Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

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Chapter 75

Jin City. Room 301, Boxue Building, Jinnan University.

After finishing an elective course related to psychology, while other students left, Yin Jiujui stayed behind. She waited until the visiting professor packed up his notes and other items before leaving with him.

The two went to dine first, then headed to a psychological counseling office owned by the professor.

Familiarly entering one of the counseling rooms, Yin Jiujui settled onto a reclining chair she knew well.

Lifting her eyes, she saw the professor bringing her a glass of water.

His features were stern, and when he didn’t smile, he appeared quite serious.

However, in Yin Jiujui’s perception, the professor was amiable and never lost his temper.

“Thank you, professor,” Yin Jiujui said, taking a sip of water before setting the glass down and lying back.

The professor gently asked, “Did you receive the money?”

“I did,” Yin Jiujui responded with a smile. “Thank you. Can we finish early today? I’d like to visit my mother.”

“Of course. With a dutiful daughter like you, your mother will be very happy,” the professor replied.

“Thanks to you,” Yin Jiujui sincerely expressed. “Without you, I wouldn’t have had enough money for my mother’s surgery.”

“No need to thank me. If anything, thank yourself. Not everyone is willing to volunteer for my experimental projects. The compensation I offer is only fair.”

The professor then walked to a corner of the therapy room, where to Yin Jiujui’s surprise, was a piano.

He lifted the piano cover and began to play. As the keys danced beneath his fingers, a smooth melody filled the room.

Yin Jiujui felt her eyelids grow heavy. She closed her eyes and envisioned a classroom where a girl in a white dress danced. Sunlight filtered through the leaves outside, casting a dreamy aura on the dancer.

“Do you see her?” she heard a deep male voice ask.

“Yes, I see her,” Yin Jiujui replied, her voice distant.

“Who is she?”

“Meng Hui. She’s Meng Hui. My best friend since childhood.”

Yin Jiujui felt as if she was immersed in a beautiful memory.

“In the future, I want to join the dance academy and become a dancer! Jiujui, don’t you want my autograph? Once I become famous, you can sell it!”

“I wouldn’t sell it. I’ll keep it.”

“Jiujui, what do you want to become in the future?”

“Your bodyguard.”

“Bodyguard? You want to protect me?”

“Yes. You’re everyone’s fairy. We all need to protect you.”

But Yin Jiujui couldn’t protect her.

She heard the piano music suddenly stop. As the last note faded, Meng Hui, who had been dancing, fell backward into a pool of blood.

Yin Jiujui felt a sinking sensation in her chest, and her world began to spin.

Afterward, she heard the professor ask, “So, who killed her this time…?”

……

Spring Hill Mental Asylum, Zone 1.

Qi Liuxing, after taking a ceremonial shower and making preparations, also entered an instance.

This time, his goal wasn’t about deciphering clues but simply fighting monsters and obtaining items.

He mostly solo-queued for such dungeons in the past. Unlike Zhou Qian, who preferred intricate dungeons filled with hidden achievements, for Qi Liuxing, these were relatively stress-free. He paired up with Ke Yuxiao. Besides acquiring equipment, their primary goal was to synchronize their skills.

Ke Yuxiao’s flute play could amplify the effects of Qi Liuxing’s sword techniques. Once they mastered their synergy, they believed they’d be unbeatable.

An hour after entering the dungeon, with the combined efforts of Qi Liuxing and Ke Yuxiao, the first mini boss was defeated, dropping two treasure chests.

Both of them opened a chest, and astonishingly, they each obtained a double experience card.

“Our luck is incredible!” Qi Liuxing exclaimed with joy, making some calculations. “At this rate… if we continue grinding like this a few more times, we both can advance to Rank S!”

Ke Yuxiao, smiling as he stowed away the card, seemed equally excited. “Indeed. I’ve heard that upon reaching Rank S… it’s almost like entering a new game. The experience should be entirely different. We can also get closer to the gods and attain what we desire.”

Qi Liuxing continued, “Yes. I heard Zhou Qian say he was going to Blue Harbor City, which is some kind of semi-open instance. It seems completely different from the ones we’re currently playing. Hmm… Once we level up to Rank S, we can go to Blue Harbor City to find him!”

Ke Yuxiao nodded, his eyes filled with anticipation. “I’ve heard of Blue Harbor City. Apparently, we need to buy an ‘entry ticket’ to access it. We can grind and gain experience while simultaneously putting up a purchase request in the trading hall.”

“Right!” Qi Liuxing said, visibly excited, as he accessed his system panel. “I’m going to the trading hall to place a purchase request now.”

……

Blue Harbor City, Murder Exhibition Hall.

This was a vast building with an irregular shape. Depending on the perspective, the structure presented different polygonal designs. The construction material seemed like some metal, shiny as a mirror, reflecting white light into various colors, blending seamlessly into the vibrant city backdrop. However, the interior told a different story.

Upon entering the exhibition hall, the only colors Zhou Qian could see were black and white. Accompanying the monochrome was an inexplicable chilly aura.

Soon after entering the main door, a corridor stretched out before him, long and seemingly endless, almost as if it led to hell itself.

All Zhou Qian could discern near the entrance were two doors, each illuminated by a light. One was labeled “Hall A” and the other “Hall B”.

At that moment, a female staff member emerged from the depths of the corridor. Dressed in a white gown with flowing hair, she moved silently, resembling a stereotypical ghostly female lead from horror films.

Her voice had an eerie undertone, chilling to its core.

After giving Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou a fleeting glance, she softly advised, “Please choose a hall to begin your tour. Once you start, you must see it through. No quitting halfway.”

“Is there a specific order? Or do we need to tour all the halls regardless of the sequence?” Zhou Qian inquired.

The staff member gave a slight smile, her dark, cold eyes glancing at him. “You aren’t from Blue Harbor City. Visitors like you must visit all the halls. Only the vacant ones can be chosen.”

Zhou Qian grasped her implication.

By “visitors,” she referred to players, while “locals” meant NPCs. NPCs were unrestricted, but once players began, they had to complete their task before they could leave.

“What do you mean by ‘vacant’?” Zhou Qian probed further.

This time, the staff member only smiled mysteriously, fixing Zhou Qian with a haunting gaze.

As Zhou Qian was about to question her more, three men emerged from Hall B. All three were NPCs. Like the previous trio of women, they were garishly dressed but looked rather pale and clearly disturbed.

“What’s inside?” Zhou Qian asked.

“Blood, flesh… It’s nauseating.”

“Why did we even come to such a place?”

“Hey, it was you two who wanted to build up some courage in advance!”

The brief exchange was revealing. Zhou Qian pressed for more details: why they needed courage, their origins, and more.

He learned that the three were students from Blue Harbor City’s Detective Academy, aspiring to be exceptional detectives. Hearing that an exhibition hall had opened, they believed visiting such a macabre exhibit would help them acclimatize to actual crime scenes.

But everything on display in this exhibition hall exceeded their imagination, so much so that they wanted to leave only after visiting Hall B.

The man in the red shirt shuddered. “The sight of my clothes now makes me want to puke. The scenes inside were too horrifying.”

Zhou Qian couldn’t help but stare at the red shirt adorned with stars and moons. The imagery against the red backdrop made it appear as if someone had drawn the celestial patterns in blood.

Zhou Qian wasn’t sure if he had a prejudice against the color red, which led to such feelings. But in any case, he found the shirt very uncomfortable.

“What’s really inside? Are the blood and flesh real?” Zhou Qian queried.

“I don’t know. Maybe animal blood and flesh?” the man in the red shirt answered. “Anyway, the corpses inside are too realistic.”

The man in the green shirt chimed in, “The corpses are uncannily lifelike. Not just their skin, but their expressions too.”

The young man in the green clothes quickly added, “The bodies look so real! Not just the skin; even the expressions on the corpses are so lifelike! My God, I made eye contact with a female corpse whose eyes wouldn’t close in death and almost peed my pants! It’s truly terrifying!”

The one in the yellow clothes continued, “At first, I thought they were wax figures. Or maybe some 3D realistic display. After convincing myself, I touched a corpse’s hand. Fuck… It felt like I was touching a living person, really! It was so damn scary.”

When Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou first arrived at the exhibition, they encountered three young ladies.

These ladies screamed as they came out of the exhibition and quickly left without saying much. The reactions of these three men after visiting the exhibition were clearly similar to those of the ladies.

They too felt that “this place isn’t good to stay in for long”. And so, they quickly stopped answering any more questions and ran out of the exhibition as if they were flying.

Zhou Qian caught a glimpse of their retreating figures.

As he turned his head, he met Bai Zhou’s gaze. Just then, the ghostly female staff member eerily reminded them, “Please make your choice quickly. You have 30 seconds left.”

At this point, she grinned as if she was hoping they wouldn’t make a choice—as if any violation from the players would give her the right to devour them alive.

Immediately after, Zhou Qian heard Bai Zhou ask, “Do you want to go to Hall A?”

Bai Zhou’s suggestion was indeed good.

Although they didn’t know what was in Hall A, Zhou Qian knew from the NPCs that Hall B contained a lot of blood, which he didn’t like.

Zhou Qian smiled and nodded at Bai Zhou, asking, “Have you told Hidden Blade and He Xiaowei where we’re going?”

“Yes, they are on their way,” Bai Zhou replied.

“Then it’s perfect for splitting up. Let them go to Hall B first.”

Without wasting any more time, Zhou Qian quickly turned and walked into Hall A.

……

It was initially pitch black inside Hall A, but the room lit up as Bai Zhou and Zhou Qian stepped in.

The pure white light illuminated everything, revealing the details of the hall. The hall seemed smaller than Zhou Qian had anticipated. It was only after entering that he realized this was just one of the exhibition rooms in Hall A. Directly across from them was a sign on the wall that read “Hall A-1”. To the right was another door, presumably leading to “Hall A-2”.

In Hall A-1, everything was square and neat. There was no blood, no flesh, and no gruesome or horrifying props related to those ideas. The only thing present was a tiny corpse in the center of the room—the body of an infant—and nothing else.

But that didn’t mean the situation wasn’t eerie. Without vivid, visually shocking elements like blood or severed limbs, the mere sight of a pale, slightly purplish, closed-eyed infant lying under the blinding white light, looking eerily real, still made the room feel unsettling.

At first glance, it might not seem like much. But as time passed, in the quiet room with only oneself and a deceased infant bathed in an overly bright light, it felt like being judged… It would probably make anyone’s skin crawl.

Even Zhou Qian slightly frowned. After exchanging a glance with Bai Zhou, they both approached to examine the infant’s body.

The dead baby was casually lying in the center of the pristine white floor. A label in front of its tiny feet probably bore its name: “Ke Hua”.

Zhou Qian’s eyes scanned the name. When he looked up, Bai Zhou had already picked up the baby.

Zhou Qian’s attention was on Bai Zhou’s expression. Naturally, Bai Zhou was expressionless.

Clearly, he was a seasoned player. Zhou Qian subtly raised an eyebrow before focusing back on the infant. Then he heard Bai Zhou say, “The body is still somewhat warm, as if it died recently.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qian reached out to touch the baby’s cheek, feeling its softness and slight warmth. Indeed, it seemed the baby had only stopped breathing minutes ago.

Its body showed no signs of rigidity, and the skin still felt warm.

Bai Zhou quickly undressed the infant to inspect its body. There were no visible external injuries. After checking, Bai Zhou dressed the infant again.

Zhou Qian asked, “Did you find anything?”

Bai Zhou replied, “The face and lips are a bit purplish. There’s nothing else. It might have died from suffocation.”

“Suffocation in infants is common. To determine if it’s a homicide, one would need to figure out whether it’s accidental or intentional,” Zhou Qian remarked as he looked around. “But considering this is a ‘Murder Exhibition Hall’, accidents can likely be ruled out. This infant’s death was the result of a deliberate murder.”

“However, naming this an exhibition hall is problematic. From what we see, it merely displays a corpse. There’s no murderer, no environment depicting the victim’s last moments… How is this a complete murder exhibition? Wait—”

Zhou Qian approached and took the baby from Bai Zhou’s arms, inspecting it closely as if trying to discern the details of its skin and hair.

“Those NPCs were right. This body is too realistic. It’s not a wax figure. Could it be made of some special material to make it look so real?”

Zhou Qian paused, then shook his head. “No, it feels completely human.”

“Yes, I agree. It’s a real person,” Bai Zhou confirmed.

“So what’s going on? Did someone murder an infant in the exhibition and then run away?” Zhou Qian felt puzzled, as this explanation seemed somewhat inconsistent.

Logically, the displays in an exhibition shouldn’t change in the short term. Therefore, the baby should remain here indefinitely. Hence, it couldn’t have been recently killed. Unless logic didn’t apply here and the murderer just left moments ago.

“It doesn’t make sense. Let’s check the next exhibition hall,” Bai Zhou said. As he walked towards Hall A-2, he glanced at his wrist and told Zhou Qian, “Hidden Blade and his team have arrived and are about to enter Hall B. We can ask about their findings later.”

“Alright.” Zhou Qian, seemingly lost in thought, chuckled.

Noticing the smile, Bai Zhou inquired, “What is it?”

Zhou Qian replied, “I was wondering why those fools who wanted to kill me haven’t found me yet. Hey, Zhou Ge, maybe this instance is challenging, and they’ve heard rumors, so they’re preparing before rushing in.”

Bai Zhou stared at Zhou Qian for a moment before proceeding. “The harder the dungeon, the happier you are.”

“Exactly. If I see through it and others can’t, then I have the chance to deal with them,” Zhou Qian said, narrowing his eyes at Bai Zhou’s retreating figure. “By the way, when you were an NPC, why didn’t you increase the difficulty for me?”

Instead of answering directly, Bai Zhou responded, “Wasn’t it in the second year? I was helping the teacher grade math papers and accidentally deducted an extra point from you. You were angry for quite some time.”

Zhou Qian immediately retorted, “Bringing up the past isn’t fun! I have a much better temper now!”

Bai Zhou: “I’ve noticed.”

Zhou Qian: “See? I told you!”

While conversing, the two arrived at Hall A-2. The dim room lit up upon their entry, similar to Hall A-1. Again, everything was immaculate, and there was only one lone child corpse, this time a girl around three or four years old. A preliminary check revealed no apparent injuries except for some white foam at the corner of her mouth.

After the inspection, Zhou Qian pointed to a spot on the floor and said, “Look there.”

Bai Zhou glanced down to see a label with the name: “Ke Xue.”

This girl also had the surname “Ke”!

Hall A-2 wasn’t the end of Hall A. They continued on, discovering a total of seven exhibition rooms in Hall A. Each room contained a child’s or infant’s body, none older than seven years. Six children had the surname “Ke”, and only one boy had the surname “Xu”.

There was no other way out in the 7th exhibition hall, so the two had to retrace their steps and return to Hall A-1.

At that moment, they heard a commotion from the corridor, sounding like many people were approaching. Before long, eight individuals entered Hall A-1.

It was the same group Zhou Qian had encountered on the beach—those who wanted to kill him. Among the group, the long-haired man was present, but the bald man was absent.

Zhou Qian surmised that after their group of more than ten people entered, they split into two teams: one led by the bald man went to Hall B, while the other, led by the long-haired man, came to Hall A.

The moment he saw Zhou Qian, the long-haired man sneered. His followers seemed ready to make a move, but Zhou Qian nonchalantly said, “This place has a time limit. You’d better check the exhibition rooms first. Also, you’ve come too late. I’ve hidden the key clues.”

“You son of a—”

An underling immediately stepped forward, glaring at Zhou Qian.

The greasy, long-haired man was much calmer now than he had been on the beach. He immediately reprimanded his underlings. “Let’s first go through all the exhibition halls together. This instance is very tricky. Don’t take it lightly.”

After the long-haired man spoke, seeing that the group of eight went to Hall A-2, Zhou Qian signaled to Bai Zhou. As they were about to leave Hall A to head to the corridor, another short-haired, red-skirted staff member suddenly appeared, signaling them to stop.

She had flaming red lips, dense eyelashes, heavy eyeliner, and an overly pale face, looking like another version of a standard ghostly figure.

“The tour hasn’t ended. You can’t leave,” the staff member said in a haunting voice.

“When will it end?” Zhou Qian asked her.

“Wait. Just wait. Once the mission begins, Hall A will be temporarily sealed.” The staff member laughed, revealing her white teeth. The lipstick smeared on her teeth made them look blood-stained, a sight that made Zhou Qian instinctively frown.

Meanwhile, the group of eight didn’t investigate as thoroughly as Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou did. They moved quickly and were soon back in Hall A-1.

Probably feeling the eeriness of the exhibition hall, they also moved to leave Hall A. But just then, there was a loud “bang”, and the door to Hall A closed.

All the lights went out, and the exhibition hall plunged into darkness.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Who’s touching me? Damn it, it’s not one of those babies, is it?”

“Third Brother, don’t scare me… I…”

“It can’t be… There aren’t ghosts here, are there?”

Zhou Qian, annoyed by the noise, whispered to Bai Zhou beside him, “If these clowns don’t get eliminated soon, they’ll definitely affect my clearing the level—”

But he stopped when he noticed Bai Zhou holding his hand.

“What’s the matter?”

“Something’s not right.”

“Where?”

As Zhou Qian said this, he realized both his and Bai Zhou’s voices had changed—they now sounded like children.

The lights came on, and Zhou Qian found himself in a large, messy living room. At the moment, he was standing by a sofa with a toy train in front of him on the floor. Bai Zhou was next to him, holding his hand.

When he turned to look at Bai Zhou, he realized Bai Zhou appeared to be about seven years old. Zhou Qian himself also looked like he was six or seven, barely taller than the nearby sofa.

In the living room, the other eight people, upon realizing they had become younger, began to scream and wail.

Zhou Qian, however, laughed and looked at Bai Zhou. “Hey, you were about this age when I first met you, right? I didn’t expect to see you like this again.”

Pinching Bai Zhou’s cheek, he continued, “Little Bai Zhou is so cute, and you still have baby fat.”

The door to the living room opened, and an aging, middle-aged woman walked in. “Children, Mom’s back! Did you miss me?”

“So… all ten of us are her children?”

Hearing this, Zhou Qian whispered to Bai Zhou, “Is this some sort of instance with super fecundity you see in literature?”

Bai Zhou looked at Zhou Qian for a moment, then asked in the same quiet tone, “What kind of novels do you usually read?”

Zhou Qian quickly responded, “Not me. My sick friend Qi Liuxing reads them!”

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

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Chapter 74

Not far across the street, the traffic light changed once again.

Zhou Qian lowered his head and noticed the flier in front of him had shifted in color. He casually accepted the flier and looked up, only to see a very short figure handing them out. The individual wore a loose, colorful outfit and a skull mask, making it impossible to discern their gender.

Seeing Zhou Qian take a flier, the figure gave a respectful bow as if to express gratitude, then turned and disappeared into the vibrant Blue Harbor City.

Zhou Qian glanced briefly at the gory flier and carelessly stowed it away.

He then opened his system panel and sent his location to [137]. Soon after, he swiftly left the intersection and headed directly to the “I’m the Prettiest Fashion Shop”, a route he had previously scoped out.

The proprietor of this shop wasn’t an NPC but a player, who warmly welcomed Zhou Qian’s arrival.

Under the shopkeeper’s enthusiastic recommendation, Zhou Qian bought the “One-Click Hair Color Change” tool and successfully dyed his hair silver. But it wasn’t just silver; the color was highlighted with hints of pink, purple, and blue.

Such flamboyant colors might seem over the top, but on Zhou Qian, it gave him the vibe of a “comic book hero.”

In this colorful city, the hair didn’t seem out of place and only made Zhou Qian look more handsome.

That wasn’t all. Zhou Qian also changed his outfit. He donned a loose white robe in Japanese style. After the shopkeeper used the “Kaleidoscope” tool on it, the robe looked as if it were splattered with various colors, so dazzling that it almost hurt the eyes.

Lastly, upon the shopkeeper’s strong recommendation, Zhou Qian added two ear studs and an earring along the cartilage of his left ear. These shimmered silver under the light, harmonizing with his hair color.

Once the makeover was complete, Zhou Qian purchased a mask that covered half of his face and left the shop, quite pleased. Once he returned to the main street, he seamlessly blended into this uniquely styled city.

Instead of returning to the intersection where he had agreed to meet [137], Zhou Qian, with his mask on, went to a café diagonally across the intersection. The café’s sign was a peculiar mix of green and pink, adding to the city’s vibrancy.

Zhou Qian went straight to the second floor of the café, ordered a strange multi-colored drink, and sat by the window. He then removed his mask, took out binoculars, and began observing the intersection.

It had been a full seven years since he last saw him after their separation in the first year of high school. What would he look like now?

Is he the one with the baseball cap? Hmm, it doesn’t seem like it.

The traffic lights kept changing, and pedestrians kept moving. The only constant was Zhou Qian with his binoculars.

While searching for Bai Zhou, Zhou Qian recalled a phone call he received three days prior.

