Entering the movie theater, Xia Bai felt the grip on his calf loosen as Guo Yang let go.
Following Ma Tongfeng into the movie was a decision he had made on his own, without intending for others to take the risk with him. He didn’t mind if they all let go.
Then, he felt his calf being embraced again.
Without looking back, he knew who it was. The arms and tiny hands around his leg were trembling incessantly, and he could feel tears dripping on his ankle.
Hiding under the chair with his ears covered, trembling, and silently crying out of fear, in this child, he saw what it meant to be “fragile, pitiable, and helpless.”
Hearing Guo Yang’s words, Xia Bai’s hand, reaching for corpse-suppressing talismans, froze in shock.
Erwa must be the child Guo Yang was calling out to in the movie theater’s hallway.
The cowardly little one clutching his leg, crying softly, was the player with the highest combat potential?
After the initial shock, it somehow made sense.
Erwa hailed from Qili Village, where the Game Management Bureau said the anomalies first appeared. Could this tiny Erwa be one of the first players to emerge? Was he one of the most veteran players?
Yet here he was, shuddering, afraid even to hold on to someone, trembling and shedding tears.
A fool was ranked first on the leaderboard.
A coward was the strongest among the players.
Xia Bai paused for a second, then took out three corpse-suppressing talismans from his pocket. After moistening them with his lips, he swiftly affixed them to the ghost’s hand. As the hand smoked and shriveled, he told the others, “Jump!”
He immediately let go of Ma Tongfeng’s leg, plunging into the lake with the child and Guo Yang following.
With the ghost hand shriveling, Ma Tongfeng had his chance to escape, though it was uncertain if he wished to take it.
As he released his leg, Xia Bai asked him, “Don’t you want to find her body and give her a proper burial?”
After speaking, he fell into the lake, closing his mouth and eyes just before the water could rush in, holding the child tight and swimming forward desperately.
It took two to three minutes for Xia Bai to surface, lifting the child out and pinching his purpling face, urging him to “Breathe, breathe.”
The child, trembling, opened his eyes, glanced at Xia Bai, then looked away, unsure how to breathe.
Xia Bai said, “…Exhale. Do you understand? Exhale.”
Without waiting for the child’s response, Xia Bai placed his index finger on the child’s nose and his thumb on his chin, opening up a passage for air, watching the child breathe a few times before holding him and swimming forward again.
At this time in the movie world, it was dusk, and the light was dimming. Under the cover of the tree shadows, Xia Bai managed to escape the ghost girl’s field of vision.
Lakes on the island are generally not large; this was an irregularly shaped lake surrounded by uneven woodland. The woods provided a safer and better hiding place from the ghost girl than the lake. He swam with the child toward the nearest tree stretching into the lake, seeking refuge in the woods.
In the movie, it was the height of summer. The forest, though not large, had the feel of a tropical rainforest with tall trees and dense, lush branches. Xia Bai easily found a secluded spot.
As soon as he put the child down, the child hid behind a tree.
Xia Bai: “…”
Xia Bai, letting him stay hidden, skillfully climbed a tree and picked a few wild pears, tossing two of them to the kid.
Guo Yang and Ma Tongfeng quickly found their way over. Guo Yang looked okay, just sitting beside them, drenched and gasping for breath. Ma Tongfeng, on the other hand, was covered in blood. He already sported knife wounds on his back, and now that he had been further mauled by the ghostly hand, his state appeared rather horrifying.
There was no drinkable water available, so Xia Bai gave them a few pears.
Guo Yang took a pear, and only after seeing the child standing safely against the tree did he start to eat voraciously.
Ma Tongfeng held the pear in his hand but didn’t eat it. After catching his breath for a while, he said, “My life isn’t worth it.”
These words were meant for Xia Bai—he was talking about how he had risked his life to save him.
He didn’t think it was worth it.
Xia Bai stated, “There is no distinction in the value of a life,” with the same tone one would use to say that humans needed food and water to survive.
Finally, an expression other than numb emptiness appeared on Ma Tongfeng’s face, one of pain, yet not quite.
He believed his life was cheap, a belief not just held by others but even by himself, having discarded his dignity and lived as if his life was worthless.
As a child, after being hit by a car, the other party paid compensation, but he was deemed not worthy of the expense of proper medical treatment and became lame.
As a useless cripple, from his time at school, to dropping out of elementary school, to entering society, he was always the butt of jokes, meant to be bullied.
He wasn’t meant to stand tall; groveling, begging on his knees, and acting shamelessly were his norm.
