t wait to shout, “Xu Wang—”
The two others at the table nearly jumped out of their skins at his shout.
Elegant Gray had no time to consider others. “Can you hear me? Have him dig right in the KTV. I’ll control the game room!”
The first scene: the classroom where the love letter was delivered.
The second scene: the movie theater.
The third scene: the mini KTV booth.
Xu Wang, far in 13/23, almost instantly caught the information and immediately passed it on to Sky Blue, Wine Red, Deep Purple, Bright Orange. “The Owl Jade is in the room!”
Actually, without Xu Wang saying so, the Red, Blue, Purple, and Orange classmates were also calculating the scenes. However, according to the plot, the only ones who actually transitioned to the room scene were Delinquent Boy D (Wine Red) and Handsome Senior B (a teammate of Sports Jersey’s team).
Upon entering the room, Wine Red immediately started digging three feet into the ground, touched by the captain’s consideration. Mini, exquisite—to define the third scene’s scope as small as possible, the captain had used all the mini descriptors in his vocabulary.
Handsome Senior B stood by, dumbfounded, confirming there was no new story continuation, so he watched Wine Red frantically search and attempt to dig the ground, silently retreating to a corner, feeling a chill creeping up to his forehead.
The message from the Elegant Gray eased Xu Wang’s tension a bit, leaving only Han Buting’s side without news.
Fifteen minutes ago, 00:01, 9/23, Inner Hell.
Han Buting woke up in his seat, knowing his body was still sleeping in a hidden compartment, but his consciousness had entered his teammate’s mental hell.
This was a space shuttle, recognizable to anyone who had seen a sci-fi movie. Looking out into the vast universe outside the shuttle. He was in the captain’s seat, with his teammates waking up one by one in the co-pilot seats.
Xu Yange, Li Xia, Qi Shan.
Li Zijin was missing.
Everyone, including Han Buting, wore a look of surprise.
This was their fourth time facing this challenge, with the previous three times being Xu Yange’s nightmares. They had naturally assumed this time would be the same.
“How is this possible…” Qi Shan looked around, not giving up, but he understood that indeed, Li Zijin was left in the hidden compartment.
Xu Yange pondered for a moment. “Maybe the previous attempts at this challenge relieved some of my stress. I indeed haven’t been thinking about those things lately.”
When the biggest fear disappears, the next in line naturally steps up.
This was easy to understand, but they hadn’t expected it to be Li Zijin.
What nightmares did Li Zijin have?
The only thing Qi Shan could think of was retirement, but Li Zijin was clearly preparing for a comeback, and he been recently very active. Moreover, what does retirement have to do with a space shuttle?
Boom!
The shuttle shook violently amidst the sound of huge gunfire, and the control panel issued an attack warning.
Kinky Translations 