It was from Situ Qing.

“What’s up?” Zhou Qian had asked her at the time.

“I’ve found Mu Sheng,” Situ Qing replied.

At that moment, Zhou Qian instinctively glanced towards the direction of the hospital’s Zone X, then asked, “What about him?”

Situ Qing said, “He’s dead.”

According to Situ Qing’s account, after leaving the instance “Flower of Evil”, she started searching for a new apartment. She planned to return the rental where she and Mu Sheng had lived together, seeing it as a final goodbye to those painful memories.

While she was preparing to move, she unexpectedly saw Situ Xue and Mu Sheng’s father outside the apartment complex.

Seeing Situ Qing, Situ Xue approached her with tears in her eyes, apologizing repeatedly. Mu Sheng’s father, however, just stood by his car, smoking a cigarette, with a deeply sorrowful expression.

Situ Qing couldn’t tell if it was because they hadn’t met in so long, but they both seemed to have aged decades overnight.

After experiencing the vision Zhou Qian had shown her, Situ Qing’s mindset had completely changed.

When she saw her mother, she didn’t feel anything; it was as if she was detached from everything she saw before her.

Situ Xue approached and hugged her, apologizing continuously.

She then began explaining, somewhat incoherently, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! All these years, it’s not that I didn’t want to see you. Mu Sheng threatened me. He said if I saw you, he would kill you. I’m sorry. I—”

Upon hearing the name “Mu Sheng,” Situ Qing instinctively frowned.

She then had a thought—if her mother truly wanted to take her away, she could simply leave Mu Sheng’s father and move to another city with her. In the end, her mother just couldn’t bear to part with her own life.

Suddenly feeling a burst of clarity, Situ Qing took a few steps back, avoiding her mother’s embrace. “Please move. I’m moving out.”

Faced with her daughter’s alienation, Situ Xue was momentarily stunned.

Seeing this, Mu Sheng’s father sighed deeply and approached with a weary expression. “We came to inform you that we received news of Mu Sheng’s death. He’s dead. I’ve been preparing for his funeral…”

Afterwards, Situ Qing found Mu Sheng’s death suspicious, so she called Zhou Qian.

After their conversation, Zhou Qian immediately contacted Li Xuehai, asking if there had been any new arrivals in Zone X recently. Li Xuehai checked and informed Zhou Qian the next day. “Yes, someone new did arrive. Apparently, his surname is Mu. I can see his basic information in the hospital system, but not more. However—”

“However, what?” Zhou Qian asked.

“One of the familiar nurses saw him and mentioned that he no longer has legs. His legs were sawed off,” Li Xuehai replied.

Now, it was clear—Mu Sheng had faked his own death.

Who did this and how remains a mystery. But what was evident was that Mu Sheng’s family and friends believed him to be dead, even witnessing his supposed “corpse”, when he was actually transferred to Spring Hill Mental Asylum’s Zone X.

Moreover, Zhou Qian recalled from Situ Qing’s account that Mu Sheng hadn’t been amputated. Instead, he suffered nerve damage to his spine and could no longer walk. But according to Li Xuehai’s information, by the time Mu Sheng entered Zone X, he had no legs.

What’s going on?

So…

Could Bai Zhou’s situation be similar?

Part of his body remained in reality, turned into ashes in an urn.

But what about the other part in Zone X?

What exactly is inside that straitjacket?

If Bai Zhou is in such a condition…

Can his appearance in the game differ from his real-world appearance?

If the real Bai Zhou’s appearance permanently stayed at 16 or 17 years old…

What will he look like in the game?

With these thoughts, Zhou Qian looked through the binoculars towards the intersection, spotting a figure amidst the neon lights. He was dressed in a simple gray-white casual long shirt, with neat short hair and a tall, slender yet solid frame.

This plain look should have been ordinary and refreshing, but in this world, it made him stand out, immediately drawing Zhou Qian’s attention.

Zooming the binoculars to focus on his face, Zhou Qian recognized the familiar yet changed features.

The distance between his eyes seemed slightly longer, his eye contours sharper, and the bridge of his nose more prominent. And his lips… seemed to have thinned a bit?

Nevertheless, by this point, Zhou Qian had wholly confirmed one thing—

It was Bai Zhou.

Staring intently at the person’s facial features for a good while, Zhou Qian zoomed out the binoculars, slowly shifting his gaze downward, scrutinizing him from head to toe. Then he pulled the lens even farther back, observing the whole intersection. The traffic lights at the crossroads were still flashing and changing, and the streets were noisy and bustling.

In the dynamic and chaotic scene, only Bai Zhou stood still.

Zhou Qian watched intently, noticing Bai Zhou occasionally glancing around, seemingly looking for someone. But he didn’t seem to be in a hurry and didn’t move from his spot.

After waiting a while, Bai Zhou raised his wrist, apparently accessing some system panel.

During this time, countless passersby raised their wristwatches toward him, pausing to whisper among themselves, probably surprised to encounter a Rank God player here.

Zhou Qian’s wrist vibrated with a notification, but he didn’t check. He just continued watching Bai Zhou through the binoculars.

After a while, Zhou Qian saw a man in a sweatshirt with spiky hair approach Bai Zhou. They clearly seemed familiar with each other and exchanged a few words. The spiky-haired man then looked around, seemingly also searching for someone.

Zhou Qian frowned, wondering who the spiky-haired man was, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. A familiar voice followed. “Hey, Qian’er! You’re here! We meet again!”

Turning in surprise, Zhou Qian saw He Xiaowei.

“You…”

Before Zhou Qian could react, He Xiaowei pushed open the window and shouted across the street in a loud voice, “Hey—! Master! It’s me!! I’m here! Guess who I found?! Qian’er?! Qian’er is here too!”

Zhou Qian: “………”

Could you shout any louder?

Before the people at the intersection could turn their gaze to the café, Zhou Qian swiftly did two things—first, he stored the binoculars in his bag; second, he put the mask back on.

Seeing Zhou Qian’s actions, He Xiaowei asked in confusion, “What are you doing? Cosplaying?”

Glancing at the food in his hand, Zhou Qian gritted his teeth. “Just eat your food!”

Having said that, Zhou Qian, from behind the mask, glanced at the intersection and saw Bai Zhou looking back.

After seven long years, in a dreamlike world, separated by a mask, flashing neon lights, and colorful lights, the two finally made genuine eye contact.

Looking at Bai Zhou, Zhou Qian’s memories instantly traveled back to that evening seven years ago after school.

Bai Zhou said “goodbye” to him and left without looking back. The young man’s retreating figure vanished into that dimly lit avenue, marking Zhou Qian’s last memory of him.

On that dim avenue, each falling leaf symbolized their parting. With the passage of time, they gently swayed, taking Bai Zhou to a place Zhou Qian could never reach. From that point on, life and death separated them, putting an insurmountable distance between them.

Until this moment, the memories of that dim hue transformed into the dreamlike colors before him. And Bai Zhou was walking through these colors, step by step, toward Zhou Qian.

It felt as if, after experiencing a parting between life and death in reality, they were finally reunited in a mysterious, unknown world.

……

Five minutes later.

Zhou Qian, Bai Zhou, He Xiaowei, and Hidden Blade were seated at a dining table on the second floor of the tea restaurant.

Zhou Qian sat next to He Xiaowei, facing Hidden Blade, with Bai Zhou diagonally across. As the four of them dined, three remained silent, leaving only He Xiaowei chatting away.

“I must be incredibly lucky! I got the once-in-a-lifetime double experience card. Hahaha, otherwise, how could I have reached the legendary Blue Harbor City so quickly?”

“What’s up with your hair, Qian’er? And that mask. Who are you trying to cosplay? You seem so quiet today—it’s not like you.”

Seeing Zhou Qian not responding, He Xiaowei cleared his throat and cautiously looked at the two Rank God players across the table. He blinked, first looking at Hidden Blade, and said in a flattering tone, “Um, Master… hehe, thank you for personally taking me on an instance run. The person next to you is…?”

Hidden Blade frowned, playing the role of a stern master, and scolded, “Don’t ask unnecessary questions!”

“Yes, yes,” He Xiaowei quickly agreed, then sneaked a glance at the other Rank God player known only by the codename ​[137]​.

Damn… Some people just outshine others; it’s really infuriating. How can this person look even better than a celebrity idol?

He Xiaowei secretly sighed, realizing that this ​[137]​ seemed very aloof. He showed no emotions, didn’t speak, and was simply staring at Zhou Qian beside him.

Huh? Why does he keep looking at Zhou Qian?

Oh, I get it. He probably finds Zhou Qian’s outfit weird too!

Right. That must be the reason. Definitely!

I always said, Zhou Qian’s sense of style is seriously off.

If it wasn’t for his face, he’d look like one of those awkward dancers you see in the village.

But He Xiaowei would never dare say this out loud.

He just followed Bai Zhou’s gaze to Zhou Qian beside him.

He couldn’t help but sigh silently again; Zhou Qian was indeed acting very strange today.

He was staring silently at the colorful drink in front of him; his only movement was stirring the ice with a straw.

What’s so interesting about ice cubes?

For some reason, He Xiaowei felt there was an eerie atmosphere at the table.

Trying to make small talk, he said, “Haha, these pan-fried buns are really delicious! Qian’er, do you want some?”

Zhou Qian just kept staring at the ice cubes in his drink. “I don’t eat fried food.”

“Huh? This isn’t really fried, is it? But you’re quite particular, huh? Oh, haha—”

He Xiaowei cleared his throat awkwardly, then looked at Hidden Blade. “When I came to the second-floor dining area earlier, I saw a familiar figure from behind. I thought to myself, it couldn’t be Qian’er, could it? Haha, how did we just bump into each other in such a huge crowd?”

“Heh, I approached and tapped him on the shoulder, and who would’ve guessed! It really was Qian’er!”

“Our bond isn’t just deep; we’re like brothers! Even with that get-up, I recognized him instantly.”

“Speaking of which, I have no idea why he was by the window with binoculars—Ow, ow, ow!”

He Xiaowei’s outbursts immediately drew the attention of others in the restaurant.

He quickly clasped his hands in apology to those around, then looked at Zhou Qian, a bit aggrieved. “Why did you pinch me?”

“Because you talk too much,” Zhou Qian responded, picking up a bun and shoving it into He Xiaowei’s mouth. “Eat your bun!”

He Xiaowei muttered under his breath, “Qian’er, your temper is getting weirder and weirder.”

“Oh, come on!” Zhou Qian said, looping an arm around He Xiaowei’s neck and squinting threateningly. “My dear Xiaowei, I’m just worried you’re not eating enough—”

Before Zhou Qian could finish, he heard Bai Zhou from across the table. “Zhou Qian?”

Zhou Qian blinked but didn’t look up, just staring at He Xiaowei’s face and responding with a noncommittal “Hm?”

“Do you want to go somewhere with me?” Bai Zhou continued.

Letting go of He Xiaowei, Zhou Qian finally turned his gaze to Bai Zhou. It was the second time he had looked at Bai Zhou in a long while.

“Where to?” Zhou Qian asked.

“Just follow me,” Bai Zhou stood up.

After a pause, Zhou Qian gave a nod towards the stairway. “Alright, lead the way.”

Blinking, He Xiaowei watched as Bai Zhou and Zhou Qian left one after the other, then turned to Hidden Blade in confusion. “Master, what’s going on?”

Hidden Blade thought, ‘Why are you asking me?’ but outwardly he maintained his stern demeanor. “Don’t ask what you shouldn’t.”

He Xiaowei: “…”

……

Zhou Qian followed Bai Zhou downstairs, out of the café, and into a narrow alley that led to its end.

The light in the alley gradually dimmed, but at its end, the surroundings brightened up again—just ahead was a vast deep blue sea.

Walking along the sandy beach, Zhou Qian followed Bai Zhou to the water’s edge. The sky was still vibrant, full of life and colors, yet this stretch of beach was eerily deserted, offering a rare tranquility.

They walked a long way, with Zhou Qian always maintaining half a step behind Bai Zhou. Eventually, the tumultuous emotions that Zhou Qian felt began to calm.

It seemed as if all his restlessness had dissipated in this place.

Throughout the walk, Zhou Qian didn’t walk side by side with Bai Zhou. After tracing their steps back and forth along the beach, Bai Zhou finally stopped and turned to look at him.

Zhou Qian looked up, meeting Bai Zhou’s gaze for the third time. He noticed that the deep black of Bai Zhou’s eyes seemed tinted with the blue of the sea, making them even more profound.

At the same time, Bai Zhou’s gaze was tender, just like it used to be, as if the seven years of separation had never happened.

Then, Zhou Qian heard Bai Zhou ask, “Why the mask?”

Zhou Qian smiled slightly and responded, “You’re allowed to wear a disguise, but I can’t put on a little act?”

Hearing this, Bai Zhou chuckled. His eyes skimmed over Zhou Qian’s hair and earrings before turning to face the deep blue sea again, not speaking for a moment.

Zhou Qian then took the initiative, sitting on a nearby rock. “You seem familiar with this place?”

“Just been here a few times,” Bai Zhou replied.

“Oh?” Zhou Qian inquired. “Who did you come with for the trial?”

Bai Zhou: “I never went for any trials. I occasionally visit the auction house. Sometimes, you can find good items there.”

Zhou Qian nodded. “I see.”

After that, both of them sat in silence, gazing at the sea. The atmosphere was once again filled with quietude.

The soft rustling of waves could be heard, washing over the sandy shores. The world was without stars or moon, and the blue waters shimmered in hazy multicolor. Waves brought the seawater to the beach, taking some sand along with them as they receded, flowing into the distance.

After a long while, Bai Zhou turned to look at Zhou Qian, speaking softly. “I thought you’d have many questions for me.”

“There are many,” Zhou Qian admitted, “but after seeing you, I didn’t know where to start.”

“Ask anything you like.”

“Anything, huh… Let me think…”

Where should he start? Why did Bai Zhou leave without a word? Why did he suddenly disappear? Why did he “die” in reality? Why did he hide his identity in the game? When did Bai Zhou start playing this game? What exactly is a Rank God player?

…

As these questions went through Zhou Qian’s mind, Bai Zhou’s expression became more solemn. Then, Zhou Qian suddenly stood up, walking right in front of him.

At a very close distance, Zhou Qian, behind his mask, looked into Bai Zhou’s eyes. Then, with a smile, he asked, “I want to know—how does it feel to wear a little skirt? Is it fun?”

Bai Zhou seemed slightly taken aback for a moment, but then his tense expression softened into a smile. Gazing into Zhou Qian’s bright eyes, Bai Zhou raised his hand, the tip of his slender index finger lightly touching Zhou Qian’s mask.

“Can you take it off?”

After a moment, Bai Zhou softly asked him.

Zhou Qian didn’t answer, but instead, smiling, he took a half-step back, dodging Bai Zhou’s fingertip.

Looking at Bai Zhou, Zhou Qian seemed about to say something when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something, and his face changed drastically.

Due to the mask, Bai Zhou couldn’t see Zhou Qian’s facial expression, but he instantly sensed the change from the sudden sharpness in Zhou Qian’s eyes.

Bai Zhou quickly turned to see what was behind him. In a spot unseen by Zhou Qian, Bai Zhou’s eyes displayed an extreme sense of indifference and coldness.

Holding the Rib of God in his hand, Zhou Qian moved forward, spotting a group of oddly dressed individuals approaching him, each emanating a powerful murderous aura.

“What’s happening?” Zhou Qian whispered to Bai Zhou. “Do you know?”

Before Bai Zhou could reply, a bald man from the crowd shouted, “A bounty order from the underworld, issued by the Peach Blossom Legion. Ahh… so you’re Zhou Qian? How can such a skinny figure like you be worth so much?”

Beside the bald man stood another with long, greasy hair wrapped around his waist. “Thinking you can come to a semi-open instance after having a bounty on your head, hahaha. You’ve got guts! Lucky for us, you came to Blue Harbor City!”

The bald man and the long-haired man seemed to be the leaders of this small gang, with others as their followers.

One of the subordinates remarked, “This Zhou Qian is accompanied by a Rank God player. But it looks like this Rank God player has been blacklisted by the Peach Blossom Legion, which is why he didn’t see their bounty notice?”

Another added, “Huh, this Rank God player is named [137]? Never heard of him. Maybe he’s a low-key Rank God player? Maybe I should ask the Rank God players I know about his background?”

The bald man interrupted, “Don’t bother! Who cares about his background? Here, their abilities are greatly reduced to about an ordinary Rank S. So, what’s there to fear? Let’s get him together and claim the bounty from the Peach Blossom Legion!”

“Zhou Ge—”

Seeing the menacing group advance, Zhou Qian remained unfazed.

With a playful idea in mind, he glanced at Bai Zhou and grinned. “Think we can handle this?”

Suddenly, an ancient and elusive Tang sword appeared out of thin air, swiftly gripped by Bai Zhou.

He looked at the unruly crowd with an indifferent expression, but when he turned to Zhou Qian, his eyes softened again. “Stay behind me.”

Just as Bai Zhou’s words fell, a rustling sound was heard. In front of them, grains of sand on the beach began to rise, reflecting a mysterious glow under the colorful sky. Astonishingly, countless snakes, insects, rodents, and ants began crawling out!

This must be the skill of someone from that group. It’s likely that all these creatures are highly venomous.

Suddenly, a sword that gleamed like moonlit frost was raised, signaling Bai Zhou’s intent to strike. In a flash, however, his wrist, which was gripping the sword, was seized by someone.

Turning his head, Bai Zhou looked at Zhou Qian.

Zhou Qian smiled and shook his head at him, saying, “We won’t fight.”

Allowing Zhou Qian to hold his wrist, Bai Zhou took a step back with him. “What do you have in mind?”

“Let’s take them down inside the instance.” Zhou Qian winked at Bai Zhou and immediately took out a mirror with his right hand, saying, “Let’s go.”

……

On the beach, as the chilling blade of the Tang sword was about to be unsheathed, the bald and long-haired men were preparing to confront it. But then, a flash from the mirror passed by, and the two figures on the beach side by side vanished.

Behind them, the followers began mocking.

“A Rank God player actually ran away! Hahaha! We really don’t have to be afraid!”

“Why is the Peach Blossom Legion even bothering with bounties? Zhou Qian’s just a coward!”

“Where did they escape to? That mirror only allows them to move 500 meters!”

“I’m checking today’s open instances… ah, the closest one that’s open for newbie Rank S players is ‘Murder Exhibition’!”

“Oh no, he’s not really going there, is he? I heard many players died in that instance recently!”

“Hahaha, this is going to be fun!”

“That being said… do we continue the chase or wait for them?”

“Cough cough, boss.” One of the followers turned to the bald man. “Should we go to ‘Murder Exhibition’ to continue our pursuit?”

“What? Are you scared?” The bald man sneered.

Another follower remarked, “But… we’ve heard that instance is quite wicked.”

The man with long hair said, “Our ‘Invincible Legion’ has just been established, and we’ve publicly taken up a bounty. If we can’t win this fight, won’t we lose face? Let’s go! Let’s enter the ‘Murder Exhibition’! I don’t believe we can’t handle it!”

The bald man echoed, “Exactly! Let’s go! What’s there to be afraid of? If we don’t kill them now, should we wait for them to finish the instance and level up? Let’s move, right now!”

……

Elsewhere, after Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou quickly left the beach using the “[Universe Teleportation Mirror], Zhou Qian immediately started running, heading straight for the Murder Exhibition Hall.

Outside the exhibition hall was a large, spacious courtyard. Scattered around were several cars parked haphazardly in a disorderly manner.

As Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou approached the courtyard’s entrance, they encountered an old gatekeeper. The old man had silvery white hair and wore a simple gray cloth robe. Interestingly, he wasn’t dressed in the usual vibrant colors. There was a melancholic aura about him. Upon seeing Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou, his deeply wrinkled face broke into an eerily strange smile.

“Do you really want to go in?” The old man asked with a bizarre grin. “If you wish to enter, each person needs to pay 50 gold coins for a ticket. Scanning the ticket to enter the exhibition means you are officially entering the sub-instance.”

“We’re going in,” Zhou Qian decisively said.

“Very well.” The old man handed over two tickets. The moment Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou took them, their systems automatically deducted 50 gold coins each.

Zhou Qian checked his system and exchanged a glance with Bai Zhou before they both walked towards the entrance of the exhibition hall. As they neared the entrance, Zhou Qian suddenly heard a scream and saw three young women rushing out. Through his system interface, Zhou Qian discovered that they were NPCs.

The three girls each wore exaggerated long dresses in red, purple, and yellow, respectively. All of them looked pale and visibly shaken. Upon seeing Bai Zhou and Zhou Qian, they immediately began to offer words of caution.

“You mustn’t go in!”

“Yes, it’s terrifying!”

“The exhibit feels so real… Wuwuwu, it’s really scary.”

“Yes, yes, it’s as if someone is genuinely committing murder inside—”

“I’ll have nightmares for a month!”