Even in death, he would be wrapped up in some bedding and his body would be discarded.
Truly worthless.
The one time he genuinely wished no one would care about his life, someone risked theirs to save him.
Xia Bai stared at him for a few seconds, blinked, then suddenly stuffed a pear into his hand, whispering, “Uncle, if you die, can I have your body? I can take you home.”
Guo Yang: “…”
Speaking softly didn’t mean that Guo Yang couldn’t hear!
Guo Yang had originally comforted himself, thinking that Xia Bai wanting his body must mean there was something appealing about it, just as he later wanted Erwa’s. Erwa had the strongest physical skills among players.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Cr la aegcfv bea, tf kjrc’a qlmxs ja jii. Lf’v ajxf jcsbcf tf mjwf jmgbrr, lcmievlcu j rxliifrr, oloas-sfjg-biv’r.
Vfflcu tlr jaalaevf, Xeb Tjcu gfjrbcjyis vbeyafv atf rlcmfglas lc Wlj Djl’r lclalji gfdefra obg tlr mbgqrf.
Mlgra alwf? Olxf tfii!
Vfflcu Wlj Djl tfgblmjiis vlnf abkjgvr tlw, kts vlv tf ifa tlwrfio offi wbnfv? Wlj Djl kjr qgbyjyis pera kbgglfv jybea tlr ybvs ufaalcu vjwjufv!
He couldn’t see his shining soul at all!
Ma Tongfeng’s reaction was different. He murmured to Xia Bai, “Home? You’ll bring me home?”
He and He Jiaxiu had planned to go home.
On a chilly autumn night, with the wind howling outside the window and steam rising from the pear soup in the pot by the bed under the warm light, they had spent the whole night discussing how they would build their home, what vegetables they would plant in the yard, and how they would spend their twilight years there, finally having a place to belong.
It was his idea to have a date before going home, even though he knew it wasn’t safe outside.
They could never go home now.
Ma Tongfeng’s eyes reddened again, and he quickly grabbed Xia Bai, “Can you take Jiaxiu with us? Can you bring the two of us home together?”
His grip was strong, causing Xia Bai some pain. Xia Bai looked at his face, filled with sorrow and on the verge of tears, pursed his lips, and shook his head.
It was too late.
If only he had asked while He Jiaxiu was still alive.
But there were no “ifs” left.
“I’m sorry.”
Ma Tongfeng’s hand slid off Xia Bai’s arm.
A breeze passed, casting shifting tree shadows over their somber, silent faces.
Guo Yang rubbed his head, called out “Erwa,” and cautiously approached the tree next to him, obsequiously offering a pear, “Erwa, I was a bit loud earlier, don’t mind me.”
Xia Bai looked over, asking, “Is Erwa the student from the Qili Village elementary school photo?”
Even the heartbroken Ma Tongfeng looked up in surprise.
Hearing Xia Bai mention him, the revealed section of a pair of white trousers hastily ducked behind the tree.
“That’s right, he’s the kid from Qili Village elementary who got pulled into the game, and the only one who survived that ordeal,” Guo Yang said, his young face filled with a fatherly mix of worry and concern, as he looked helplessly at the tiny bit of white showing behind the tree.
Xia Bai didn’t understand where this worry and concern came from, “You’ve known him for a long time?”
“Of course!” Guo Yang said, “I’m very familiar with every member of their strike team!”
“…”
“You see, Qili Village was the first documented case of a game, confirmed because of Erwa,” Guo Yang said.
He hadn’t intended to say much, but when he recalled how Erwa wanted to approach Xia Bai in the hallway but was too scared and how he always snuck glances at Xia Bai, Guo Yang decided to share more for his idol’s sake, considering Erwa’s identity was almost public knowledge among the players anyway.
“After the students of Qili Village elementary disappeared without a trace, no useful clues were found until the Game Management Bureau discovered Erwa in a corner of the school on the fourth day after their disappearance.”
“The Game Management Bureau learned some details about Erwa from the villagers. Erwa’s mother had lost a child before him to a difficult birth and never got over it, so he was named ‘“Erwa”’ in memory.”
Losing her first child and desperately wanting the second, she was extra careful. Everything was normal for the first three months, but then she started having frequent seizures.
“It was eclampsia, requiring termination of the pregnancy as she couldn’t provide enough nutrients to the fetus. But having lost one child, she refused to give up, choosing to die as long as her child could have a chance at life. She succeeded, at the cost of her own life.”