“I won’t eat meat for three months!!”

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 73

The time was approaching noon.

The strong sunlight was broken into fragmented patterns of light and shadow by layers of leaves in the green corridor, casting a mottled glow on Zhou Qian’s face.

Opening the request message sent by [137] in the “Intended Teammate” column, Zhou Qian didn’t rush to accept.

After returning to the trading screen, he stared at ​[137​’s] message for a long while before finally replying with: [Why did you choose the codename ‘137’?]

After a moment, the reply came. [Just a fleeting memory when I was choosing the codename.]

Zhou Qian asked, [What memory?]

The only response was, [You forgot?]

Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes. He averted his gaze from the system panel and pulled out his cellphone.

He opened a page that was centered on a report about Zhang Yanjun’s death.

Zhang Yanjun was Zhou Qian’s shadow and nightmare.

But the shadow wasn’t really caused by Zhang Yanjun himself. Through Zhang Yanjun, he saw the coldness of his parents. Because of Zhang Yanjun, he became a murderer. These two facts combined to form the nightmare in his heart and also became the root of his mental illness.

Normally, Zhou Qian appeared the most flamboyant in school, and his family seemed the most glamorous.

But from that day, not only did he clearly see the filth in his family, but he also realized that while his classmates could live ordinary, blameless lives, he could not. He was a murderer and could never be a good person in this life.

If he couldn’t be a good person, then he simply wouldn’t be one.

Afterwards, Zhou Qian not only tried to lock away his emotions, but he also deliberately sealed his memories of the incident.

He had never revisited any reports related to Zhang Yanjun’s death until last night.

After chatting with Qi Liuxing the previous night, Zhou Qian didn’t immediately fall asleep.

After closing his eyes for a while, he visualized a blazing fire.

Sarah ran towards the fire, but in Zhou Qian’s eyes, what disappeared into the flames was clearly Bai Zhou’s soul.

It felt as though, no matter how hard he chased, he could never truly touch that soul.

Unable to sleep, Zhou Qian began searching for reports about the past incident.

For the first time, he saw another side to the case of Zhang Yanjun’s death.

The report indicated that Zhang Yanjun died from cerebral hemorrhage.

It was speculated that the cause of his death was due to his inability to sleep after a night of revelry. The next morning, he took a small amount of sleeping pills to fall asleep. However, before the effects of the medication had completely worn off, he woke up feeling thirsty. As he held an empty glass, intending to go downstairs to fetch some water, he unexpectedly missed a step and fell down the stairs.

During the fall, he was injured by shards of the broken glass, with one shard even piercing his abdomen, but that wasn’t the fatal injury.

The actual cause of his death was a blow to the back of his head against the stairs, which led to cerebral hemorrhage. This resulted in increased cranial pressure and, subsequently, a brain herniation, ultimately causing his breathing and heartbeat to stop.

The butler, who was in the same villa as Zhang Yanjun, became the prime suspect.

However, due to insufficient evidence, he was released.

Additionally, the butler’s testimony confirmed Zhang Yanjun’s habit of taking sleeping pills, further supporting the accidental death narrative.

In the end, there was no sympathy for Zhang Yanjun’s death.

Public opinion was unanimous: “He deserved it! It was divine retribution!”

This was because the butler provided important pieces of evidence about Zhang Yanjun—several mobile hard drives, each of which clearly recorded Zhang Yanjun with various children in his bedroom.

The butler knew about this matter beforehand but never reported it to the police, effectively participating in Zhang Yanjun’s criminal activities.

However, now that he has proactively reported it, it somewhat resembles the actions of a tainted witness seeking to make amends for their wrongdoing. The police also sought leniency for him in return.

Reading all this, Zhou Qian wasn’t sure if Bai Zhou actually inflicted any additional wounds that day.

But there was another possibility—

Due to Zhou Qian disconnecting all phone lines and taking Zhang Yanjun’s phone battery, the injured Zhang Yanjun couldn’t call for help from the bedroom.

The soundproofing was excellent, and the butler, who also took the sleeping pills, didn’t hear Zhang Yanjun’s cries for help from upstairs.

So, Zhang Yanjun tried to get downstairs to use the landline or find the butler.

Dizzy from the sleeping pills and blood loss, he might have stumbled and fallen, injuring the back of his head, which led to his death.

Even if Bai Zhou hadn’t delivered a fatal blow, he did three things:

—First, cleaned up the glass shards and rearranged the scene, concealing evidence of Zhou Qian’s actions.

—Second, instructed the butler to delete any footage involving Zhou Qian.

—Third, through threats, persuasion, or other means, convinced the butler to report Zhang Yanjun’s crimes prior to his death.

After quickly browsing through the related news again, Zhou Qian’s attention shifted away from his phone. Immediately, he noticed that ​[137] had sent another trade request in the trading channel.

The attached note read: [Zhou Qian? Are you still there?]

Zhou Qian’s pupils constricted slightly, replying based on their previous conversation. [Hmm, I forgot about the ‘137’ matter. But I realize there might be many things I’ve overlooked in the past. It suddenly occurs to me that maybe I’ve never truly known you.”

Zhou Qian’s words seemed rather serious.

Of course, he meant it to be that way.

He was curious to see what “137” would do next.

After that, ​[137]​ was silent for a long while.

After waiting for some time, Zhou Qian finally saw a message from ​[137]​: [Would you like to try matching with me?]

Zhou Qian: [Match for what?]

​[137]​: [A trial instance.]

Zhou Qian: [Trial for what?]

​[137]: “Compatibility.”

Zhou Qian: [Compatibility for what?]

[137]​: [I want you to become my Shepherd.]

Zhou Qian: [Can you explain?]

[137]​: [Once a player reaches Rank S, they can choose to become a Rank God player’s Shepherd. The trial instance tests the compatibility between the Shepherd and the Rank God player. Upon successful completion, apart from the standard instance rewards, if the compatibility is good, we can officially bind and establish a one-to-one Shepherd relationship.]

Zhou Qian: [What kind of instance is it?]

​[137]​: “Very unique. It will have multiple players participating, but unlike the solo-clearance mode you’ve played before, we’ll enter as a duo. Specifically, it’s a semi-open instance. Players above Rank S can join, and as it progresses, new players can constantly join. Different players might trigger different sub-instances or levels. The hidden instances you’ve unlocked previously might also be linked here.]

Zhou Qian: [Oh. Actually, I’m not that interested in being your Shepherd.]

Facing this statement, there was no immediate reply from [137].

Zhou Qian stared at the trading channel for a moment, a slight smirk forming at the corner of his lips.

He then opened the “Intended Teammate” menu, and this time he clicked on the request from [137] and hit the “Accept” button.

Both of them became each other’s intended teammates. Now, Zhou Qian could directly message [137] without going through the trading channel.

Zhou Qian sent: [Even though I’m not too interested in the Shepherd thing, nor do I know exactly what it entails, since I can continue to unlock hidden achievements in this trial instance, I’ll consider it.]

[137] replied quickly: “Alright. See you in the instance then.”

Zhou Qian, looking at the popped-up dialogue box, smirked again and sent another message: [How many Rank God players are there, exactly?]

137: [A lot. Definitely more than what’s rumored outside.]

Zhou Qian: [Oh. So, do only Rank God players get to choose Shepherds?]

137: [?]

Zhou Qian: [From what you’ve described, in that semi-open instance, I could meet many players. Not everyone entering as a duo is necessarily aiming for a Shepherd relationship, right? So, if I encounter other suitable Rank God players, can I be their Shepherd? It’s a mutual selection, right? Otherwise, it’s so unfair. Why should we ‘lower-tier players’ be passively chosen?]

After waiting a minute, [137] replied, [Other God-level players are not suitable for you.]

Zhou Qian: [?]

[137]: [The Shepherd relationship requires a mental bond. We’ve already established a basis from the three instances you’ve cleared together, so we’re likely to bond mentally. In fact, before entering low-level instances as NPCs, Rank God players have already checked your data. So far, no other Rank God player has chosen you as their intended Shepherd. Thus, you and others are not compatible. If you don’t want to be a Shepherd, you can completely abandon this path.]

Zhou Qian: [Oh. So, my rapid promotion to Rank S is advantageous for you too? You won’t have to suffer being an NPC in low-level dungeons?]

After a pause, [137] replied, [It’s alright. I don’t suffer.]

Zhou Qian fell silent this time.

After a while, he asked again, [When will we enter that instance?]

[137]: [In seven days. Is that okay?]

Zhou Qian: [Why wait for seven days?]

[137]: [You should rest a bit more.]

Zhou Qian: [And you?]

[137]: [I’ll be grinding—collecting some equipment and items.]

After sending that message, seemingly fearing Zhou Qian might misunderstand, [137] quickly added: [Currently, only the Shepherd relationship trial instance allows us to team up as a duo. You can’t enter the other monster-farming instances I can enter yet.]

……

Elsewhere, Hidden Blade glanced at the messages in the public channel where the Rank God players resided during a moment of inactivity.

[“Universe No. 907″ instance, anyone grinding? Need a tank.]

[“Xiangxi Corpse King” instance 2/3, desperately seeking a wet nurse, thanks!]

[“Snake Den”, have a wet nurse and tank, seeking a high DPS!]

[Let’s do it again. “Snake Den” looking for high DPS, perhaps Boss 137 can join?]

[Upstairs?? OMG, is 137 here? We don’t need a wet nurse for “Xiangxi Corpse King” anymore, just seeking 137, thanks!]

[Don’t joke, guys. Boss 137 is recently addicted to being an NPC. He’s not farming.]

[Who’s that upstairs? Do you know 137? Stop pretending, I’ve never heard that Boss 137 has friends.]

[Yeah, right? 137 rarely teams up. Occasionally someone might get matched with him through sheer dumb luck.]

Seeing the term “dumb luck”, Hidden Blade frowned deeply, feeling like he had been shot in the knee*.

*Arrow in the knee. Internet meme that originated from Skyrim. 

The messages on the public screen continued—

[Anyone up for equipment farming? Seeking teammates for “White Cloud Treasure Vault”. I’m one, waiting for three more. I also want to try with 137!!]

Unable to restrain himself, Hidden Blade sent out several messages in succession.

[Who said 137 doesn’t have friends? I’m his friend! He’s resting, he won’t team up with you guys.]

[Also, 137 never checks public channel messages!]

[Besides, the brother who mentioned farming “White Cloud Treasure Vault”, that garbage instance drops low-tier equipment. Boss 137 would never be interested! He never lacks such gear. You want Boss 137 to carry you into the “White Cloud Treasure Vault”? Are you joking with me?]

What Hidden Blade never expected was to be proven wrong just 10 seconds later.

[OMG! “Boss 137″ has joined the team.]

[Who just said Big Bosses doesn’t check the public channel? Who said he doesn’t farm “White Cloud Treasure Vault”?]

[Ahhhh, gotta go. I’m off to worship Boss 137!]

Stunned for three seconds, Hidden Blade quickly clicked to join the team.

Soon after, he indeed saw Bai Zhou.

Hidden Blade quickly pulled Bai Zhou into a private chat. [What’s your situation? Aren’t you resting?]

Bai Zhou: [Oh, by the way, I saw your message. He Xiaowei got a double experience card and Rank S?]

[Uh? Why?] Hidden Blade asked.

Bai Zhou: [We can try the trial instance. I’ve teamed up with Zhou Qian. I’ll pair with him, and you can pair with He Xiaowei.]

[Wait, did I hear that wrong? Not only are you farming White Cloud Treasure Vault, but you’re also… going to a trial instance?]

[Yes. You heard right.]

“I won’t comment on your physical body in reality. But your mental strength is approaching its threshold. At this time… you’re actually entering a trial instance? Didn’t you say you’d rest for a while?]

[There are things I need to explain to him. Meeting face-to-face is better.]

Hidden Blade paused, then asked, [Boss, I’m not in a position to pry into your private matters. But… the mental threshold isn’t a joke. Aren’t you afraid you’ll suddenly go berserk in the dungeon?]

[My Shepherd is there. It’s fine,] Bai Zhou said. [But it’d be better if you were there. You’ve had minor training in crowd control. You can discuss specific details with him.]

Hidden Blade was speechless. [Then, what’s with the White Cloud Treasure Vault? Why would you need the equipment and items from here?]

Bai Zhou didn’t answer but walked towards the instance’s entrance. [We have ample time; we can run it seven times.]

Hidden Blade: […………]

Why did I even come? Is it too late to back out now?

……

Seven days later.

Zhou Qian accepted the team request sent by “Intended Teammate” [137] and entered the semi-open instance with a brand-new mode.

[Player Zhou Qian entered instance: “Blue Harbor City 2301”]

[Instance difficulty: Unknown; Clearance rate: Unknown]

[Hidden achievement completion rate: Unknown]

[Number of players: Unknown]

[Tip 1: According to system detection, although you have reached Rank S, in this city, compared to other veteran players, you are still a complete newbie. Please be careful to protect yourself and avoid conflicts with high-level players! Otherwise, you might meet an untimely end!]

[Tip 2: As you are still a low-tier newbie, the sub-instances you can trigger are limited. Please seize the opportunity. If you cannot enter a sub-instance, you can rest overnight in the inn, but it’s not cheap.]

[Tip 3: Blue Harbor City is an instance that combines earning gold coins with entertainment. Many high-level players will do business here with casinos, dance halls, and more. However, please note that your main goal is to complete the instance. Don’t get too engrossed in other places.]

[Tip 4: Once a player enters a sub-instance, they must complete the mission to leave. As for the main instance, Blue Harbor City, the system does not impose restrictions. You can come and go freely by paying a transportation fee of 400 gold coins to the system each time.]

After reading these prompts, Zhou Qian raised an eyebrow, roughly grasping the concept of a semi-open instance.

Strictly speaking, this couldn’t be called an instance. This city, situated in the virtual game world, acted like a transit station. Players could stay here for a long time, even live and run businesses. They could also go to different trial-related sub-instances through this station.

Before reaching Rank S, Zhou Qian could only see other players in each instance he entered. But in this transit station, he saw a large number of players.

So, in addition to observing and understanding the skills players could have after Rank S and the subsequent upgrade path, he could also estimate the number of players and the scope of the game’s influence in the real world.

A while after the system prompts ended, Zhou Qian found himself in a dazzling and dreamy city.

The city had towering skyscrapers with colorful neon lights. The night sky was also colorful, making it uncertain whether it was night or if this world simply didn’t have a sun.

Standing at a crossroad, Zhou Qian watched groups of people come and go as the traffic lights changed without taking any action. He noticed that everyone was dressed ostentatiously, with multicolored hair and flamboyant clothes.

He received a flier that read—[Visit ‘I’m the Prettiest’ fashion shop, and we’ll help you fit into Blue Harbor City!]

After comparing the map and seeing that the shop was nearby, Zhou Qian tucked away the flyer with a smile without heading there immediately. Instead, he continued to stand at the crossroads, using the system to constantly read the data of passing pedestrians. He realized that half of them were NPCs, meaning Blue Harbor City was home to many NPCs, not just a transit station for players.

After observing for a while, Zhou Qian messaged [137]. [Where are you?]

[137] replied, [We probably didn’t land at the same point. Stay put. I’ll come to you.]

Zhou Qian then asked, [By the way, since you Rank God players are so powerful, do you even need to grind in instances? Can’t you just force your way through and kill all the NPCs?]

[137]: [No. There are many decryption elements in the trial instances. Killing NPCs doesn’t help. Also, my power is significantly reduced to maintain game balance.]

Zhou Qian: [Reduced? Haa, seems like you’re not up to the task.]

[137]: […?]

Zhou Qian stared at the question mark sent by 137 and chuckled. Shortly after, someone handed him a poster.

The poster was rather gory, a style that Zhou Qian greatly disliked.

After all, he had a strong aversion to blood.

The words on it read: [The Murder Exhibition is open today. We look forward to your visit!]

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 72

Shirley turned into stardust, sinking into the swamp, while Sarah was buried in a sea of flames. Many witches and townsfolk learned the truth. Although many would be immersed in grief for a long time, and even though the impact of radiation from the Mirror of All Things would take time to fade, and human genetics might be irreversibly affected…

A conspiracy had been thwarted.

[Player Zhou Qian’s Rank: B → S]

[HP: 8,000 → 50,000]

[MP: 8,000 → 50,000]

[Skill Points: 1,000]

[“Rib of God” Unlocked Function: Summon Bone Spirit; the Bone Spirit is nourished by the player’s health; each summoning requires sacrificing health.]

After reviewing his level-up prompt, an intense light shone directly above Zhou Qian. The light was so bright he had to squint. When he blinked, he found himself in a high-tech room.

The familiar metallic door of the room soon opened, and a familiar figure walked in—it was Ryan in a white lab coat, looking part doctor and part researcher.

What’s going on? 

Zhou Qian frowned slightly. Ryan approached him and reached out his hand. Zhou Qian didn’t reciprocate, pulling his hand away. Ryan didn’t seem to mind and pulled back.

“Was it you who sent us to that world?” Zhou Qian asked. “There was a Ryan there. You’re also Ryan. Are you Ryans from different timelines?”

“Yes. This is a multi-dimensional universe. The universe has countless parallel time-spaces, so there are countless Ryans,” Ryan explained. “You were sent to universe S7889. That world was heading towards destruction due to Sarah’s experiment, which would eventually affect other time-spaces, even posing a threat here. We sent you there to correct the history and change the tragedy. Congratulations on completing your mission.”

Zhou Qian remained expressionless and non-committal. Soon after, Ryan handed him a small orb, resembling a globe with lands and oceans. He could hold it in one hand.

As Zhou Qian took it, Ryan said, “God was displeased with the chaos on the land. He commanded the waters to gather, revealing the land. Thus, the waters formed the oceans, and dry land emerged. Under God’s guidance, fruits and vegetables flourished. Now, having saved the world, God grants you the ‘Continent’.”

[Player obtains the item: ‘Continent’]

[Function: ?]

[Grade: ?]

After gathering all the rewards and dropped loot boxes, the surroundings faded from Zhou Qian’s view.

The last message he saw read: [Zhou Qian, having passed the gambler’s evaluation, gained the title: Nightmare Commander.]

[Gambler’s postscript: I was watching your videos on the side, and, given your mastery of dreams and the fact that others couldn’t make you lose yourself in them, I felt this title suited you. You’re the master of dreams, the commander of all within them. Even though you might not always listen to me… I hope you’ll be careful and choose a safer path.]

After reading the postscript, Zhou Qian found himself back in Zone 1 of the Spring Hill Mental Asylum.

It was late at night. The main lights in the ward were off, with only his bedside lamp still on. Beside him, Qi Liuxing was already asleep, probably tired. Zhou Qian leaned back for a moment, then got up and retrieved a tie from his wardrobe.

As Qi Liuxing dozed, he felt a shift on the bed.

“Hm? Zhou Qian, are you back?” He yawned and instinctively turned on the light, indeed seeing Zhou Qian.

But Qi Liuxing wasn’t sure what Zhou Qian was planning. He moved to Zhou Qian’s side of the bed, very close.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qian’s gaze was unusual. He stared at him coldly, and his expression seemed malicious.

Suddenly, Qi Liuxing noticed the tie wrapped around his own neck, as if Zhou Qian was trying to strangle him!

“What the fuck, Zhou Qian?”

Qi Liuxing snapped awake, but his gaze wasn’t defensive—it was concerned. He patted Zhou Qian’s face.

“Are you alright? Under an illusion? Wake up, Zhou Qian! You’re out of the game and back in reality!”

Hearing those words, the cold and murderous look in Zhou Qian’s eyes gradually faded. He suddenly smiled at Qi Liuxing with a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes. “Ah, didn’t scare you?”

Qi Liuxing was angry. “Zhou Qian, you’re sick!”

“Not really. I was just practicing,” Zhou Qian replied, raising an eyebrow, still in a strangling posture.

Qi Liuxing: “?”

Zhou Qian: “I was thinking… we should both hurt each other a bit!”

Qi Liuxing: “……???”

Zhou Qian continued, “I want to sneak into Zone 2. Going to Zone X from here is too difficult. But Zone 2 is very close to there.”

After a three-second pause, Qi Liuxing realized. “You mean—we hurt each other, even attempt to kill, then both of us are considered to have worsened conditions, and both of us get locked up in Zone 2? Don’t tell me… you want to find Bai Zhou?”

Zhou Qian remained silent and released the tie, leisurely going back to his bed. He seemed to think of something and looked at his wrist, but there was no system panel response—

No messages from anyone.

Qi Liuxing said, “If you go to Zone 2, you can’t order hotel takeout anymore. It’s off-limits. The management there is very strict. You won’t be free.”

Zhou Qian replied, “In theory, yes. But currently, Dr. Li is my gambler. I just need to win him over.”

“You’re crazy!” Qi Liuxing frowned, looking very serious.

Zhou Qian, however, was seriously planning. “Of course, I also need to notify Officer Chen. In case of any accidents, he should try to get me out.”

Qi Liuxing: “……”

“It’s not as simple as you think. While I do intend to find Bai Zhou, that’s not my only goal. If we can make it to Zone 2 and Zone X, we can get closer to some of the core players in this game. Given the vast scope of this game, players are not limited to just this asylum. However, looking at the current player matching situation, the probability of people from one hospital being matched together seems quite high. This might be for easier management and control.”

“For instance, the doctor who extracted Zhu Qiang is likely some sort of manager placed in the real world by the game. Even if he isn’t a manager, he probably knows more details than we do. In any case—”

Zhou Qian summarized, “Now that we know the pattern and understand that there’s a high probability of encountering high-end players in Zone 2 and Zone X, we should go there to scout out their details in advance. Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle*, right?”

*Line from The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

Qi Liuxing looked skeptical. “Really? If I go to Zone 2 with you for the investigation, you won’t drag me into Zone X to find Bai Zhou with you, right? I’m making it clear; I definitely won’t go to a place like Zone X!”

“Of course not!” Zhou Qian said earnestly. “About Zhu Qiang, you know the situation. He was in Zone 2 of this hospital before. So a doctor in Zone 2 definitely has a problem, right? Think about it. He probably helped many murderers escape punishment. We must find him. You are an agent of justice, after all!”

“Hmm… you make a good point,” Qi Liuxing admitted, getting serious. “That doctor is truly evil! Maybe…”

“Why hesitate? That’s not like you. You should be more aware, my Brother Sword God,” Zhou Qian advised before heading to the bathroom for a shower.

A moment later, after Zhou Qian finished his shower, Qi Liuxing seemed to have made up his mind.

He declared, “Zhou Qian, I’ve decided. Regardless of whether I’ll meet all the gods in the game, I don’t care! But regarding Zhu Qiang… if someone in this hospital is helping him evade punishment, it’s definitely abnormal! I’m willing to dive deep into this with you! One must enter the tiger’s den to catch its cubs!”

Zhou Qian nodded appreciatively. He towel-dried his hair, approached Qi Liuxing, and said, “Good.”

Qi Liuxing, filled with newfound enthusiasm, asked, “So now we—”

Zhou Qian, yawning, got into bed. “Now? Now it’s bedtime, kid.”

Qi Liuxing: “…You woke me up just to sleep again?”

“Who told you not to wait for me? So heartless.” Zhou Qian yawned again.

“I did wait for you.” Qi Liuxing explained seriously, “I accidentally fell asleep. Look, I didn’t even change my clothes. I didn’t really plan to sleep.”

Zhou Qian smiled contentedly. “Mm. Good job, Xiao Qi!”

Qi Liuxing asked, “By the way, I’ve leveled up to A. What about you?”

“S.” Zhou Qian yawned for the third time and was immediately awakened by Qi Liuxing, who grabbed his collar.

“You’re already at S? You’ve only done three side missions, and you’re at S?” Qi Liuxing was genuinely shocked.

“So, grinding the ultimate hidden mission in the instance is quite useful, huh!”

Zhou Qian pushed Qi Liuxing’s hand away and snuggled back into his bed covers. “Alright, time to sleep. We can discuss things tomorrow. If you can’t sleep, ponder over how we can harm each other convincingly. Remember to make it look real!”

Qi Liuxing: “………”

……

The next morning, as usual, Li Xuehai came for his rounds.

What was different this time was that he not only came alone but also closed the door behind him, clearly indicating he had something private to discuss with Zhou Qian.

However, he didn’t exclude Qi Liuxing, probably because he knew that he too was a player in the game.

When Li Xuehai arrived, Zhou Qian was deeply engrossed in various studies on his system panel.

After being promoted to Rank S, many new features were added to his system, and he was trying to figure them all out. Moreover, he hadn’t found the right opportunity to test the newly added “Bone Spirit” skill.

When Zhou Qian noticed Li Xuehai closing the door, he glanced at him and then continued with his system panel.

It seemed he had an inkling of what Li Xuehai wanted to discuss, perhaps thinking that some of his in-game actions were too reckless.

So, before Li Xuehai could even start, Zhou Qian preemptively showed an expression of “I’m not listening to any nagging*”.

*(不听不听王八念经) Internet buzzword referring to refusing to listen to another person’s point of view. It became a meme of basically psyduck covering its ears. 

Upon seeing Zhou Qian’s reaction, Li Xuehai shook his head, sighed softly, and then seriously said, “Zhu Qiang from Zone 2 has died. The cause of death was a sudden heart attack.”

Zhou Qian raised an eyebrow, indicating that he already knew, and then continued to look at his system panel without any expression.

Li Xuehai glanced at him and asked, “I suddenly remembered that the day after Dong Xiang died, you asked me if many people had recently died in the hospital. After reviewing your video playback, I understood what you meant. Why didn’t you say it directly?”

“How could I say it directly? Wouldn’t that make you think I’ve gone even crazier?” Zhou Qian replied candidly. “You’re so old-fashioned, having never played online games. You’d certainly think it’s all a hallucination of mine.”

Qi Liuxing, hearing these potentially offensive words, quickly shot Zhou Qian a warning glance.

But Zhou Qian, with his head lowered, didn’t see it at all.

Qi Liuxing frowned immediately, only to hear Zhou Qian laughing. “Dr. Li wouldn’t be so petty!”

Qi Liuxing: “……”

Li Xuehai: “……”

All the good and bad words were spoken by Zhou Qian alone.

“Speaking of which…” Having probably finished researching the system panel, Zhou Qian finally looked up at Li Xuehai. “So, who was the person that got Zhu Qiang out?”

“I’ve checked. Regarding Zhu Qiang’s mental assessment report, it was personally signed off by the deputy president in the end. But the assessment process wasn’t conducted by him alone. The hospital has a strict procedure, and many doctors are involved.”

“Zhu Qiang went through three evaluations. The deputy director, director, and deputy president all submitted a report. Everyone judged that he indeed had mental issues. Zhu Qiang was confined to a single room in Zone 2, which isn’t much different from a prison. Actually, Zhou Qian…”

Pausing for a moment, Li Xuehai’s voice became graver. “Zhou Qian, the deputy president, is my teacher. I can vouch for his character with my integrity. If you think he’s an accomplice, then perhaps the whole hospital is corrupt.”

Reaching this point, Li Xuehai’s gaze turned even more serious, meeting Zhou Qian’s probing look, and added, “Including me.”

Zhou Qian blinked several times and then stared intently at Li Xuehai. “I certainly don’t think you have any issues. Right now, you’re my fellow gambler. We share glory and disgrace. However…”

After pondering for a moment, Zhou Qian continued, “If there’s nothing wrong with the doctors, then Zhu Qiang indeed had mental issues. Hmm… After winning some bets, he had some value and could afford a lawyer, so getting himself out of prison is plausible. But it also means that the game affects gamblers’ mental states. Dr. Li…”

Zhou Qian’s tone became slightly heavy. “I think, under these circumstances, you should be more cautious.”

“Don’t worry. If I ever notice anything wrong with myself, I’ll have my colleagues handle it in time. As for what this game is all about… we’ll investigate it together later on.”

Li Xuehai turned around, ready to leave.

Zhou Qian stopped him. “You haven’t asked anything today.”

To which Li Xuehai replied, “There’s not much to ask. Actually, I think… this game might be beneficial for you.”

“Oh? How so?” Zhou Qian inquired curiously.

Li Xuehai explained, “Although in the game, I don’t agree with many of your actions, thinking you’re too reckless, I’ve noticed… this game stimulates your emotions. I’ve conducted many emotional stimulation activities with you before. I even hypnotized you, but the results weren’t satisfactory.”

Zhou Qian seemed to find something amusing and chuckled, “So you mean, gamblers might go insane because of me, but I’m becoming a normal person through the game?”

“It’s just my current assessment,” Li Xuehai said. “Haven’t you noticed? You have low self-esteem. But often, this game seems to push you to be a hero. That level of immersion isn’t comparable to other ordinary treatments.”

“Is that so…” Zhou Qian looked at Li Xuehai. “Then let me ask you another question.”

“Go ahead.” Li Xuehai sat back down on the sofa.

Zhou Qian questioned, “I mentioned before that I saw a dragon, and you believed it was a hallucination. What about now? Do you finally believe me?”

But Li Xuehai firmly shook his head. “No. I still don’t believe it truly exists.”

“Why?” Zhou Qian pressed.

“It’s simple, because this is the real world,” Li Xuehai said. “You all load your consciousness into the game. That’s a unique space. If a dragon appears in the game, it’s no big deal. But in reality… are you telling me that during that time, a dragon appeared at this hospital every night? But why is it that only you saw it, and no one else did?”

Before Zhou Qian could reply, Li Xuehai posed another question. “Unless you’re telling me that even now, you’re actually in the game. And I am just an NPC within your game.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qian didn’t react. However, Qi Liuxing, beside him, jumped up in surprise. “Is that possible? Could it be…”

He suddenly turned to look at the pillow beside him, as if someone was there, and asked earnestly, “Little brother, are you real? If what I perceive as reality is also a game… are you an NPC in the game? If that’s the case… where is true reality?”

Zhou Qian, who heard this: “……”

Zhou Qian still didn’t speak, but Li Xuehai, looking at Qi Liuxing, tried to reassure him. “For now, relax. I don’t think that’s likely. I clearly know my life’s journey. Apart from this game, I’ve never encountered any supernatural creatures or phenomena. I can’t possibly be an NPC. As for that dragon… we might need further investigation.”

……

A few minutes later, Li Xuehai left.

Zhou Qian reopened his system panel and began researching something. Qi Liuxing, who was still slightly shocked by Li Xuehai’s speculations, felt that maybe all his memories from birth to now were false.

He turned pale and went on a long ramble to Zhou Qian, and seeing no response, eventually went over and tugged at Zhou Qian’s sleeve. “What do you think? Why aren’t you speaking?”

“Yes, yes, it’s all a game. We’re all toys for the gods.” Zhou Qian yawned. “Maybe the gods are placing bets on who will be the next US president!”

“Yeah! That’s possible!” Qi Liuxing said, analyzing seriously. “We’re just toys for the gods’ amusement. Who knows how much the bet regarding the US president is worth. Wait… do gods use money too?”

Hearing this, Zhou Qian finally couldn’t help but laugh.

Qi Liuxing realized something and frowned, looking at Zhou Qian with dissatisfaction. “Are you making fun of me?”

“Not at all. Just a little joke,” Zhou Qian said seriously. “I believe everything is real. Reality is still reality. It’s just that dragon…”

Zhou Qian suddenly stopped speaking here.

Qi Liuxing, not getting a continuation, immediately inquired, “What? What about the dragon?”

Soon, Qi Liuxing saw Zhou Qian look up and smile at him.

It was a rare, genuine smile from Zhou Qian.

But Qi Liuxing, used to Zhou Qian’s teasing, instinctively stepped back.

Then he saw Zhou Qian raise his left hand and point to the watch on his wrist with his right hand. “137 has contacted me. I’ll ask him if he knows anything about the dragon.”

“Uh… so who exactly is 137?” Qi Liuxing asked, clearly confused. “Zhou Qian, there’s something off about you. Weren’t you looking for Bai Zhou? I spent all night thinking of ways we could hurt each other. Are you going to act or not? Hey, where are you going? To chat with 137? Why are you avoiding me? Why are you so happy that 137 contacted you? Aren’t you looking for Bai Zhou anymore?”

……

Earlier in the ward, while Qi Liuxing was rambling, Zhou Qian opened his trade notifications and saw a message from [137]: [Are you there?]

Seeing such a question, Zhou Qian instinctively wanted to reply with— [Not here.]

However, after typing them, he deleted it.

Without replying, he went out for a walk.

After reaching the cafeteria’s small garden, Zhou Qian entered a green-shaded corridor before leisurely opening the system panel again, seeing a message sent by [137] half a minute ago—

[You’ve reached Rank S. Now you can take on disciples but can no longer have a master.]

Zhou Qian frowned at this message, then checked the trade notifications and saw his purchase requests being covered by trade notifications one by one, all initiated by [137].

[137] was offering him the items he was looking to purchase, and the price for each was [0 gold coins].

It seemed like 137 was helping Zhou Qian clear out his shopping cart.

Quickly, Zhou Qian clicked on all the notifications, accepting all the items in order, immediately revealing his “online” status. However, he still didn’t reply to any of the messages.

After a while, when ​[137] generous gestures ceased, perhaps fearing that Zhou Qian would log out of the trading hall after his shopping cart was emptied, ​[137] sent another message: [Zhou Qian, do you know everything now?]

Zhou Qian continued to remain silent.

A bit later, a message finally came from the other side: [Are you angry?]

Zhou Qian: “……….”

Staring at the message, Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes, only to receive another message. [You’ve reached Rank S, and the system has activated the ‘Prospective Teammate’ feature for you. I just used that feature to request to add you as my ‘Prospective Teammate’.]

[Why don’t you accept? This way, it’s like we’ve added each other as friends, making it much easier to communicate.]

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 71

The sky was dim. Zhou Qian directed a vine to coil around a flashlight and lift it up, shining it directly on Ryan’s face. This allowed him to clearly see every expression, as if peering through this deceptive exterior to catch a glimpse of the true soul hidden within.

The relentless pursuit by the Peach Blossom Legion and the protective measures he took as a Rank God player loaded into an NPC character… Zhou Qian saw it all.

Behind the numerous battles, there surely was an extensive conspiracy involved, which made him hesitate to easily reveal his identity.

Zhou Qian could roughly guess all of these.

But Zhou Qian naturally assumed before that the game footage could be seen by all Rank S players and above; that person deliberately hid the truth just to prevent his real identity from being exposed to other players.

However, there was an unexpected turn.

At the very end of the “Last Wish” game, an illogical “monster” appeared, and correspondingly, a “dragon” that also didn’t fit the story logic emerged.

This meant that his identity had essentially been forced into exposure to others.

Logically, he shouldn’t have to hide anymore and could tell everything.

But why, after the conclusion of the last instance, had he still not told me the truth?

Even… after waiting for so long, why hadn’t he contacted me at all?

The more Zhou Qian thought about it, the angrier he became.

Whenever he encountered matters related to him, his emotions seemed to fluctuate intensely.

Zhou Qian looked at Ryan with considerable resentment.

He soon noticed that Ryan was staring back at him with an equally resentful glare, almost exclaiming, “What did you just say? You’re being absurd! You dare?!”

“What am I afraid of?” Zhou Qian responded immediately, quickly moving forward and deftly unbuttoning Ryan’s shirt from inside.

“You—” Ryan’s face turned pale.

“I’m not molesting you,” Zhou Qian whispered in his ear, positioning his own body in front of Ryan to shield him from view. “With so many cameras watching, I might be misunderstood as a scoundrel, but it doesn’t matter. However, letting others see you in that state is definitely not appropriate. But—”

Zhou Qian’s anger faded, and he laughed again, saying, “However, the skirt must be worn!”

Once he said this, Zhou Qian’s peculiarly mutated hands swiftly picked up a skirt from the ground and slipped it over Ryan’s head.

Afterward, under Zhou Qian’s control, countless vines extended from beneath the skirt, crawling up to Ryan’s waist, lightly brushing against it, as if searching for something.

For no apparent reason, Ryan suddenly frowned and hissed, “Ouch!”

Zhou Qian paused for a moment, realizing something, then laughed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot that some of my vines had cactus thorns. Did it prick you?”

As he asked, Zhou Qian swiftly pulled down Ryan’s pants, shamelessly suggesting, “First put on a skirt, then take off the pants. That way, no one can see anything. Aren’t I good to you?”

Ryan didn’t respond. He just glanced at the mobile camera held aloft by a butterfly in the distance, fear and despair evident in his eyes.

It was over. Everything was truly over.

All his plans, arrangements, and meticulous disguises… all gone.

Zhou Qian had utterly exposed him.

His true identity was about to be revealed to everyone!

On the side, seeing his expression, Zhou Qian knew he was still in character.

Raising an eyebrow, Zhou Qian draped him in a witch’s black robe and handed him a magic wand. “Alright then. Continue acting. I’ll just treat you as Ryan, or perhaps, Sarah.”

Zhou Qian then took a few steps back, summoned the butterfly, took back the phone, and personally held it up, giving Ryan a close-up from head to toe.

Facing the camera, he addressed the stunned government troops, townsfolk, and witches, “Actually, Ryan is Sarah. Sarah is Ryan.”

“I think, due to differences in their beliefs, Sarah and Ryan had a rift from a very young age. So, when Ryan returned to town after many years away, Sarah didn’t formally welcome him back home, not until she had to amputate a limb and sought Ryan’s help.”

“Yet even then, she secretly sought his assistance without letting others know. Thus, almost no one in the town knew about their sibling relationship.”

Facing the phone camera, Zhou Qian recounted the entire story of Ryan and Sarah, then said, “Perhaps those who knew these secrets have been secretly executed. But justice has a way of catching up. Sarah must never have imagined… that Shirley, who was closest to the explosion, didn’t actually die, right?

“Not only did Shirley survive, but she also preserved all the evidence of Sarah’s wrongdoing.”

At this point, Zhou Qian took out a coffin from his bag.

He had prepared it before leaving the second basement floor of the tower.

Back then, Zhou Qian had asked Shirley, “Was it you who tried to absorb a person’s most profound memories and project them outward?”

“Yes. It was an experiment I conducted using plants and microorganisms from the wetlands,” Shirley replied. “I’ve always tried to replicate and read memories by copying genes and then project them outward.”

No wonder. The wetland’s ability to read memories and create illusions had a reason.

After falling into a swamp trap, Zhou Qian had been seeking the connection between the “memory reflection” of the wetland area and the story itself.

After seeing Shirley and all she had gone through, he had his answer.

If, before the players entered the high walls, everything inside had a brain and could project memories as instructed, that person could only be Shirley.

Zhou Qian then asked, “Was your experiment successful?”

Shirley nodded. “At first, I could only access the deepest memories. But gradually… I could access more and more. Can you help me?”

Zhou Qian solemnly replied, “I can. I promise to help you.”

​[Zhou Qian obtains item: Highly Mutated Being—Shirley]

Once the system acknowledged this, Zhou Qian was able to treat Shirley like an item, packing her and her coffin into his bag.

Fast forward to the present. The phone camera clearly showed the coffin being set down by vines. As the lid was opened, a creature, only retaining human eyes, sat up with the aid of numerous vines. When viewers saw the name on the coffin lid through the “live stream”, a woman in the town couldn’t help but cry out.

She immediately posted on the town forum.

[Shirley! This is my Shirley! She admired Ryan and followed him early on to learn techniques that could change the town. Ryan said she was participating in a secret experiment and might not return for months or even years. I never expected… she…]

The elderly woman never imagined her daughter would turn into such a monster and be placed in a coffin by Ryan.

The comment she left sent shockwaves through the community. At first, people were simply shocked, with a hint of disbelief. But now, their sympathies shifted from Ryan to Zhou Qian.

If Shirley was turned into a monster by an evil spirit and Ryan had to kill her, no one would blame him. He always appeared impartial and fair. He could’ve told the truth. So why did he lie to the old woman?

The public now watched the screen intently.

On-screen, Shirley and Ryan, directed by Zhou Qian’s “monster” vines, moved toward the wetlands.

They didn’t know what Zhou Qian was planning.

But Zhou Qian had thought of this move a long time ago.

Shirley had spent the longest time inside the high walls.

Given her physique, she should’ve died long ago.

Unlike players like Zhou Qian, who didn’t belong to this world, the inhabitants couldn’t withstand the radiation.

But Shirley held on, documenting everything, probably waiting for this day—to reveal the truth and seek revenge for herself!

For so long, Shirley had truly merged with everything inside the high walls.

In a sense, she was the true “Master of All” within these walls.

But due to her physical condition, she was very weak. Clinging to her last breath and barely surviving with the special living methods of plant cells, she had no capacity to control everything like Zhou Qian, let alone confront Ryan.

Under Ryan’s surveillance, she dared not do anything openly. Otherwise, once discovered, she would be immediately destroyed.

Shirley could only hide silently in the dark underground second floor, barely sustaining her life in that coffin.

She survived on sheer willpower. Though she couldn’t control flora and fauna, she subtly transmitted her genes and memories.

Thus, the talking grass was her, crying out for help through it.

Every plant and tree in the wetlands were also her.

She tried desperately to read and project memories using the vegetation and microorganisms of the wetlands, all in an effort to restore the truth.

Shirley had hidden and suffered for so long, waiting for this day.

She finally met Zhou Qian, who brought her to the edge of the wetlands to personally avenge herself and all the wrongly deceased.

Moments later, Shirley made her move.

Using her remaining strength, she thoroughly dismantled herself and many plants in the wetland area.

Together, they transformed into countless bright particles, which reassembled in the air into figures, furniture, decorations…

These particle figures could move and even emote.

In this manner, Shirley played scenes from her memories like a movie, displaying them to everyone through Zhou Qian’s elevated phone camera.