“Erwa was just over two pounds at birth and was rushed to the emergency room, enduring much suffering and coming close to death multiple times, depleting all the family’s savings. Struggling to make ends meet, they ultimately abandoned him in a wheat field, yet he lived.”
“However, he was always physically weaker and much smaller than his peers, with an exceptionally timid nature, like a newborn sparrow facing the unfamiliar world, easily frightened and startled.”
Xia Bai looked at the few small fingers peeking out from behind the tree, remembering the boy in the photo, so small, too small even for a first-grader.
“He wasn’t actually a student at Qili Village elementary. No one sent him to school, and he wasn’t old enough for first grade. He just sneaked in to watch them do their PE exercises and got swept into the game.”
“When the Bureau of Anomaly Management took him in, all they could get out of him about the game were just the two words ‘a game.’”
“Later, in order to get more information from him, a researcher recreated the scene captured in a nighttime photo taken by a journalist, using a fake ghost hand to pull on his neck and hair upwards.”
Xia Bai’s expression remained unreadable, while Ma Tongfeng’s brows were deeply furrowed. “And then?”
“After crying out for three hours, the Research Institute turned into ruins, and the Hongchong Mountain, where the institute was located, experienced a seismic crack equivalent to a 7.8 magnitude earthquake.”
Guo Yang was once again reminded of the shock he felt when he first saw that photo.
He had heard that some pregnant women have thinner blood vessels during eclampsia, and Erwa’s mother was no exception. Erwa was the same, making it difficult for nurses to find his veins even now.
Those same delicate and fragile blood vessels connected to countless roots underground, growing into a force of enduring power and terrifying vitality, much like the mountain ranges of his birth village.
Xia Bai was stunned. “Erwa is the third-ranked ‘Tree Planter’ on the leaderboard?”
Guo Yang nodded. “Yes, although he rarely uses his ability, every member of the strike team takes him into the game to train him. He has entered the game more times than any other player, which is why his score is quite high.”
So, when they said he was the star of the strike team, it wasn’t just because he appeared in the Game Management Bureau’s educational videos about the game. It was also because he was often seen in the games, making him well-known among many players.
Xia Bai clarified, “Train him?”
“After coming out of the Research Institute, Erwa became even more timid. He’s afraid of anyone who gets close to him,” Guo Yang said.
“His problem isn’t just timidity. As a powerful player, he lacks basic understanding of society and the game, not to mention common knowledge. After all, he lived in such an isolated small mountain village without ever going to school.”
“What’s more troublesome is that he refuses to use his powers. Only when facing the fear and danger of near-death situations does he unleash his abilities.”
“The members of the strike team take turns bringing him out to learn about the world, increase his knowledge, build his courage, and encourage him to use his powers in the game. Three years on, the results are there, but they’re very limited.”
Xia Bai, with a rigid expression, asked, “The method they use to encourage him to use his abilities isn’t by continually putting him in danger, is it?”
Guo Yang opened his mouth to retort, not allowing such criticism of the strike team, but then he closed it.
He said gloomily, “The researcher was punished, and the people from the strike team definitely wouldn’t stimulate Erwa like that. However, it’s true that he only uses his powers when extremely terrified or in grave danger, so they do need to provide some level of stimulation.”
Indeed, they had no other choice.
Guo Yang, who had been paying attention the strike team and the games for so long, couldn’t simply explain in a few words how crucial Erwa’s abilities were for their society. With games becoming more frequent, a city could fall in a single night in the not-too-distant future.
If someone took Erwa into a game, they would have to force themselves to be cold-blooded, actively or passively putting him in danger to stimulate his use of abilities under those perilous conditions.
After saying this, Guo Yang turned to see Erwa cautiously peeking at Xia Bai.
He remembered how Erwa had looked at Xia Bai in the cinema corridor.
For many years, having been terrified in the face of danger countless times, Xia Bai was the only one who had immediately saved him.
Guo Yang felt a complex mix of emotions.
He said to Xia Bai, “Erwa is really timid. When he saw you getting pulled into the movie, he still held onto your leg, trying to pull you back.”
Erwa immediately ducked his head.
Xia Bai remarked, “But Erwa seems to be afraid of me. Why is that?”
Hearing the name “Erwa” coming from Xia Bai’s lips, the little feet behind the tree shuffled slightly.
Guo Yang replied, “He’s always been extremely timid, and maybe liking someone makes him even more so?”
Xia Bai was also puzzled.
He didn’t get it.
Briefly finishing the discussion about Erwa during their rest, Guo Yang suggested, “Shouldn’t we watch the [movie] now, so we don’t miss any critical scenes?”