As twilight descended, the sky above the wetland played four continuous movie segments in this unprecedented way. Numerous plants even spoke, replicating the voices of Sarah or Ryan from memory.

The four films, corresponding to the four fragments the players had previously found, exposed Ryan and Sarah’s secrets, leaving her with nowhere to hide.

The watching government troops, witches, and townsfolk were all stunned and speechless for a long time, until finally, they wept uncontrollably.

Amidst their breakdown, their words became unprecedentedly unified—

“Kill him! Kill Ryan! No… Sarah! Anyway, kill that monster!”

“He’s the real monster! He’s the town’s Flower of Evil!”

“We should burn this Flower of Evil to death!”

​[Player Zhou Qian uncovers the secret behind Ryan and exposes it. Side mission completion: 100%]

​[Congratulations to player Zhou Qian for achieving a hidden achievement!]

[​The end cinematics will play next. Rewards will be settled after the animation ends.]

Raising what could barely be called a wrist, Zhou Qian saw the game completion prompt on the system panel.

Then he looked towards the wetland again—

After the four movies, Shirley’s power was completely depleted. She and many plants turned into fireflies, scattering and sinking into the swamp.

It was a magnificent revenge she accomplished with her life.

As for Ryan, at this moment, he was in immense fear, unconsciously reverting to Sarah’s form.

Without wigs and colored contacts, she returned to her true appearance.

She was terrified beyond measure, hugging her shoulders and shivering next to the wetlands.

She wasn’t afraid of her crimes being exposed; she couldn’t face the feeling of falling from grace.

At that moment, a broadcast echoed from a helicopter overhead.

“Ryan, this is General Lehman. I am dispatching forces to capture you. Surrender now. During your interrogation, you must confess to all your crimes. I’ll repeat again—”

It wasn’t until General Lehman’s words repeated three times that Sarah finally snapped to her senses.

At that moment, Zhou Qian saw her not as Sarah but as someone with a completely different personality.

Under some emotional influence, Zhou Qian suddenly felt sympathy for her, even having a vague sense of… perhaps he had gone too far.

But just as Zhou Qian took a step towards her, she suddenly stood up, meeting his gaze.

Then she said, “The night of the Strawberry Music Festival was special. I detected unusual magnetic fields in the mountains. The explosion undoubtedly exacerbated these abnormalities, possibly causing a convergence of different time-spaces. And then…”

“And then you arrived. Which alternate world are you from?”

“When I first saw your data, I truly believed you were a gift from the heavens for me. I was wrong—”

“The heavens sent you to get rid of me. It was you…”

“It was you who killed me.”

After saying this to Zhou Qian, Sarah turned and ran.

Perhaps due to her protective witch’s robe or perhaps because Shirley was already dead, she wasn’t affected by any illusions. Thus, without looking back, she circled the wetlands, sprinting towards the northern wall.

That was the north engulfed in flames.

Sarah’s figure disappeared into the inferno.

She couldn’t bear to fall from grace or lose the love of everyone.

She’d rather die.

Such a fate was deserving for her.

But in Zhou Qian’s eyes, another figure was engulfed by the flames along with her.

“Bai Zhou… does it hurt when you’re burned by fire?”

“Bai Zhou. I never want to encounter you in this manner again.”

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 70

All the doubts, guidance from intuition, and deliberate or unintentional tests had found their answers at this very moment. The last bit of uncertainty had finally become certainty. Staring at the person in front of him, Zhou Qian thought—all that’s left is for him to admit it.

Not far away, the northern side of the wetland was ablaze with rising flames and billowing smoke.

Zhou Qian, having evolved through continuous mutations, was hardly affected.

However, Ryan was clearly apprehensive. Despite wearing an advanced mask with strong filtration, when he caught a glimpse of the surrounding black smoke, he frowned and coughed involuntarily.

Ryan then glared at Zhou Qian with clear anger, madness, resentment, and a hint of fear in his eyes, signaling that he was still under the influence of the “Sarah” state.

Seeing his reaction, Zhou Qian’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, so you’re not allowed to break character, huh?”

It seemed Ryan didn’t understand and didn’t reply. With an intimidating tone, Zhou Qian asked, “But because of you, I was punched several times by Wu Song. How will you settle this score?”

Another gust of smoke swept over, coating Ryan’s clothing and mask with ash. For a moment, Zhou Qian could barely see his expression.

After sizing him up, Zhou Qian finally decided to move, leading him further south, where towering trees and dense mutated shrubs could temporarily block the smoke.

After a short walk, they indeed found a location almost untouched by the smoke and flames. Glancing thoughtfully at Ryan, Zhou Qian laughed, but there was a hint of cunning and cruelty in his eyes.

“Alright, so no breaking character. Make sure to keep that up.”

As he spoke, Zhou Qian took out several items from his bag. Among them, a wig and contact lenses were purchased from the system trade. The set of witch robes was something he had removed from his own attire earlier.

Soon, the noise of propellers and engines echoed as several helicopters hovered nearby. They were obviously looking for Mayor Ryan. Due to the interference from the smoke and towering trees, they couldn’t pinpoint Zhou Qian and Ryan’s exact location.

A loud broadcast then rang out, “Monster! Release Mayor Ryan! Or you will be annihilated!”

Hearing this, Zhou Qian smiled at Ryan. “Your people speak so strangely. Since they’re going to kill me anyway, why should I release you?”

“What do you want?” Ryan clenched his fists, looking visibly paler.

Zhou Qian glanced at him with an “I’m just watching your performance” look and said, “Why don’t you transform into Sarah? I’m quite curious about how you do it.”

Ryan: “…..”

Zhou Qian stepped closer, reaching for Ryan’s collar, and searched for a zipper. Once found, he began to unzip Ryan’s outfit.

“I know, you’re not transforming because you’re hoping your troops will come any moment now.”

After instructing the vines to loosen their grip, Zhou Qian removed Ryan’s jacket and continued, “Actually, I’ve always been curious about something. Why did some of the top officials in your army aid and abet you? Now I think they were deceived by you.”

“They believed it was just an accidental scientific experiment and that telling the public would only cause unnecessary panic, which is reason one.”

“Reason two, you might have told them that letting those kids live would spread radiation to others. After all, these army officials don’t really understand your research.”

“They believed you were working for the greater good. In their eyes, killing some children now is better for the long-term good of the town. They thought the technology you were developing at the base would bring tangible benefits to the town. But if—”

“What if they find out you’re actually Witch Sarah? Moreover—”

“What will happen when the witches from the Witch Association find out that the witch they respect is actually Mayor Ryan, who has killed many of their kind?”

Seemingly realizing what Zhou Qian was getting at, Ryan’s pupils dilated in fear. He immediately said in a low voice, “My device, it’s useless to you! Only I can activate it! I will never tell you how to use it. You can’t possibly contact anyone—”

He couldn’t finish his sentence because he saw Zhou Qian holding something—a cell phone.

“When I was at the Witch Association’s base, I asked Eva for a phone. Now, it’s time for her to know the truth. For a mother like her, knowing the truth means realizing she has killed her own child, implying that her lifelong beliefs will crumble from this point on—”

“But she shouldn’t live a lie. She deserves the truth.”

By this point, Ryan’s fear was palpable. But moments later, he managed to regain some composure.

As if reading his thoughts, Zhou Qian said with a smile, “You might think you can justify it to the government troops. And you might consider giving up on the witches. They’re few in number and can’t pose much of a threat. They could set up their base largely because you, posing as Mayor Ryan, covered for them. Without you, they’re nothing, right?

“But what if—there’s more I can do?”

“What… What are you implying?”

Ryan suddenly looked terrified, shaking uncontrollably. It was the kind of reaction a person has when facing the collapse of their dreams—a mix of anger, despair, and unwillingness. How could he accept everything he’d meticulously planned being destroyed? How could he accept the adoration and love of thousands collapsing?

No way.

This monster couldn’t possibly achieve that!

But Zhou Qian intended to do just that. Holding up the phone, he said to Ryan with a cruel smile on his face—

“At the government’s fertility center, I got the phone numbers of all the pregnant women. Your tech is indeed advanced. This phone supports group chats with so many participants. It’s like I’m hosting a live stream for all the pregnant women… or even everyone in town.”

Upon connecting the group video call, Zhou Qian personally fitted Ryan with a golden wig. During the process, a butterfly, commanded by Zhou Qian, held the phone’s camera focused on Ryan.

Next, Zhou Qian put blue contact lenses on Ryan, ensuring that the butterfly gave a close-up of Ryan’s eyes for the viewers.

The townspeople and the government troops, who saw this via the broadcast, initially worried about their mayor’s fate after being kidnapped by this terrifying creature. Their hearts ached for him; some wished they could trade places with him.

Meanwhile, the witches uniformly watched through Eva’s phone. Initially, they gloated over the mayor’s predicament, hoping for his demise.

But no one expected Zhou Qian to put a wig and contact lenses on Ryan and then produce a dress.

Zhou Qian then spoke. At first, he seemed malicious, but upon closer listening, there was an inexplicable teasing tone.

“Do you want me to undress you and then put this dress on you? Or will you transform for them to see?”

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 69

A cobblestone path winded through the forest, leading to high towers, power stations, and other places. This path was originally built for the convenience of the workers. The forests on either side were once ordinary trees, but due to exposure to a special form of radiation, they changed along with the entire mountain.

Now, this forest was directly bathed in a sea of fire.

The fire’s origin was in the middle of the path, where gasoline was poured around the six humanoid creatures in multiple circles. Once ignited, the flames quickly spread to the surrounding forest, and, aided by the wind, the fire spread to a large area north of the wetlands.

By now, evening had fallen. The evening glow was spread across the sky like blood, but its color had darkened and would soon disappear with the onset of night. The birth of this massive fire seemed to extend this brilliance, as if attempting to set the entire sky ablaze.

The fire was immense, so vast that it seemed as if all oddities would be completely buried.

History would be consumed by the flames. Millions of years later, perhaps no trace of this event would be found.

Most of the drones had dispersed, and most of the helicopters had left, leaving only one helicopter hovering overhead.

Onboard, the pilot kept an eye on the fire, ready to evacuate if necessary. One side of the helicopter’s cabin door was open. Inside was Mayor Ryan, or rather Witch Sarah, holding a camera, broadcasting live for her townspeople.

Sarah always enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention, being celebrated and adored by everyone. She personally covered the monster-killing scene, holding the camera and even reporting live, all to show her love and concern for the people—

Look at how much she thought about them and risked her life for them! She wasn’t afraid of being attacked by the monsters and didn’t care about the risk of the fire possibly reaching her. She bravely stayed, all for them. She wanted to ensure the destruction of the evil spirits. She did all this to protect each and every one of them.

“Everything I do is out of love for you. So, you need to give me all your love in return.”

“Once I’ve merged you all, I can have all of your eternal love.”

“But until that day, before I truly absorb you all… I have to do many things in secret to make you love me continuously. Whether you love Witch Sarah or Mayor Ryan.”

“I want all of your love and attention. And I want your love for me… to never fade.”

These words, however, weren’t spoken by Sarah. They were from a woman outside the game, viewing this scene through a tablet screen.

The woman sat on a swing in this virtual space, appearing to be eighteen years old, the age of innocence.

A peach orchard bloomed behind her.

With a smile, the orchard blossomed in radiant pink. She frowned as countless peach blossoms fell, turning the ground into a pink carpet.

Hearing these words, Priest looked up at her. He hadn’t seen her during her god ascension, but he’d watched the video later—

Her beauty had left everyone in awe. She seemed heartbroken, tears flowing, and as they did, all the peach blossoms behind her withered.

From that moment, she was known as the [Peach Blossom Goddess].

Most people knew that the Peach Blossom Legion was founded by the Peach Blossom Goddess. Few, however, knew her real name: Xie Huaying.

Priest walked up to her, looking at the screen from her perspective. The fire on Weir Mountain was raging; nearly half of the hillside was ablaze.

The six players in the frame were completely engulfed in the flames, presumably with no chance of survival. Sarah probably thought the same, which was why she was broadcasting without any concerns.

“Priest, do you think they’ll die? Given the situation, is there any chance of survival?” Xie Huaying asked innocently.

Priest smiled, walking behind her and giving the swing a gentle push. “In my opinion, you shouldn’t be asking if Zhou Qian has a chance of survival, but rather how he plans to deal with Sarah.”

Bending down to glimpse Xie Huaying’s expression, Priest said, “Zhou Qian did this on purpose. He deliberately surrounded himself with flames to make Sarah overconfident, thinking he would surely die. And Sarah took the bait. She didn’t leave but sat smugly in the helicopter—”

“I think we will soon see Zhou Qian’s real plan.”

Xie Huaying thought for a moment, frowned, and then said, “If that’s the case, Zhou Qian has anticipated every step of the instance’s design. He even captured Sarah’s entire character accurately. He knows she craves love and has a desire to perform; he knows she would definitely stay.”

“Yes.” Priest smiled. “At its core, Sarah’s motive for everything she does is to acquire the undying love of everyone and everything.”

“The consequences caused by the Mirror of All Things are irreversible. The genes of the entire town, even the world’s human population, have subtly changed. The radiation is there—it cannot be eliminated or altered. Zhou Qian can’t intervene in this world from this angle.”

“So what he needs to do is destroy what Sarah desires most—everyone’s love for her.”

“I see…” Xie Huaying sighed lightly, looking contemplatively at the screen. “Zhou Qian is truly cunning. He can manipulate people’s emotions even better than a god.”

……

Inside the game. From the moment the gasoline was poured on the path, the six players huddled closely together.

Of course, Zhou Qian tried his best to avoid physical contact with them, to prevent any merging of their bodies.

Everything progressing to this point was still within Zhou Qian’s calculations. He found that communicating mentally was very efficient and extremely convenient for commanding his teammates, though at times, their voices in his head were overwhelming.

​Damn, Ryan really used fire!

Fuck Zhou Qian, how did you guess that?

Are we really not going to die?

…

At the moment the flames roared to life, Wu Ren couldn’t hold back any longer. “We’ve completed the main objectives! We just need to escape Sarah’s attack to clear the game! Why do we have to deliberately trap ourselves in a sea of flames?”

Qi Liuxing said seriously, “Because we have to save the townspeople!”

Wu Ren: “Damn it, please wake up! The real reason is that Zhou Qian is tricking us into completing his side mission!”

At this point, Wu Ren couldn’t help but look at Zhou Qian. By now, Zhou Qian’s face had undergone significant mutations, rendering his original features unrecognizable.

However, Wu Ren could still see the look in his eyes.

Those eyes radiated a hint of cunning but also an unusual intensity and compelling allure, making one unconsciously want to follow him.

Subsequently, Wu Ren heard Zhou Qian say to him, “You are our king, after all. So—”

“King, lead us to victory.”

“King my ass! I’ve always been just your fucking puppet!”

“Lead to victory, my foot! It’s your victory, not ours! Damn it…”

Wu Ren couldn’t help but curse.

But when he met Zhou Qian’s shining eyes, inexplicably, his voice gradually softened, and his momentum involuntarily deflated.

Immediately following that, a loud “boom” sounded not far from them—the noise of the tree’s oil igniting in a fiery explosion.

The moment the sound echoed, a fierce blaze shot up into the air. As Wu Ren was still looking at Zhou Qian, Zhou Qian’s pitch-black eyes were instantly illuminated, shining brilliantly. Turning to look around, Wu Ren realized that he was completely engulfed by a sea of fire.

For some inexplicable reason, prompted by Zhou Qian’s gaze, Wu Ren felt a sudden urge to fight.

Taking a deep breath, he exclaimed, “Fuck it! Fine, if we’re going to go big, let’s go all out!”

An intense burning sensation immediately emanated from his fingertips. He lifted his hand to inspect it, and sure enough, his fingers were aflame.

Strangely, though, his arm wasn’t burning.

Moreover, at the burn on his finger, a brown, semi-transparent resin-like substance began to ooze out. It flowed over the wound like water, and the wound healed instantly.

Suppressing the shock in his heart, Wu Ren swallowed hard.

Zhou Qian was right!

Could this strategy actually work?!

…..

The reason for Wu Ren’s bodily transformation was, of course, due to a certain mutation carried out under Zhou Qian’s guidance.

About an hour ago, right after Zhou Qian proposed utilizing a mutation to counter Sarah, the team’s subsequent discussion revolved around one main question—how do they combat her?

Were they supposed to search the forest for wild beasts, mutate into fierce creatures like tigers, and then use their sharpened claws and teeth to attack Sarah?

Probably not? Given Sarah’s status as Mayor Ryan, she could marshal significant military force. And moreover, where would they even find such beasts?

The high wall encircled a portion of the mountaintop, creating a confined area. The players entered from the northernmost part and initially split into three groups to advance.

There was a vast wetland in the center of the entire area, with a purification station on each side—A11, which Yin Jiujiu first found, and A13, which she later destroyed.

After acquiring all the memory fragments at the tower located 300 meters south of A13, they left the tower and made their way around the wetland to the southern part of the walled area. They found purification station A12 and replenished some life points.

Thus, they had thoroughly explored the wetland and its northern surroundings without encountering any exotic creatures.

Could it be… that they needed to delve deeper into the southern part of the area to search for fierce beasts?

This was a shared thought among several players as they followed Zhou Qian southward.

The southern forest was incredibly dense, filled with trees of various shapes and colors, indicating a rich diversity of species before mutation. However, after their transformation, it became challenging to identify their original species.

As they ventured deeper into this forest under Zhou Qian’s lead, it became clear that instead of searching for wild beasts, Zhou Qian was closely observing the plants and trees. It seemed as though he was trying to identify their original forms prior to mutation.

Wu Ren curiously asked, “Zhou Qian, what are you looking for? Why are you focusing on plants? To face Sarah, shouldn’t we need something more aggressive? What sort of attack can a plant offer?”

Zhou Qian retorted with a question. “How do you think Sarah plans to deal with us?”

Wi Ren: “Um…”

Ke Yuxiao interjected, “To kill us, she will certainly use her military power. But how would she justify it to the soldiers and the public? She would need a plausible reason, like… claiming we are evil spirits.”

“Exactly. Using the name of evil spirits to execute others is a tactic Sarah has employed many times. Many of the town’s children met their end due to her lies. If we don’t prepare in advance, we’ll share their fate.”

“When it came to executing the children, she used the witches. And as for the method of executing us… Do you remember the photos we first saw in the study? Witches were tied up and burned alive. Only the fiercest flames can destroy the most terrifying evil spirits.”

It seemed Zhou Qian had discovered something. As he moved towards a mutated plant to inspect it closely, he continued, “Without a doubt, Sarah is someone who desires admiration and has a strong penchant for performance. She would leverage her identity as ‘Mayor Ryan’ and punish us, the so-called evil spirits, in the name of a savior. She would proclaim to the world that she is the hero saving everyone.”

“The way she deals with witches is actually a hint given to the players in this scenario. Based on this, we have good reason to suspect that Sarah would use fire against us.”

Qi Liuxing couldn’t help but ask, “What does this have to do with plants?”

“Of course, there’s a connection,” Zhou Qian replied, turning to him. “Do you know that some plants are fire-resistant?”

After some effort, Zhou Qian thoroughly investigated the southern region.

He then instructed everyone, “There’s an abundance of redwoods here. They are referred to as living fossils, and their wood is as tough as steel. They are not afraid of fire.”

“Theaceae is also fire-resistant. It contains a lot of moisture, with its leaves having a water content of up to 45%, and a very low oil content.”

“Lastly, there’s the Dahurian larch. The bark of the larch is thick and doesn’t contain resin, making it hard to burn through completely. After being burned, the inner part of the bark can secrete a resin that heals the ‘wound’.”

“Therefore, what we need to do now is get close to these plants. After acquiring their genes, we should mutate ourselves to become fire-resistant.”

“Of course, it’s not possible for us to remain completely unharmed. Leaves and outer bark will still catch fire, but as long as the fire doesn’t penetrate into our inner bodies, we’ll be fine.”

“Remember, we are currently just six ‘brains’. Temporary damage to the body doesn’t matter. As long as our ‘brains’ are intact, we can control many things within these high walls to counter Sarah!”

……

Time returned to this moment.

Up in the air. The helicopter’s propeller made a loud noise.

Yet, despite the noise, Sarah, with her strong desire for attention and love from people, passionately spoke to the camera, showcasing her hard work and bravery.

During this, Sarah took a distant look over the high wall where the fire was spreading. There was no chance her lab rats would survive in such a blaze.

She had the data she wanted.

Once those few people were gone, no one would know her secret. Given time, she would achieve her long-held wish!

What Sarah didn’t expect was that the fire to the north of the wetland, which had been intensifying, suddenly extinguished in one spot on the road. It was like a rock wrapped in cotton. She thought the whole thing was on fire, but now she realized that only the outer cotton was burning. When the cotton burned out, the fire would be extinguished because the rock inside couldn’t burn.

Stunned, Sarah noticed a giant butterfly flying towards the fire’s origin. It emerged from the flames, carrying six creatures with it and heading straight for her!

In shock, Sarah’s first reaction was to turn off the camera so that these “monsters” couldn’t reveal her secrets. Her second thought was to use her walkie-talkie to mobilize her military forces.

But it was too late.

By the time she shut off the camera, the butterfly, under Zhou Qian’s control, had flown the six players to her side. As she picked up the walkie-talkie, Zhou Qian showed her a pill and said something to her.

The twilight had completely faded.

But the fire on the mountaintop continued to light up all of Weir Mountain.

At the intersection of red and black in the sky, the helicopter hovered, and a giant butterfly emerged from the depths of the flames, hovering opposite, as if confronting each other.

At first glance, it seemed like a standoff between human technology and some monster. But in reality, they were both products of technology, though the latter was a result of its misuse.

The butterfly was no longer just a butterfly. It had strange human feet and a broad back. On its back sat six highly mutated creatures. Zhou Qian was in the front, controlling the butterfly. He looked at Sarah and said, “Dalang, it’s medicine time.”

With that, Zhou Qian immobilized Sarah before she could call upon the town’s military forces with her walkie-talkie. This effect could last for three minutes.

Others would soon notice the anomaly here. The military force here was formidable. Just their electric guns alone could overpower the players. Through the cockpit, Zhou Qian saw the pilot looking their way in horror, seemingly speaking into his walkie-talkie. But fortunately, Sarah was now easily controlled.

Zhou Qian had the butterfly move closer to the helicopter. Then he reached out with his burned, tree trunk-like arms, grabbed Sarah by the shoulders, pulled her out of the helicopter, and placed her on the butterfly’s back.

The butterfly took off and, under Zhou Qian’s command, descended inside the southern part of the high wall. While the fire spread in the northern area, the water-rich wetlands acted as a natural fire barrier. The southern area was smoky, but there was no sign of any fire.

The butterfly was fast, taking less than 30 seconds to fly from the helicopter and land. And at the very moment it almost touched down, a robust man dressed in traditional Eastern attire, looking completely out of place, appeared.

[NPC Name: Wu Song]

[Rank: A]

[Specialty: Close combat]

[Detected high-intensity aggression from Wu Song towards player Zhou Qian. Players, be on your guard.]

By now, the players had gradually left the back of the butterfly and landed on the ground.

After Zhou Qian and Sarah jumped down, he glanced at Wu Song, who was approaching step by step, but chose to ignore him for the moment. Instead, he gazed deeply at the “Mayor”, who was watching him warily.

The man now had Sarah’s mind and Ryan’s body. His eyes were as green as a serene lake and as precious as jade. Staring into those eyes, Zhou Qian seemed to be trying to read something deeper. However, he didn’t have much time to dwell on it, as Wu Song was already by his side.

True to his status as a Rank A NPC, with every step Wu Song took, it felt as if the earth of Weir Mountain trembled. Just as his sharp fist was about to strike Zhou Qian, Zhou Qian quickly ducked, narrowly evading the blow.

Even so, the gust from the punch caused the numerous petals and vines on Zhou Qian’s body to flutter, inflicting a tingling pain.

Having been affected by the fire earlier, Zhou Qian’s health had dropped to 40%.

Now, a new notification popped up:

[Player Zhou Qian’s HP has dropped to 30%.]

Wu Ren, who was closest to Zhou Qian, couldn’t help but say, “Do you think you can handle Wu Song with your poor combat skills?”

“What do we do now? The town’s military force is powerful! They could find and kill us at any moment!”

No sooner had Wu Ren finished speaking that everyone received a system notification:

[Players have accumulated 24 points, discovered Ryan’s secret hidden within the high wall, and evaded Mayor Ryan’s murderous intent. Main task completion: 100%. Hidden achievement unlocked.]

[The southern gate of the high wall is now open. Players who exit through this gate will clear the game.]

[This instance has multiple endings. After exiting the southern gate, players cannot log out temporarily. The system will play the ending cinematic based on the current situation.]

[Rewards will be distributed after the cinematic ends.]

In addition to this, Zhou Qian received a separate notification, which was shared with the others through their shared brains—

[Zhou Qian’s side mission is not yet complete. He can choose to continue or abandon the side mission and exit the southern gate.]

After a three-second pause, Wu Ren hesitantly asked, “Qian, Qian Ge should we… retreat?”

“Why retreat now? We haven’t seen the ending,” Zhou Qian replied, rising from the ground. He glanced at the motionless Ryan, under the influence of the drug, and said to Wu Ren and the others, “The side mission is my personal task. The rest of you can leave.”

Qi Liuxing, worried, asked, “But how will you deal with the town’s military force all by yourself?”

“By holding the emperor hostage, you can control his subjects,” Zhou Qian replied with a smile, looking at Ryan in front of him. “I’ll tie him up.”

As he spoke, numerous vines, under Zhou Qian’s mental command, slithered over like snakes. They wrapped around Ryan, pulling him to a large tree and quickly tying his limbs to the trunk.

“Tie him up? And then what?” Wu Ren asked, somehow feeling that Zhou Qian’s expression and tone when looking at Ryan were reminiscent of a bandit leader confronting a captive maiden.

“Then, of course, completely thwart his schemes.”

As Zhou Qian spoke, NPC Wu Song, utilizing his powerful jumping ability, leapt into the air and aimed another punch at Zhou Qian. This massive blow could drain a player’s health by half in one hit.

It was like unleashing an ultimate move!

As Zhou Qian swiftly ducked to avoid the punch, the butterfly, under his command, charged at Wu Song, shielding him from most of the damage. Immediately, countless vines emerged from the ground, entangling Wu Song’s legs, dragging him toward the wetland, and eventually tossing him into the swamp.

With that, Zhou Qian had rather effortlessly dealt with this Rank A NPC. Although his health was now only at 20%, he felt he still had the upper hand.

Meanwhile, due to the limited opening time of the southern gate, the other players had to proceed and clear the game, leaving only Zhou Qian and Ryan within the vast, high walls.

Finally, in the silence, without the constant chatter in his mind, the world seemed to quiet down, allowing Zhou Qian to have a proper chat with the “Ryan” in front of him.

At this moment, Ryan… his tall and slender figure was wrapped and bound to a tree by vines. The sight somewhat reminded Zhou Qian of God Epoh. However, during that time, Epoh wasn’t wearing any clothes, while Ryan was now dressed very thoroughly.

To protect himself from radiation, he wore a clear face mask, and the special material of his clothing tightly covered all of his skin. Now, through his face mask, his pair of jade-green eyes looked calmly at Zhou Qian, peaceful as a windless lake.

Ryan was now completely bound, like a fish ready to be slaughtered. On the other hand, Zhou Qian’s body was now covered in roses, cacti, and various other plant leaves, making him barely recognizable as human.

Moreover, he could now control all the flora and fauna within the walls of this place, as if he was a god ruling over this domain.

Staring into Ryan’s eyes, Zhou Qian took steps toward him.

“The last time I ate an apple, I also transformed. But back then… I still somewhat resembled a human. Now, I’m a complete monster. Ryan, are you afraid of me?”

Under the drug’s influence, Ryan couldn’t move or respond to Zhou Qian’s words. He just kept his eyes on Zhou Qian. When Zhou Qian reached him and paused, he smiled after a moment of silence.

Without making any physical moves, Zhou Qian thought for a moment. Soon, the vines that had become symbiotic with him began sliding over Ryan’s body as if searching for something.

After about 30 seconds, countless vines, acting like hands, pulled out a gun, stun baton, phone, and other items from Ryan’s pockets and threw them all in front of Zhou Qian.

Zhou Qian looked at the scene with satisfaction, then looked up at Ryan. “Now, even when the drug wears off, you won’t be able to escape my control.”

Three minutes later, as the drug’s effect wore off, Ryan could finally speak. He blinked at Zhou Qian, his voice sounding somewhat weak. “What do you want to do with me?”

As Ryan spoke, the smile on Zhou Qian’s face disappeared.

Zhou Qian stepped forward, whispering in Ryan’s ear. His demeanor seemed gentle and his voice soft, but where Ryan couldn’t see, his eyes were intensely serious, full of stern questioning and inquiry.

“Using a pill on the same target three times will summon Wu Song. So, can you tell me… why would this tool consider Epoh, Jiang Yuqing, and Ryan as the ‘same target’?”

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Oop, busted.

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 68

Atop the tower.

After leaving the top floor, the players walked down floor by floor and found that aside from the tenth floor with cacti, the ninth to the first floor were all empty. No one was present, and there was no equipment to be seen. Therefore, the last memory fragment could very well be on the last floor, which was where Situ Qing and Yin Jiujiu went.

As the four of them took the elevator to the second basement, they started to communicate telepathically without realizing it.

Qi Liuxing: Once we gather the four fragments, that should mean we’ve completed the mission, right? From what I see, this main task seems straightforward.

Ke Yuxiao: It’s not that simple. You heard what Wu Ren said, right? The stations that add points can be ‘destroyed’, but the places that continuously deduct points will always exist. There’s likely a plot behind this by the designers of this instance.

Qi Liuxing: Hmm… I think I sort of get what you mean…

Ke Yuxiao: Once a player’s life points reach zero, they die immediately. At the same time, these points can be taken from others. Given this setup, the chances of players cooperating are quite slim. They’ll always be suspicious of each other.

Ke Yuxiao: With such suspicion and doubt, once they enter this high wall and discover the stations can be destroyed… Xiao Qi, what would you do in this situation?

Qi Liuxing: I’d have two suspicions. First, high-point players, being overly confident, might destroy the stations to target those with fewer points. Second, the life points these stations offer might be finite and have a cap. So—

Qi Liuxing: Once I find a station, I’d naturally recharge my life points to the highest possible amount.

At that moment, Wu Ren interjected telepathically: Station A11 can’t recharge us anymore. The life points these stations can provide players indeed have a limit. We only have Station A12 left.

Ke Yuxiao continued in thought: Once inside this wall, it’s easy to find places that decrease life points, like the ink grass patch. Unlike the stations, these places can’t be destroyed.

Ke Yuxiao: In other words, usually, players would think that they could decrease their points anytime they wanted, completing the 24-point task with ease. But since stations can be destroyed, opportunities to gain life points could be lost.

Ke Yuxiao: Therefore, as Xiao Qi just said, upon entering this instance, players would choose to first recharge their life points to a high number before exploring. But this is, in fact, the deadliest mistake!

If players maintained high life points, they would never undergo mutations, and thus, they couldn’t integrate with the plants, obtain memory fragments, or uncover the secrets hidden by Ryan.

So, even though memory fragments were conspicuously placed within the instance for everyone to touch and collect, most players would find it extremely challenging to accomplish this.

Thus, without completing this main task, even if players gathered 24 points, they wouldn’t be able to clear the game.

Moreover, the evil spirit purification stations had a limit to the life points they could provide. Once the life points of all three stations were depleted, the players’ life points could only decrease and wouldn’t increase again. Under such circumstances, they might miss the critical value of “24”.

For instance, if seven players were alive and their life points continuously decreased, their combined points would drop by seven every 20 minutes. If their total points dropped from 30 to 23, they would’ve skipped the “24” requirement.

By that time, even if they started mutating, uncovering the instance’s secrets, and finding the memory fragments…

They still wouldn’t clear the game—

The evil spirits purification stations couldn’t recharge, other point-increasing items would be depleted, and they couldn’t reach the “24” points.

Having figured everything out, Qi Liuxing mused: Just as Zhou Qian surmised, game designers do love to play tricks on players!

Qi Liuxing: I get it now. Our easy fragment collection is because our life points intentionally or unintentionally became very low upon entering the instance, leading to our mutations… It all seems simple, but it’s challenging to achieve.

Qi Liuxing: Speaking of which, we should thank Zhu Qiang. He never imagined that forcing our life values to decrease would make us more likely to uncover the instance’s mysteries.

Wu Ren: Hey, I just realized, communicating like this is really effortless.

Qi Liuxing: Ever thought that maybe soon you won’t have a voice or even a tongue?

Wu Ren: …

Throughout this, Zhou Qian, not wanting anyone to hear his thoughts, muttered silently: X*%bala…

Qi Liuxing: Who keeps chanting?

……

The elevator doors opened, and four people entered the second basement level. The bright lights illuminated the hall. It was still very empty, with only a metallic coffin placed in the middle of the room.

The coffin lid was scattered in a corner, and at the moment, Situ Qing and Yin Jiujiu were standing nearby with complex expressions.

Approaching the coffin, Zhou Qian noticed a name engraved on the lid–”Shirley”.

It seemed to be the name of the body that was supposed to be in the coffin.

However, the body wasn’t lying inside. It was sitting. Half of its body was inside the coffin, and the other half was exposed. Technically, it couldn’t be considered a corpse since its eyes were still blinking, clearly alive.

But she also couldn’t be fully considered a living person. The only part of her that seemed to move were her eyes.

This was a highly mutated person, with fish-scale patterns on her face.

Except for her eyes, all other facial features had disappeared. The exposed upper half of her body had become tree-like. Her original arms were gone, replaced with many branches growing from her torso, covered in various shades of green leaves. Occasionally, sharp thorn-like objects could also be seen.

If players didn’t know about the mutation in advance, at first glance, they wouldn’t think she was ever human. They would assume she was a tree-like monster that just happened to have human eyes.

At this moment, the players heard each other’s astonishment almost simultaneously.

Previously, we had to merge with plants. Having the memory of plants was still acceptable. Merging with animals was also bearable. But now, merging with a person, or rather, a body? …So disgusting.

Indeed disgusting. But we have to complete the mission.

Shortly after, the players indeed experienced the most challenging “merge” and subsequently gained memories of the person named “Shirley”.

The scene wasn’t in the tower’s second basement but in a futuristic space. Shirley appeared to be a lab worker, spending a lot of time alone at a console, inputting data.

After a while, the metal doors slid apart, and a person entered, carrying something about human height under his arm. It was covered with a black cloth, and Shirley couldn’t see what it was.

Shirley looked at the visitor, surprised at first, and then a blush crept up her face. “Mayor Ryan, why are you here? Today is the Strawberry Music Festival. I thought you went to the plaza halfway up the mountain.”

“I had something come up. I need you to turn on the furnace. I want to destroy something,” Ryan said.

Shirley seemed puzzled by his request. “Ah? That’s the old abandoned generator—”

“Just turn it on!” Ryan interrupted sternly.

“Understood, I’ll do it now.”

It was rare for Ryan to be this harsh. Shirley, not wanting to question further, quickly followed his instructions and started operating the console.

After a while, the high-powered furnace began to operate, burning fuel with a fierce wind and producing a bright red flame that reflected in Ryan’s blue-green eyes. Ryan soon walked to the furnace, uncovering the black cloth, revealing what seemed like a mirror.

Ryan tossed the mirror into the furnace, which produced a loud “clack”.

About three minutes later, Shirley, who had been watching Ryan, noticed his frown. She peered into the furnace and saw that the mirror remained undamaged.

How strange. How is this possible? What kind of mirror is that?

As Shirley pondered, she suddenly heard Ryan say something strange.

“I preserved your consciousness, personality, and even your goodness out of curiosity about you. I wanted to experience the feeling of having everything with you. But why did you repay me this way? Do you know how much effort I put into collecting the raw materials and refining them? It’s a work of art!”

Confused, Shirley blurted out, “Mayor Ryan, what are you talking about?”

She felt as if Ryan had suddenly become a different person. However, he turned and smiled at her.

“It’s nothing. Shirley, please turn off the furnace and start the cooling process.”

Confused, Shirley complied. Once the cooling was done and the fuel cooled, Ryan retrieved the undamaged mirror. Shirley felt something was different about his demeanor.

Suddenly, Ryan’s face contorted in pain and rage, but after a moment, he returned to his usual self, as if nothing had happened.

Later, Shirley saw him approach a wall, input a code, and open another door.

She couldn’t help but remind him, “Mayor Ryan, isn’t that the reactor? You said it was too polluted and dangerous, and you decided not to use it anymore?”

“It seems the only way to completely destroy it is to use the reactor’s energy.” Ryan mumbled, then walked into the newly opened room. The door closed behind him, and Shirley couldn’t see anything.

When Ryan emerged half an hour later, he was draped in the black cloth he initially used to cover the mirror, looking bizarre. Equally strange were his expression and eyes, which carried an inexplicable and bizarre quality.

Ryan was so odd tonight.

Why did she feel on several occasions that he didn’t seem like himself at all?

The words Ryan said next also seemed very strange to Shirley. “I never imagined that to destroy it, you would go to such lengths… Let’s start my large-scale experiment ahead of schedule. You forced me into this… I had no other choice…”

Shirley suddenly realized with horror that there seemed to be a glow of fire coming from the room where the reactor was located.

But before she could get a good look, the metal door closed again.

Shirley couldn’t help but blurt out, “Mayor, it’s not… on fire, is it?”

“You saw it wrong. It’s fine,” Ryan replied, giving Sherry an inscrutable look. “I have to go. I’m off to the Strawberry Music Festival. I promised the kids I’d sing them a song. You stay here and keep watch. I’m looking forward to seeing you next time.”

Shirley blushed again.

It was evident that she had some special feelings for Ryan.

The mayor said he’s looking forward to seeing me again…

Is that true?

Did I hear him right?

“I wonder what you’ll look like the next time I see you?”

After repeating this sentence, Ryan wrapped himself from head to toe in the black cloth and left.

……

As he witnessed this memory, Zhou Qian had already pieced together the entire truth in his mind.

Sarah used the “Mirror of All Things” to merge her essence with Ryan’s body, or, in other words, she absorbed Ryan. She didn’t immediately intend to completely erase Ryan’s consciousness, so she let him live alongside her. Their condition resembled a split personality—one body but housing the wills of both Ryan and Sarah.

One day, Ryan took control of their shared body. He brought the “Mirror of All Things” here, intending to destroy it. He did this, naturally, to thwart Sarah’s schemes.

But Ryan found out that the massive boiler meant for power generation couldn’t destroy the mirror. So, he decided to use the reactor.

It was likely that Sarah only regained control over the body after Ryan had placed the mirror in the reactor and started its process. By that point, she could no longer prevent the mirror’s destruction. Her only choice was to induce a reactor burn and subsequent explosion, shattering the mirror into countless pieces. These fragments, carried by the explosive and radiative dispersal, would “infect” everyone.

From that point on, the special radiative substance swept through every child attending the music festival. The myriad shards of the “Mirror of All Things” hidden within it, much like the hand that opened Pandora’s box, forever altered the town.

When Ryan, or rather Sarah, initiated the reactor explosion, they wrapped themselves tightly in radiation-proof black cloth. Even Sarah couldn’t predict the consequences of the exploding reactor and the effects of the mirror shards. She left Shirley behind, turning her into her primary observational subject.

That was the entire truth behind the supposed fireworks and accidental explosion on the night of the Strawberry Music Festival.

……

Now, as the players could communicate mentally, Zhou Qian didn’t need to verbally recount the story; everyone else understood the plot through him.

Qi Liuxing frowned and said, “The ‘cry for help’ we heard from the plant… could it have come from Shirley? She was closest to the radiation! Sarah is heartless!”

Ke Yuxiao added with a stern face, “Indeed. The ‘Mirror of All Things’ might not be something even Sarah fully understands. Her initial plan was to experiment gradually. But Ryan’s attempt to destroy the mirror disrupted all of Sarah’s plans. To prevent the mirror from vanishing entirely and to continue her experiments aiming at merging with all beings, she induced the explosion.”

“As for the consequences of that explosion, even Sarah couldn’t have predicted them. So she needs to continue her experiments. We are undoubtedly her guinea pigs.”

“Yes, agreed.” Zhou Qian added, elaborating on Ke Yuxiao’s words, “Based on Sarah’s original plans and the actual effect after merging with Ryan, she aimed to—after merging with other plants and animals—change her genetic code at will and control her physical form entirely. Like Sun Wukong’s 72 transformations, she could become anything she desired.”

“But Sarah’s experiments weren’t mature. She had only merged with her brother, whose genetic code was already similar to hers. She hasn’t tested it on other plants or animals.”

“Hence, the explosion was her last resort, and she couldn’t anticipate the outcomes.”

“Subsequent events show that under the influence of the special radioactive substance, the mirror spontaneously caused everything to merge. But now, Sarah faces the issue of not being able to control any of it.”

“Since she couldn’t control it, she had to set up barriers, temporarily isolating everything. Moreover, she must find a way to regain control over the ‘Mirror of All Things’, achieving her goal of merging with all beings and dominating them.”

“As Ke Yuxiao said, we are her guinea pigs. She needs to observe and study us to achieve her goal of becoming the master of all.”

[Players have collected a memory fragment: “Unexpected”.]

[Memory Fragment Progress: 4/4]

[Players have found the secret hidden by Ryan here. The mission completion rate is 50%.]