Finally, Ma Tongfeng spoke again, “I want to find Jiaxiu’s body first.”
They all knew the islanders were cannibals; the people they had killed earlier had their bodies taken away by them. It was nearly dark now; if they didn’t hurry, they might not even find Jiaxiu’s remains. Even if they moved now, it was hard to say if they would be able to find her.
Guo Yang sighed sorrowfully, “I also want to find Ling Changye’s body to give him a proper burial.”
After all, he was his idol and hero, someone who fought for all humanity in his heart. He couldn’t accept that such a barbaric group had consumed him. Even in death, there should be some dignity.
Xia Bai remembered the perfect corpse he had stitched together in the orthopedic hospital, picked out from a mountain of bodies. The thought of it being torn apart and eaten by barbarians displeased him too.
How could they treat a corpse like that?
Even if he wasn’t influenced by the movie’s mental contamination and the segment of the movie meant just for him, Xia Bai would still be angry.
He also wanted to search for these two bodies.
Guo Yang added, “But might we miss too much of the movie’s plot? And without a god’s-eye view now, we might need to visit the explorers, islanders, and the campus belle’s perspectives. But she’s terrifying… It’s tough.”
Xia Bai lowered his eyes, acknowledging the difficulty.
It was tough for them, and tough for him too.
Having three requests for corpses turned down in a row forced Xia Bai to rethink his approach to signing corpses.
Directly asking like this indeed made people suspicious. With his soul skill being so peculiar, no one would easily agree, just as Guo Yang said. Who knows if agreeing might lead to their becoming a corpse or hastening their death?
He had also considered inviting people at the brink of death, which might be slightly better, but it was still not safe.
He knew he cherished corpses and wouldn’t mistreat them. In his view, this was mutually beneficial overall, but the other party might not see it that way. This was similar to the situation with anatomy professors at medical schools, where many who initially agreed to donate their bodies would retract their permission before death.
The deeply ingrained belief in keeping one’s body intact for reincarnation prevents many from handing over their corpses to strangers, uncertain of what will be done to their remains.
Given their predicament, none of them, except perhaps Erwa with his untapped skill, stood a chance against the campus belle.
Xia Bai reached into his pocket, touching the corpse-suppressing talismans and corpse-controlling talismans he carried. On the afternoon he decided to volunteer for support, he went home to collect these talismans, always ensuring he had enough on him for any unexpected game encounters. They were precious—the corpse-controlling talismans especially so—but they were consumables, while his skill was a growing one, which would likely surpass the utility of the talismans once developed.
Xia Bai proposed, “Should we split up?”
Guo Yang agreed, “That’s what I was thinking.”
Turning to Ma Tongfeng, Guo Yang suggested, “How about this…?”
“Just call me Old Ma,” Ma Tongfeng interjected.
He appeared to be in his 50s, with life’s hardships etched into his features, making him seem older than he might actually be.
Guo Yang laid out the plan: “Old Ma, since you’ve never been in a game, you take the safest route with the explorers. While observing their actions, look for Jiaxiu’s body.”
Ma Tongfeng had no objections.
Guo Yang continued, “Xia Bai, you follow the islanders, and I’ll deal with the campus belle?”
Xia Bai offered, “I can also take the campus belle.”
They all knew the campus belle was the most terrifying entity, a vengeful spirit filled with bitterness.
Guo Yang chuckled, “Don’t worry, I have ways to protect myself, and if it comes to it, I can always run away.”
Xia Bai glanced at him, aware only of Guo Yang’s black dagger, seemingly a skill-enhanced item. The other likely had more up his sleeve.
Guo Yang added, “The islanders won’t be easy either. The campus belle may be fearsome, but she’s just one entity, while the islanders are many. And considering that Gu Quankun, who has skills, was forced to flee from them, the islanders might be stronger than we think. Be careful, and don’t show mercy in the face of danger.”
Xia Bai corrected him, “That’s not right.”
Guo Yang asked, “What’s not right?”
Xia Bai stated, “Thinking like that isn’t right. We can’t just kill people indiscriminately.”
A chill ran down Guo Yang’s spine as he realized what Xia Bai meant.
Clearly, they were now in a situation with the islanders, explorers, and the campus belle forming opposing factions.
To clear the game, they needed to unravel the movie’s story. If they were to harm the islanders, altering the balance of power, would the movie’s plot proceed as intended? Where then would they watch the original story unfold?
This damned game was fraught with dead ends, with the path to survival barely visible.
Xia Bai clarified, “We’re just here to watch the movie. We can’t affect the major plot developments. We should remain bystanders as much as possible, ensuring our safety first.”
As the last traces of sunset vanished from the darkening sky, a cool breeze broke through the day’s heat, brushing refreshingly against their faces, making everything feel as real as any place in their world.
For a moment, they almost believed this place to be real.
But this movie world wasn’t theirs to change.
Guo Yang, looking back at Xia Bai’s serious expression, nodded in agreement, “You’re right. Let’s all be careful. Let’s use this forest as our base camp. If we can’t find each other, we’ll meet back here.”
As they set off on their assigned tasks, Guo Yang pulled Erwa from behind the tree, intending to have Erwa accompany him. He still didn’t feel comfortable leaving Erwa with the enigmatic Xia Bai.
The group headed towards the forest’s edge, with Xia Bai walking on the far left.
Erwa, initially clinging to the hem of Guo Yang’s right pant leg, shifted to the left when he caught Xia Bai’s gaze, only to scurry to the right again after a brief encounter with Xia Bai’s eyes.
Xia Bai: “……”
Nighttime provided the perfect cover. After they separated at the edge of the forest, Xia Bai used his knowledge of the island’s layout from the movie and the dim light of night to stealthily infiltrate the area where the islanders lived.
The flow of time in the movie world differed from the outside world; ten minutes of screen time could equate to a day or just a few minutes in the movie world. Xia Bai arrived just as a conflict sparked by the islanders’ cannibalistic acts towards the students came to an end.
The college students in the exploration team stood no chance against the barbaric islanders, and three more of them were killed, while the rest fled swiftly.
Seizing the opportunity while the islanders pursued them, Xia Bai quietly approached the bodies of the three recently deceased students, placing a corpse-controlling talisman behind each of their heads.
He didn’t spare the bodies that the islanders had partially consumed or those freshly mutilated, applying a talisman to each.
Fearing discovery, he hid immediately after finishing.
The moment the corpse-controlling talismans were affixed, a faint light briefly illuminated, and Xia Bai felt as if he’d established a link with the corpses, instinctively understanding how to communicate with them.
He marveled at his grandfather’s formidable skill as he mentally commanded both intact and damaged corpses to hide.
He stayed behind to clean up, picking up organs that had fallen out and wiping away the blood trails they had left.
Hearing the islanders returning, Xia Bai quickly hid behind two large barrels.
“Where are the bodies? Why are the bodies gone?”
“It must be those cunning outsiders! They took their companions’ bodies while we were away!”
“Hurry! Check if those six sacrifices are still there!”
From the gap between two barrels, Xia Bai watched two islanders rush into the central hut.
“They’re here! The chief and the others are still here!”
“Let’s pull them out now. They’re chosen by the gods. We’ll tie them up on the altar first.”
Then Xia Bai saw them dragging out several bodies from the hut. Recognizing the middle-aged woman numbered 1, he knew these were players who had died in the movie.
Following He Jiaxiu was a familiar figure: Ling Changye, the man Xia Bai had expertly stitched together in the orthopedic hospital.
Even though he was as drained of blood as the others, he stood out among the corpses. His height and physique were part of it, but mainly, he didn’t appear as stiff and ashen as the other bodies, somewhat resembling Xia Bai’s Xishen at home.
Xia Bai swallowed hard. That man was indeed a prime specimen among corpses.
His attention wholly captivated by Ling Changye’s body, he meticulously observed from head to toe and back again, only to notice a slight tremble in Ling Changye’s ring finger.
Baffled by the sight, a question mark popped over Xia Bai’s head.
The author has something to say:
Xia Bai: As expected of the man (x) corpse (?) I like
Nahh Xia Bai you’re crazy for not even letting a corpse off/j 😭
I wonder— if the lady comes back as a ghost and gives her consent, could Xia Bai take her home? Is consent before death important because of the ‘before’ part or just because usually death means an end to being able to give consent?
Such a loophole seems unlikely but fingers crossed.
Thanks for the chapter!
Thanks for the chapter!!
Please let there be a miracle for Ma Tongfeng and He Jiaxiu 😭😭😭 They deserve a happy ending!
I agreeeee
Gracias por los capítulos!!!❤❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Ahahaha thank you for the chapter!!🩷
Xia Bai: 😍 What a perfect cor-
LCY: twitches
Xia Bai: …? 🤨
Aaah poor kid, that’s a rough way to live, and its been 3 years too! Its normal to turn timid and cowardly!
Thank you for the chapter
Thank you for the chapter! ❤