After obtaining all the memory fragments, the players left the tower and began to walk around the wetlands in the direction of the tower, heading to the A13 Evil Spirit Purification Station.

The four male players had previously replenished enough life points at the A11 Purification Station.

But the two girls were almost exhausted.

By the time they reached the A13 station, Situ Qing only had 1 point left.

During the time the two girls were “recharging” inside A13, another incident occurred.

Qi Liuxing and Ke Yuxiao accidentally bumped shoulders, and their arms immediately merged together.

Seeing this, Ke Yuxiao couldn’t help but become serious: It seems we need to hurry out.

Wu Ren: Now the four of us men have 5 points each, which is 20 points. The two girls just charged 2 points, Yin Jiujiu has 7 points, and Situ Qing has 3 points. So, we have a total of 30 points. That’s good.

Wu Ren: If we want to reduce it to 24 points, we just need to lose 6 points. Just right, one less point per person. We’ll head to that ink grass, time it right, and get in and out quickly!

However, Zhou Qian said, “Wrong.”

The thoughts of the two girls also merged with everyone else’s.

The rest of the group thought simultaneously: What’s wrong?

Zhou Qian said, “Firstly, at the beginning of the game, the system stated that the maximum number of points is 24. At that time, 1 point was equivalent to 1 hour. This might be hinting that the game might not exceed 24 hours.”

“Secondly, if such a thing really happened in the real world, a few hours of experimentation would definitely not suffice. Sarah would conduct the experiment strictly based on scientific principles, setting up control groups and iterating…”

“But after all, this is a simplified version of a complex setup in a game instance.”

“While the story is largely logical, there are also many idealized elements. For instance, in a world where technology has advanced to the creation of the ‘Mirror of All Things’, would there still be an ignorant and backward town?”

“Considering these two points, I think Sarah’s experiment only happens this afternoon. We are just her lab rats for this one experiment. She won’t sustain us forever. Do you really think—”

“That when we accumulate 24 points and achieve 100% of the main mission, Sarah will let us go when she appears?”

“Would she really let us live in Beautiful Flower Town peacefully, as she promised?”

“Exactly, she won’t.” Ke Yuxiao immediately agreed with Zhou Qian’s judgment. “If she could merge everything directly, she wouldn’t care. But the accident changed her plans.”

“At this stage, she can’t merge everyone directly, can’t make everyone obey her mind commands. Under this circumstance, she still needs to keep her conspiracy hidden.”

“That’s right.” Zhou Qian continued, “Earlier on the tower’s top, we almost saw the entire layout of this level, but we didn’t find the location of the boiler or reactor building. This means the power station has been demolished.”

“Meanwhile, Shirley and the cat were both moved to the underground floors of the tower, hidden from the world.”

“So, at this stage, Sarah is really afraid of others knowing her secret.”

“The only ones who know her secret are us. She won’t give us a chance to reveal them.”

“Once this afternoon’s experiment ends and Sarah gets the data she wants, we’ll be useless to her. She will kill us.”

Upon hearing this, Qi Liuxing felt a heavy burden in his heart and frowned. “Once we leave this high wall, in the eyes of all the townspeople, we are monsters. Remember, they all think this is the work of a witch. We will be seen by the townspeople as accomplices of the witch. It would be a matter of course for Ryan, as the mayor, to execute us.”

“Damn… this game…”

Wu Ren cursed. “If we don’t accumulate 24 points, we can’t wait for Ryan to open the door. But once he opens the door, he might kill us. How do we handle this?”

“In this world, there’s a satisfying way to take revenge.”

Suddenly, Zhou Qian stood up, smiled, and said in a deep voice, “That is, when someone sets a trap, you turn it around and use it against them.”

Ke Yu Xiao seemed to have sensed something.

Before he could ask, he already heard Zhou Qian’s thoughts in his mind.

Qi Liuxing hadn’t had time to digest Zhou Qian’s lightning-fast thoughts when he heard Zhou Qian speak in a familiar, bewitching tone.

“Sarah keeps us here like lab rats, watching us mutate. Well, we’ll show her a mutation.”

“Sarah wants to create monsters. Then let her be destroyed by the monster she created.”

The familiar, passionate excitement from Zhou Qian’s words surged again, and Qi Liuxing immediately stood up.

Drawing his long sword, barely holding it with what could be called a hand, Qi Liuxing decided to join Zhou Qian in a big fight.

Suddenly remembering something, he asked Zhou Qian, “By the way, what’s the deal with your side task? With the main task four memory fragments found, your side task is also 50% complete?”

“The main task is split into two parts: first, reach 24 points; second, find the four memory segments. It’s a hidden achievement.”

“As for my side task, it’s probably another ultimate hidden achievement. My side task is also split into two parts. The first is those four memory segments. As for the second part…”

At this point, the sunset appeared in the sky.

Zhou Qian’s silhouette stretched a long shadow in the reddish sunset.

Without looking back, he said, “I’ve already planted a solution. Just wait and see.”

Wu Ren: From what Zhou Qian is implying… it seems like everything is under control? Should I just sit back and watch us clear the game?

Qi Liuxing: No! Don’t get too excited too early! Knowing him… he’s going to go big! You might not be able to handle it! But… even so…

He once mocked me for being childish. But his plan now is just as silly!

Wait for our bodies to mutate and become stronger—deal with Ryan, eradicate the conspiracy—save the world, where am I wrong?!

Ke Yuxiao: Ahem, apart from thinking about how to mutate and become stronger, we also have a math problem to consider.

Situ Qing: If you need manpower for a fight, call me. Just don’t make me solve math problems.

Yin Jiujiu: See, who’s the one with the low IQ?

Qi Liuxing: What math problem?

Ke Yuxiao: It’s quite simple. We just need to be careful during the process. As the six of us may continue to “fuse”, once fused, when entering A13 to increase points, it’s synchronized. When going to the ink grass area to reduce points, it’s also synchronized.

Qi Liuxing: Right. In the extreme case where all six of us are fused into one entity, when we increase or decrease points, it will be in multiples of six. If we’re not careful, we’ll never reach 24.

Ke Yuxiao: Exactly. While we follow Zhou Qian’s method to find plants and animals that can strengthen us, I’ll simultaneously do the calculations to ensure we reach 24.

Impressed, Qi Liuxing praised him: “Yuxiao, you’re truly reliable!”

Ke Yuxiao gave a faint smile. “Let’s go.”

Wu Ren silently followed Zhou Qian: Haa…

……

About an hour later, under Zhou Qian’s mental guidance, the players completed their mutations, and their combined life points reached 24.

At that moment, they were standing next to the bizarre ink grass area. They had just left the ink grass after reducing their life points and walked onto the main road.

The system quickly sent a message.

[The combined life points of surviving players reached 24. Mayor Ryan is pleased. Task completion rate 100%.]

Almost instantly, there was a noise in the sky.

Several drones flew by.

In an instant, the cameras on the drones all focused on the players.

Six highly mutated creatures, amidst the exotic flora, appeared on the TVs of countless homes in Beautiful Flower Town through the drone cameras.

A helicopter soon arrived and hovered above the players.

Ryan’s voice, broadcast loudly, reached the players and the townsfolk:

“I’ve found the root of the evil spirits! This wall hides the witches’ secrets. These six monsters… are their creation. Look at how terrifying they are! We must kill them all!”

“Fire can cleanse all evil. The once beautiful Weir Mountain has been corrupted. I must set it ablaze. Let’s burn it all, burn the evil spirits, and burn the monsters birthed from them!”

After Ryan finished speaking, more helicopters flew in, pouring buckets of gasoline over the players.

Following that, fire was ignited.

A small box dropped from a helicopter, automatically opening upon landing, releasing flames that quickly ignited the gasoline, engulfing the players in a sea of fire.

Despite their mental preparation, all players, except Zhou Qian, couldn’t help but panic.

Wu Ren: Damn it, Xiao Qi was right. Zhou Qian went too big… I’m starting to regret this.

Qi Liuxing: We’re past the point of no return. We have to continue! We have to save Beautiful Flower Town and all of humanity!

Wu Ren: Fuck, why did I end up on a team with an extremist lunatic and a childish teenager?

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 67

The bright red rose was unparalleled in its charm and loved by countless people.

Sarah shone as brilliantly as a rose, wanting to be loved by all just like it. She relished the attention and adored being on top, controlling everything.

The rose taught her to enjoy attention and care, but it also taught her a lesson—it would wither.

A wilted flower was no longer loved.

An aging beauty would also lose favor.

Why does everything experience cycles of prosperity and decline? Why does prosperity inevitably lead to decline?

Why must beauty fade? Do all heroes eventually meet their end?

Why is health always accompanied by illness?

Why can’t the human body coexist peacefully with all viruses and bacteria?

Why are the boundaries between all species so clearly defined?

Is there a way to break these boundaries and control everything?

The universe began with the Big Bang*.

*Physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature.

The world was born out of nothingness.

In the distant beginning, the world was chaotic.

Everything emerged from this chaos. The Eastern philosophy told of the Taiji* producing the two primary forces, which then gave rise to the four elements, which in turn gave rise to everything. The same principle applied.

*Chinese philosophical cosmological term for the “Supreme Ultimate” state of the world and affairs—the interaction of matter and space, the relation of the body and mind.

So, why couldn’t it be reversed?

Why couldn’t everything return to its original state of chaos?

It should be this way.

All things in the world should be unified.

When everything became one, Sarah believed she could reign over it all.

She would be the universe and everything in it.

The world’s tides and blooms would be subject to her whims; flowers would bloom and wither at her command.

She wanted to become the god of this world and achieve true eternity.

The rose had accompanied Sarah for years. Now, as Zhou Qian looks at the vibrant rose, he not only extracts memories of Sarah from it but also seems to resonate with her on some level, understanding her thoughts more easily.

At this moment, Zhou Qian and all the players received a system notification.

​[Players have collected a memory fragment: “Sarah’s Legs”.]

[Memory Fragment Progress: 2/4]

Beside him, Wu Ren took a moment to process what Zhou Qian was saying. “Merge? Holy… What…”

Zhou Qian replied, “At first, I thought that when Ryan cross-dressed, he used a voice changer and contact lenses for his eyes. Now I realize that they might be some sort of symbiotic entity. If we stretch our imagination further—”

“His eyes can change color at will, and his body can switch between male and female.”

Wu Ren exclaimed, “Change body at will? Wait, isn’t that a bit exaggerated? We can’t control our body mutations, but if he’s really like you said… Does he have a key to change his genes at will?”

“Perhaps that’s the secret about him we’re looking for,” Zhou Qian speculated. “The only question now is, with Ryan and Sarah’s bodies merged, what about their minds?”

Wu Ren pondered and said, “These two siblings… have distinct thoughts and personalities, almost polar opposites. From the memories we’ve seen, the brother is more normal, gentle, and kind-hearted.”

“As for the sister, she’s more fanatical and obsessive, wanting power and control over others. Given her fanaticism, I feel she dominates their shared body. But—”

“The current ‘Mayor Ryan’ seems to be doing good deeds, like building barriers to protect the townspeople… So, maybe he retains both personalities.”

Zhou Qian reflected for a moment. “There are several possibilities. First, after their bodies merged, their brains might have combined to form a new consciousness. Second, all of this might be Sarah’s plot. She wants to reign supreme, so she might have found a way to always keep her consciousness dominant.”

Pausing for a moment, Zhou Qian added, “Based on the information from the rose, I lean towards the second possibility. Regardless of the scenario, if we let things progress, we’ll lose our willpower. We can’t let her succeed.”

……

Leaving the vicinity of the rose, Zhou Qian and Wu Ren continued eastward.

After a while, they reached a cliff. Sensing something amiss, Zhou Qian peered down and, sure enough, found Qi Liuxing and Ke Yuxiao lying at the bottom.

Using the flying rope, Zhou Qian quickly reached the bottom of the cliff to check on the condition of the two people. Fortunately, the cliff wasn’t very high. Luckily, both of them had worn armor and helmets as soon as they entered this instance, so their HP both dropped to around 30%, and they weren’t in mortal danger.

After waking the two up, Zhou Qian immediately asked them what they had encountered before the wetland. According to Qi Liuxing, as he walked towards the wetland, he suddenly saw Zhou Qian running frantically towards the east.

Qi Liuxing, unsure of what was happening with Zhou Qian and out of concern, quickly followed him. To his surprise, he stepped into a void and fell off the cliff, knocking himself unconscious.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qian revealed a relieved smile. He looked at Qi Liuxing and said, “It seems the wetland can make people see their most terrifying memories. Have you ever dreamt of me falling off a cliff? So this became your worst fear? So you were really worried about me. I’m touched.”

Qi Liuxing sincerely replied, “I think you’re overthinking it. I just had a hallucination.”

“Brother Sword God is the most tsundere.”

Zhou Qian chuckled, then turned to Ke Yuxiao. “What about you? Did you fall off the cliff because of me as well?”

Ke Yuxiao replied with equal sincerity, “Qian Ge, you’re overthinking. It seems Xiao Qi was the first to be trapped in the illusion. I was fine at that moment. I just saw him suddenly run eastward and chased after him. But later on the way, I too experienced a hallucination.”

“I’ve mentioned before, I had depression, so… I won’t go into detail, but I remembered a terrible past experience. I thought I was standing on a rooftop. Feeling desolate, I jumped off, not realizing it was a trap.”

Hearing this, Qi Liuxing looked at Ke Yuxiao with concern.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Ke Yuxiao shook his head.

Zhou Qian was about to jest again when a thought crossed his mind.

Ke Yuxiao’s expression doesn’t seem right. Should I ask more? But that’s his private matter; maybe I shouldn’t pry? Yet, it seemed he tried to ‘end his life’ in that illusion. This isn’t right. How can I help him if I don’t understand?

It seemed like something Qi Liuxing might say. But he hadn’t spoken. How could Zhou Qian hear his thoughts?

This should be something Qi Liuxing would say. But he didn’t speak, so how could he hear him?

As he thought this, another phrase suddenly popped into Zhou Qian’s mind. I wasn’t actually trying to kill myself just now. I’m really okay. It’s all in the past. But it seems like Xiao Qi is really worried about me? I’ll have to explain it to him properly later…

This voice, however, was in the tone of Ke Yuxiao.

Can I hear their thoughts?

Could it be that all of us…

Wait, if I’m hearing Ke Yuxiao’s thoughts directly, it means… everything he just said is true.

With this realization, all hints of a smile vanished from Zhou Qian’s face, replaced by a serious demeanor.

Zhou Qian had never fully trusted Ke Yuxiao.

His earlier teasing was actually an attempt to probe Ke Yuxiao. He was desperate to know what had happened to Qi Liuxing and Ke Yuxiao that led them both to the bottom of the eastern cliff during the illusion.

He didn’t believe it was a mere coincidence. It seemed more like a well-crafted setup.

Zhou Qian’s suspicion was consistent—the Peach Blossom Legion wouldn’t use the “Gourd kids saving their grandfather” method against him.

After Situ Qing failed and they had a sufficient understanding of him, they would definitely make a big move, ensuring that their plan to kill him was foolproof.

Simply relying on Yin Jiujiu and Zhu Qiang wasn’t enough to take down Zhou Qian; the Peach Blossom Legion knew this. With the knowledge that Yin Jiujiu was merely a pawn, Zhou Qian became even more suspicious. Besides Zhu Qiang, there must be other members of the Peach Blossom Legion among his team.

If that person wasn’t Wu Ren, then it could only be Ke Yuxiao.

Given the strength of the Peach Blossom Legion, it was possible for them to find Yin Jiujiu, who bears a grudge against Situ Qing. Knowing that Qi Liuxing was recruited by Zhou Qian, they targeted Qi Liuxing and possibly embedded a mole, Ke Yuxiao, into the team.

Moreover, the series of plots later orchestrated by Zhu Qiang made Zhou Qian even more suspicious of Ke Yuxiao.

The trap in this level’s wetland area was essentially the Peach Blossom Legion’s trump card. In fact, their use of Yin Jiujiu points exactly to this. If Yin Jiujiu could kill Situ Qing, that would be best, removing a threat and leaving Zhou Qian with one less ally.

But even if Yin Jiujiu failed, it wouldn’t matter; their sole aim was to force Zhou Qian to choose the most dangerous path in the middle to prevent Yin Jiujiu and Situ Qing from fighting each other.

Therefore, the Peach Blossom Legion’s grand setup was to ensnare Zhou Qian into the swamp in his dream.

They would want to ensure that this setup is foolproof. But how could it be foolproof if Qi Liuxing and Ke Yuxiao were always with Zhou Qian?

Why did all three of them fall into the dream at the same time?

Why did Zhou Qian find them both missing when he looked back?

Zhou Qian couldn’t help but suspect that Ke Yuxiao was also a pawn of the Peach Blossom Legion. Perhaps he tampered with Qi Liuxing covertly, leading him eastward and ultimately off a cliff.

With Ke Yuxiao as their pawn, the Peach Blossom Legion’s plan could be deemed complete. Their only miscalculation was not anticipating that mutated players could control plants and animals due to their insufficient information about the instance.

Thus, Zhou Qian believed his suspicions of Ke Yuxiao were entirely justified. But at this moment, he could suddenly hear Ke Yuxiao’s inner thoughts. Ke Yuxiao had actually chosen to jump off the roof to commit suicide because of past trauma.

From the looks of it, Ke Yuxiao probably couldn’t lie under these circumstances.

So, he was innocent?

Could it be that Zhu Qiang had laid other tools in advance, leading Ke Yuxiao and Qi Liuxing towards the eastern cliff, so they wouldn’t save Zhou Qian when he entered the swamp?

But now, with Zhu Qiang dead, Zhou Qian couldn’t inquire further. Even if Zhu Qiang was alive, Zhou Qian doubted he’d get any answers.

Zhu Qiang, consumed by hatred, would hide everything Zhou Qian wanted to know, including matters about Ke Yuxiao as well as the whereabouts of Situ Qing and Yin Jiujiu.

Thinking of these matters, Zhou Qian unconsciously furrowed his brows. Unexpectedly, when he glanced up, he noticed Ke Yuxiao looking back at him with a slight frown, while Qi Liuxing had a face full of disapproval.

Blinking, Zhou Qian then looked at Wu Ren, who had an expression that read, “I’m embarrassed for you.”

Now, with everyone able to share thoughts, everyone else had naturally become aware of Zhou Qian’s earlier suspicions of Ke Yuxiao.

However, Zhou Qian fully embraced the principle of “as long as he isn’t embarrassed, others are”. So, acting as if nothing had happened, he bypassed the cliff and continued walking east.

“All these rules about killing to steal life points, accumulating 24 points, and draining your MP after a kill are just system tricks. What’s the point of schemes when our thoughts are connected?”

“Let’s first head to A11 for a ‘recharge’, then search for the two girls. Zhu Qiang probably knew he couldn’t clear the game alone, so he didn’t kill them. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible.”

Moments later, the four male players headed east, first stopping at Station A11 to replenish their life points. Then they moved to Station A13 in the west, trying to find clues about the two girls’ whereabouts.

The ground inside the station was wet, with a clear scent of alcohol. It could be deduced that Situ Qing and Yin Jiujiu had been there. Not knowing where the two had gone, they started searching nearby.

Since the four were walking far apart without physical contact, they hadn’t experienced the “merging” situation that Yin Jiujiu and Situ Qing had.

Circling Station A13, Zhou Qian discovered a tower 300 meters away, hidden behind tall trees. He almost immediately speculated that the two girls might be there.

Compared to Situ Qing and Yin Jiujiu, Zhu Qiang was far inferior in combat*.

*Fight against a five scum/trash (战五渣) This is a reference to Dragon Ball where Raditz first land on Earth and, using his combat analysis lens, measures a farmer with a combat power of only 5 (the scum in this case basically means a five combat powered trash). It’s now slang used to refer to someone who performs poorly in battles or competitions. 

It was unlikely he’d confront them directly, even if he wanted to capitalize on their conflict. His main goal was to prevent them from aiding Zhou Qian. He needed to quickly check on Zhou Qian’s situation, so he wouldn’t waste too much time and energy on them.

Thus, Zhu Qiang probably used a teleportation tool, setting a trap to relocate the girls and temporarily confine them somewhere.

The next step was to think about where Zhu Qiang would choose to trap them.

He likely received a lot of information on the instance through the Peach Blossom Legion. He probably also knew where the core secrets of the instance were.

But such places were usually very dangerous, so he’d need someone to scout and assess the risks.

Therefore, Zhu Qiang’s strategy was likely to kill two birds with one stone—transfer Situ Qing and Yin Jiujiu to the place closest to the truth to scout and take risks, while also ensuring they were trapped there, with no chance of aiding Zhou Qian.

Finally, the tower 300 meters away was the only man-made structure they had seen since entering the walled area, apart from the “Evil Spirit Purification Stations”. Given its elevated location, it was likely the secret research base, the place “closest to the core truth”.

Considering everything, the probability of the two girls being in the tower was very high.

All of these thoughts flashed through Zhou Qian’s mind in an instant. Just as he was about to voice his suggestions, he heard voices in his mind.

Qi Liuxing: So that’s how Qian Ge thinks… He’s so quick; I almost couldn’t keep up.

Ke Yuxiao: I agree with his perspective.

Wu Ren: Zhu Qiang is that Li Buhui, right? This guy has a dark heart. However, since Zhou Qian could guess his intentions, Zhou Qian is probably just as dark. Haa, people these days—their schemes are just too dirty.

Zhou Qian: “……”

In that moment, he had two thoughts.

First: This instance is really annoying.

Second: Well… Hiss? I kind of wanted to experience this with Bai Zhou. I really want to know what he’s thinking. If only I could see his memories. Hmm, I wonder what I look like in his memories?

Then several thoughts popped up in Zhou Qian’s head—

Qi Liuxing: What’s the deal between him and that Bai Zhou guy?

Ke Yuxiao: Xiao Qi, you’re too young to think about this.

Qi Liuxing: ??? But when he last met Bai Zhou, he was younger than I am now.

Ke Yuxiao: Oh, so Zhou Qian had an early romance. Don’t follow in his footsteps.

Wu Ren: Bai Zhou? Early romance? Who had an early romance? What are you guys talking about?

Zhou Qian: “………”

Wu Ren: Oh, it seems Zhou Qian is getting angry. But he shouldn’t think of scheming against us. Now we can directly hear his thoughts. Hahaha…

Zhou Qian smiled faintly. “Then I’ll take care of you outside.”

Wu Ren, Qi Liuxing, Ke Yuxiao: “……”

……

Ten minutes later, the four of them arrived in front of a tall tower.

The metal door on the first floor of the tower was wide open, so the four of them walked in without any hindrance.

Inside, they found the hall empty. There was a spiral staircase to one side and an elevator in the middle.

Suddenly, with a “ding”, the elevator doors opened.

Wu Ren, being the main attacker, immediately made a move.

A steel needle appeared out of thin air, aiming towards the elevator. In case a monster came out, the needle would attack it immediately.

However, as the doors opened and he saw what was inside, Wu Ren quickly retracted the needle.

Though, strictly speaking, what appeared from the elevator could be described as a “monster”.

Inside the elevator were Situ Qing and Yin Jiujiu. However, their legs and arms were now fused together, sharing three legs and three arms between them. Their hands had transformed into cat paws, complete with pink pads. The paws themselves looked cute, but the combined appearance was quite eerie. What made it even more bizarre was that they were both covered in a net.

The Sky Net was indestructible, but fortunately, items in this game had a time limit. Once the time limit passed, they wouldn’t be separated, but at least they wouldn’t be bound by the net.

Zhou Qian asked, “Did you come from above or below?”

Yin Jiujiu replied, “From below. After finding the elevator, we didn’t dare to go further down. We saw that we could come up to the first floor, so we decided to try it. We didn’t expect to run into you.”

Hearing this, Zhou Qian checked the elevator panel and found that the tower had a total of 12 floors above and two below.

Yin Jiujiu and Situ Qing had been on the negative first floor, where there was only a cat and nothing else. They came up to the first floor after finding the elevator. It’s unknown what’s on the negative second floor.

In the end, the six players decided to go to the top of the tower together.

They all took the elevator to the top floor. As the elevator doors opened, they found that they couldn’t step out. The entire floor was covered in huge spikes, which, upon closer examination, were giant cacti.

After a quick glance outside, Zhou Qian looked at the elevator buttons. He pressed one with a door opening icon, ensuring the elevator doors would stay open.

Sticking his head out for a closer look and then returning inside the elevator, Zhou Qian said, “According to what Yin Jiujiu and Situ Qing said, the cat that Ryan and Sarah have raised since they were kids was put here… So, as expected, this is the core area.”

“Sarah needed to stay here for a long time to conduct experiments, so she brought the cat for company. However, maybe because the cat mutated, she didn’t want others to know, so she kept the cat here. So…”

Looking at the cacti in front of him, Zhou Qian continued, “Maybe we can obtain the third fragment of the memory from these cacti. However, we need to have the cactus gene.”

“We shouldn’t,” Yin Jiujiu quickly said, pulling Situ Qing back. “Or I fear we might prick each other to death since we’re too close.”

Situ Qing nodded in agreement. “Given that these plants and animals don’t actually harm us… You four can stay here, and we’ll go check out the negative second floor.”

So, three minutes later, the two girls went to the negative second floor. The four men stayed on the top floor, waiting for cacti to grow on them.

During that time, Wu Ren glanced at the rose blooming in his palm and exclaimed, “A cactus and a rose… growing together. Huh… It’s both strange and romantic.”

Qi Liuxing commented, “I feel as if we’re standing by the elevator, waiting to transform and then go save the world.”

Zhou Qian couldn’t help but shake his head. “Xiao Qi, you’re so childish.”

Ke Yuxiao: “It’s nice that Xiao Qi thinks this way.”

Zhou Qian: “……”

Moments later, Zhou Qian’s prediction came true. Spiky cacti started growing on parts of the four of them. At the same time, a memory was implanted in their minds.

The memory took place at the top of this tower. However, looking down from the window, the landscape wasn’t as it appears now.

A vast wetland stretched out, its waters reflecting the sky like a mirror, surrounded by trees of varying heights, normal birds, and running animals. Not far away, the roses growing in the rose garden were the most ordinary kind—a beautiful red dot amidst the green.

Inside the top of the tower, the first thing that appeared in the memory was a thin computer screen. There were a few cacti on the table next to the computer, and at that moment, Sarah was sitting in front of it.

Next to the computer, to Sarah’s right, was a full-length mirror. But it clearly wasn’t just a mirror. The surface flowed like liquid gold, like streaming sunlight, yet it wasn’t blinding.

Sarah glanced at the mirror, her eyes becoming fervent and obsessed. She then looked at the cactus with a meaningful gaze.

“I really don’t understand why Ryan likes these spiky plants. When he gave it to me, he said it could absorb radiation. Well, looking at you during breaks isn’t too bad,” Sarah mumbled to herself. “Ryan is doing charity at the orphanage again today. I truly admire him. How can he be so selfless?”

“If it were me, if I had the chance to go out, I would never come back. The small towns around here… can’t compare to the outside world. It’s so exciting!”

“People here are so ignorant. Like those girls, so naive… I just mentioned magic, and they believe me. Such backward humans… Do they really deserve to live? Even if they do, Ryan shouldn’t bother with them. Why should smart people like us sacrifice for stupid humans?”

“He’s my own brother, yet I don’t know what he’s thinking. How can this happen? No, I want to get close to his mind. I want to know… why are there good people like him in the world?”

For a moment, Zhou Qian found that Sarah’s words resonated with his own thoughts. He often wondered —Why are there people as good as Bai Zhou in the world?

He even thought today —If only he could know what Bai Zhou was thinking.

“Ryan and I were born from the same mother, yet we can’t understand each other. It’s so unfair. The foolish heavens—why arrange this? Why are we so different even if we have the same parents?”

“Well, I can start my experiment. Who should I merge with first? The stupid humans in the town aren’t worthy. Such a grand experiment… It should start with my dearest brother!”

With that, Sarah picked up something like a phone and sent a voice message. “Ryan, come to the experimental tower tonight. I have something to tell you.”

The scene shifted. The location was still this high-rise building, but the time had changed from day to night.

The elevator door opened, and Ryan, looking weary, probably from consecutive days of charity work, walked out.

Waiting for him at the elevator was a pale gold mirror. Suddenly, the golden surface shattered, spilling particles that seemed to dance like sunlight. They flowed onto the floor, crawled to Ryan’s feet, and swiftly enveloped him.

“Sarah? W-What have you done? You actually—”

Ryan couldn’t finish his sentence as the luminous particles sealed his mouth, flowed into his throat, and spread throughout his body.

Then, Sarah appeared, walking over from the side. At this moment, there was still another part of the pulsating light on the ground. In the same manner, this portion of light completely enveloped Sarah and poured into her body through her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, reaching every single cell within her.

Soon, both individuals’ facial features, limbs, and bodies were no longer visible. Standing on the ground in front of the now empty mirror frame were just two human-shaped, pale golden streams.

Approximately 30 seconds later, these two streams suddenly fell to the ground, turning into two jelly-like liquid forms, wiggling and bouncing on the floor. Immediately, they surged towards each other, merging into one, and gradually rose, solidifying into a human shape.

Finally, the golden glow left the human form, transformed into pulsating particles, crawled along the ground back into the mirror frame, and once again restored itself to something resembling a mirror surface.

Thus, a new, fused individual was born.

Gradually, the person walked over and stood in front of the full-length mirror, seemingly wanting to look at their reflection. However, since the mirror wasn’t real, it couldn’t reflect their appearance.

At this moment, through the memory frame, players could only see the bare back of the figure, with the area below the waist obscured by cacti and other plants, hidden in the darkness of night.

​[Players have collected a memory fragment: “Mirror of All Things”.]

[Memory Fragment Progress: 3/4]

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The author has something to say:

Zhou Qian: I want to merge with Bai Zhou.

Zhou Qian: “Zhou Ge, they say that it was puppy love. What do you think?”

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Kinky Thoughts:

I mean, one way or another, you’ll certainly be connected with Bai Zhou…

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

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Chapter 66

A moment ago.

While following Zhou Qian through the wetlands, Wu Ren said, “Look, thanks to the card you gave me at the beginning, with two cards, I was able to restore the points for both cards simultaneously at the ‘Evil Spirit Purification Station’.”

Zhou Qian nodded in realization. “Right. So, people should always do good deeds.”

“Ahem…” Wu Ren, sensing Zhou Qian’s insincerity, changed the topic. “Why did you want me to play the ‘king’ at the beginning?”

Zhou Qian: “I was just testing you. I thought you were in cahoots with Yin Jiujiu.”

Wu Ren: “…”

So it was like that.

As Wu Ren was about to ask more, Zhou Qian stopped walking. Seeing his serious expression, Wu Ren took a step back nervously. “What’s wrong?”

“According to my gambler, Qi Liuxing and the others went east from here. Be careful; this place can trap you in illusions. But if we keep talking, we should be fine,” Zhou Qian said and started walking eastward.

“An illusion? Aren’t you afraid?” Wu Ren asked.

Thinking of something, the serious expression on Zhou Qian’s face disappeared, and he said with a smile, “Because I remembered someone.”

Upon seeing his expression, Wu Ren joked, “Oh, you’re thinking of a woman, right? Zhou Qian, I didn’t expect you to be so sentimental. Heroes do have a weakness for beauties…”

Before Wu Ren could finish, Zhou Qian interrupted, “Oh no, you misunderstood. I was thinking of a man.”

Wu Ren: “???”

Zhou Qian: “He is quite handsome, perhaps even more than many beauties.”

Wu Ren: “…”

Brother, what’s your deal?

Shaking his head, Wu Ren observed Zhou Qian’s silhouette, thinking that no beauty would find them attractive in their current state.

“If we stand next to a beauty now, it would be like Beauty and the Beast. Ah no, Beauty and the Monster…” Wu Ren mumbled.

Zhou Qian halted again.

“What’s wrong?” Wu Ren asked.

Suddenly, Zhou Qian’s chest burst into blooming red roses.

From Zhou Qian’s body sprouted dark grass, making him shed his clothing. His body was almost completely transformed into a plant, with no human skin or flesh left. The tips of these grasses started budding, then blooming one by one.

With grass growing and flowers blooming from it, Zhou Qian looked exceedingly strange, a sight that made Wu Ren frown. But when Wu Ren glanced down, he saw roses sprouting from his chest as well.

After the mutation, Wu Ren’s body resembled stacked leaves, and now petals began to grow on these leaves. He took a moment to process it but then shrugged it off, as the bizarre had become the norm in this instance.

A moment later, Wu Ren twitched his nose, as if he had smelled something, and then turned to walk towards a small path nearby. After not going far, he indeed saw clusters upon clusters of roses blooming there. It was likely that under the influence of these roses, both he and Zhou Qian had acquired the genes of roses in their bodies.

The vibrant red roses blossomed profusely, diluting the unpleasant smell of the place and replacing it with a rich fragrance. What was even more remarkable was that, apart from being much larger in size, the shape of these flowers had not undergone any significant change. At the sight of them, one couldn’t help but feel a sudden sense of returning from an otherworldly realm back to the world of humans.

But after all, this place wasn’t the ordinary human world.

Clusters of roses stretched for miles, and roughly in the middle, there stood an exceptionally large rose, almost as tall as a person.

At that moment, Zhou Qian also turned his gaze to this giant rose.

After realizing that he too had acquired the genes of the rose, his previous speculation about a massive species fusion undoubtedly seemed more plausible. He quickly made an attempt—commanding the roses in his mind, testing if he could control their blooming and wilting.

However, Zhou Qian failed. The roses temporarily couldn’t respond to the commands from his brain.

After pondering for a moment, Zhou Qian motioned for Wu Ren to join him, and together they approached the massive rose in the center. Zhou Qian wanted to try and make more contact with it, to be “sensed” by it a little longer.

Perhaps after waiting for a bit longer and merging more thoroughly with it, he might gain control over the roses.

Unexpectedly, shortly after Zhou Qian approached that giant rose, a memory suddenly appeared in his mind out of nowhere.

It was during an evening.

Roses were planted all over the balcony, and many roses were also placed inside the room. Roses, cosmetics, beautiful dresses… All these items indicated that this was a girl’s room.

In addition, there were some unusual things in the room—magic wands, crystal balls, and books recording magic. It seemed that the girl living here was a witch.

The door opened, and indeed a girl entered.

Zhou Qian was very familiar with her—it was Sarah. She had beautiful eyes, and her hair and eyelashes were a light golden color.

However, she was sitting in a wheelchair, being pushed in.

She had no legs.

The one pushing Sarah was a maid. She carefully lifted Sarah onto the bed. Sarah then looked at her and said, “I’m useless now, aren’t I?”

The maid shook her head, went to the balcony to pick a fresh rose, placed one on Sarah’s head, and put the rest in a vase.

The maid said cautiously and gently, “Dear Sarah, you’re the most beautiful girl in the world. You’re not useless. You’ll stand again. Young Master Ryan will heal you.”

Holding the rose in her hands, Sarah sighed. “Even the most beautiful roses will wither. I’m just like them. You all say I’m beautiful… but without my legs, surely no one would love me. A rose without appreciation loses its luster. If no one loves me… I’ll age quickly and die in loneliness and oblivion.”

“I can’t bear such days. Life is passionate… I hope everyone has me in their eyes. That would be nice…”

“The more people care about me, the happier I live. But now everything has turned into an illusion.”

“Miss Sarah, please don’t say such silly things. You will get better!” The maid admonished, looking more anxious, as if afraid of angering Sarah.

“Look, my promotion of witchcraft… seems like a joke. I founded the Witch Association and brought so many girls into it. But when they find out that I can’t use magic to heal my own legs… what then? I’ll become a joke.”

“I lost. Completely lost.”

Sarah said, “I vowed to Ryan that I would prove him wrong. I wanted to prove that science and technology were wrong. But now… was the path I took correct?”

“You see, even if you’re comforting me now—” Sarah sighed, “you must be laughing at me in your heart. Originally, I was just bitten by a venomous insect, and I refused to go to the hospital… until amputation was the only option. You must be laughing at my ignorance and stubbornness.”

The memory ended here.

The scene shifted.

Then another memory appeared.

It was in a ward.

There was a girl lying on the bed who was pale, but her eyes were bright, and her mouth wore a joyful and content smile.

It was still Sarah.

Surprisingly, looking through the thin quilt, one could see the outline of two legs. It was as if her legs had grown back.

Then someone else entered.

This time it was a familiar face—Ryan.

Except for the color of their eyes, Ryan and Sarah did indeed look very similar. They had different auras, and their facial features were also different upon close inspection, but from their body shape and facial contours, it was clear they shared a close blood relationship.

The room was filled with roses.

Ryan entered holding a bouquet. After pouring water into a vase and placing the roses in it, he sat next to Sarah and began to speak.

“Feeling better? Can you walk?” Ryan asked.

“Yes, thank you. Indeed, I’ve grown legs and can walk. It’s amazing.” Sarah laughed, pulling back the quilt to reveal a beautiful dress. Beneath the dress were two slender, pristine white legs, as if newly born without a single flaw.

Sarah gently touched her leg and covered herself with the quilt again. “I’m still adjusting, but there are no major issues. It’s wonderful.” After a pause, she looked at Ryan, hesitated, and then said, “I’m sorry. I misunderstood you in the past.”

“It’s okay. It’s good that you can see things differently now,” Ryan replied.

“Yes. I was… too stubborn before,” Sarah said with a wry smile. “So I’ll start learning about technology now. It’s not too late, right?”

Ryan said, “Of course there’s time. After I went outside, they tested my IQ and said it was extraordinarily high. They even said they’ve never seen someone with such a high IQ. It shows that Beautiful Flower Town has been isolated from the world for so long that they don’t even know the capabilities of the people here…”

“In any case, you are my sister. You should be like me. What I can learn, you can also learn quickly.”

“Ha… that’s great.” Sarah laughed. After laughing, she looked a bit melancholic. “Wait, what about the Witch Association? I built it from scratch. Every day I tell everyone to return to nature…”

Ryan paused. “Yesterday… a witch was burned. Do you know what happened?”

“I don’t know.” Sarah blinked.

When Sarah said this, Ryan didn’t notice anything. But Zhou Qian saw Sarah’s hand secretly clenched into a fist, and a shadow passed through her eyes.

The beautiful girl had a strong resentment in her eyes, as if…

As if she wished all the witches were dead.

“Isn’t the witch execution done by the mayor? The current mayor is quite annoying. It would be great if you could be mayor in the future.”

“Anyway… I don’t know why, but the townspeople now really hate witches. Haa… I’m thinking about how to dissolve the association.”

“I’m just worried that they learned to return to nature and study magic because of me. In the end, they find out there’s no magic in the world, and now I’m studying science… I’ve become a joke.”

“Sister, you shouldn’t care too much about what others think,” Ryan said. “We just do our thing. Look, I can heal your leg and treat the diseases of others in the town. Everything we learn will benefit everyone. Beautiful Flower Town will get better and better.”

“Yes, you’re right…” Sarah pinched a rose and looked at the setting sun outside the ward. “But this is far from enough.”

Ryan frowned, somewhat puzzled. “Sarah, what do you mean by that?”

The setting sun painted Sarah’s fair face red. The evening glow accentuated her eyes and the rose, which made her look somewhat enchanting.

She whispered, “Our mother died of heart disease. Now you can make a heart. That problem is solved. But there are many other problems.”

“I was bitten by a venomous bug and had to have an amputation because of an infection. Our father died of pneumonia… You said it was caused by a virus. Why can’t we coexist with viruses and bacteria?”

“Ryan, do you think there’s a way… some technology that lets us coexist with them? Or… I’ve always worried that if I get old and unattractive, no one will love me. But plants don’t age! If I could be like a tree or grass, could I live for ten thousand years and stay young?”

Holding the rose in her hand, Sarah turned her head to meet Ryan’s gaze.

Her eyes had a captivating power, hinting at underlying madness. “Is there a technology that can turn us into gods? Ryan, I want the roses in the world to never wither.”

……

These two memories faded away. Not only did Zhou Qian see these images, but Wu Ren did too.

Wu Ren felt he should have broken out in cold sweat, but his back was already full of leaves. He said, “Did we see all this from the perspective of the rose? Are these the rose’s memories?”

“That seems to be the case,” Zhou Qian said thoughtfully, looking at the huge red rose. Such a beautiful flower would be wonderful if it never withered. But did beauty always mean it was right?

Moments later, Wu Ren continued, “Wait… We thought that Ryan and Sarah were opposites, one pursuing science and the other magic. Ryan was a tech fanatic! He was so obsessed with his experiments that he caused accidents, created these strange plants and animals, and sent us here… but now I feel… that the real tech fanatic is Sarah?”

“You’re right,” Zhou Qian replied. “Sarah founded the Witch Association. She seems like the kind of person born to be in a cult—good at convincing people with her speeches and persuasions. She said she wanted everyone’s attention. Perhaps that’s why she founded the association. But when she realized she couldn’t achieve everything through magic… she turned to ‘technology’.”

“But Ryan is the one who’s into technology…” Wu Ren said, puzzled.

“Is it possible that Ryan is Sarah and Sarah is Ryan?” Zhou Qian suggested.

“That’s what we thought before—that Ryan is pretending to be a woman—”

Wu Ren was interrupted by Zhou Qian, “But what if… it’s not cross-dressing?”

Wu Ren: “?”

Zhou Qian lifted his hand, looked at the ink-colored grass and red rose in his palm, and whispered, “Could they have merged together?”

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The author has something to say:

Zhou Qian, did you fall for the male town mayor, the witch, or…???

Zhou Qian: ?????

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