Translator-Rhapsodite
Editor-Pierce, Proofreader-adjective
Under the overwhelming oppression of the desolate cliff wall, Jiang Fang gasped and knelt on one knee at the crossroads of shadow and light.
His mind raced as he peered at the interwoven light and shadow reflected on the grassland.
He counted all the available props in his storage.
[Silent Burst] and [Clown’s Secret] had higher value in terms of consumable physical props.
Moreover, the cliff was a layered mountainous rock that had smooth surfaces on every level—its structure has already surpassed human logic.
Using these two props in this mini-game would be unreasonable and were most likely to be wasted.
[Don’t Go Out in the Sandy Weather] and [Your Mother is Shouting at You to Wear Autumn Pants] were passive armors. Props that couldn’t be used either.
[Right Hand Light Finger Chain], in theory, should have been the most useful prop.
However, the light it would cast required a somewhat secured point to which it could be attached to.
The ground was insanely soft, and there were no towering trees on the mountain’s pinnacle.
The mountain wall was a square chunk of rock that blocked the entire path; not even a single crack was present.
The door that opened 800 meters away could be used.
However, that door was beyond Jiang Fang’s sight.
Not to mention, [Right Hand Light Finger Chain]’s light range couldn’t reach that far.
Jiang Fang even tried to use the light cast by [Right Hand Light Finger Chain] to build a ladder.
Unfortunately, according to the current level of finger chains, the light could only be used for simple purposes such as pulling, cutting, and binding.
Because the light established was faint, his plan couldn’t be achieved.
Therefore, the only prop available in his hand was a page from [Ma Liang’s Sketchbook].
Jiang Fang thought about drawing something that could easily aid him when he climbed.
But he wasn’t a professional artist.
Items like ladders could be drawn with simple strokes, and it didn’t require too much effort or skills.
However, in reality, some items could have assisted Jiang Fang in climbing such sheer cliffs at high speeds, such as helicopters. Nonetheless, Jiang Fang didn’t dare to sketch such a thing since he couldn’t ensure its safety due to his botched drawing and it could be self-defeating, wasting the remaining page in vain.
An elevator, even without mentioning the difficulty in illustrating it, the cost-effectiveness was extremely low. It would be a completely disposable product.
Even if he did draw it and use it for the current task—placing the elevator into a storage slot and taking it to the next door—how could the elevator be compatible with the new mountain wall?
He had to go through 13 doors.
He still had to open doors number 10, 11, 12, and 13 until he reached Nan Zhou.
The first time he drew the ladder, it was out of caution.
Unable to judge whether the next task would also involve rock climbing, Jiang Fang could only adopt the most stable strategy.
Jiang Fang must carefully consider the best way to maximize the remaining page.
He gazed at the blank page.
——What item could be easily drawn, with low precision and high reusability?
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.
Lf qbcvfgfv obg j ibcu alwf.
Ktfc, klat tlr cba-rb-rxliifv vgjklcu jylilas, Aljcu Mjcu ribkis jcv mjgfoeiis vgfk j yjwybb vgjubcois bc atf qjqfg jmmbgvlcu ab tlr mtlivtbbv wfwbgs.
——The bamboo dragonfly in “Doraemon” with a speed of 80 kilometers per hour; an anti-gravity device, and could be controlled by connecting with the human’s brain waves.
Ca atlr alwf, Aljcu Mjcu kjr delaf tjqqs.
Ca ifjra tf tjv j tjqqs mtlivtbbv, yjgfis ifjnlcu rbwf yfjealoei rlitbefaafr lc tlr wfwbgs.
After slightly adjusting the relevant qualities from his memory—corresponding to the current site restrictions—he drew a bamboo dragonfly while he wrote the relevant data beside it. A small bamboo dragonfly was conjured from the illustration and landed at his feet.
There was no time to lose.
Jiang Fang attached the bamboo dragonfly to his hand and began to rapidly soar at a speed of 20 meters per second.
He started to do mental arithmetics in his head, continuously distracting himself from the fear that crept in at the weightless sensation caused by the lack of gravity.
The straight line distance between each door was approximately 800 meters.
At Jiang Fang’s current speed, it would take about 40 seconds to pass through each door.
Taking into account the few seconds spent between landing in front of the door and opening it, the three-minute time restriction was a bit tight.
But it couldn’t be any faster.
20 meters per second was the limit.
If he used his physical body to advance at a speed of more than 20 meters per second, Jiang Fang would lose control of himself, and it would waste even more time.
The plan unfolded smoothly as he thought.
Jiang Fang had ample time to calculate the seconds since he simply needed to use his mind to “manipulate” the path of the bamboo dragonfly.
It took him 43 seconds to go from the ninth door to the tenth door.
After entering the tenth door, facing the cliff of about 50 meters high, Jiang Fang quickly planned the shortest path in the shortest time possible. He diagonally rushed upward, propelling to the door at full speed. Jiang Fang twisted the door handle, and opened the eleventh door almost with excessive force.
It took only 39 seconds.
After passing two doors in a row, Jiang Fang’s ability to control the bamboo dragonfly made him exceptionally proficient.
He could even lift the hem of his skirt with one hand to properly run on the cliff to give an additional boost.
Coincidentally, when the reading exceeded 120 seconds, he broke into the twelfth door in one go.
Just one door left.
And he still had a full 60 seconds to spare.
However, at the same moment when Jiang Fang pushed open the twelfth door, there was a sudden change.
A cliff wall was within proximity of the door. As soon as the door was opened, it aggressively deterred Jiang Fang, overwhelming him.
Fortunately, Jiang Fang’s reflexes and nerves were amazing. He stomped on the wide rock wall with his leg with his full strength, barely halting his entire body from slamming against the cliff wall.
Because of the violent backlash, his ankles were slightly numb from the shock.
——In front of him was no longer a cliff wall where one couldn’t clearly see the summit.
It was a secluded, deep and serene canyon. It was composed of many meandering parallel lines, which reached the heavens.
It was no longer the cliff that stretched vertically as before.
He must dive into the “labyrinth”-like canyon before him and find his own path!
Jiang Fang’s expression changed upon first glance!
Not only because of the sudden change of terrain but also because of the unexpected shock just now. He missed a few seconds and forgot to continue counting the seconds.
A few seconds of error… might lead to grave consequences.
But there was no spare time for him to waste!
Jiang Fang calmed his mind, gritted his teeth, and plunged headlong into the deep curved gorge.
Actually, a mountainous canyon would typically be dark and humid with scarcely an inch of grass growing.
A line of turquoise blue sky emerged in front of Jiang Fang’s eyes, marginally seen in between the crevices of the mountain peaks.
The walls were verdant, and the highlands were full of flowers.
It was exceptionally peaceful yet eerie.
The incredibly vivid colors of red, green, and blue pricked his eyes from every direction, making it hard for him to distinguish the correct path.
And the worst thing had happened.
The inside was actually a maze of canyons.
Jiang Fang simply could neither find a mountain wall to ascend, nor a doorway to pass through.
The only thing that remained the same was to make one mistake after another.
Dead end.
Dead end!
Dead end!!
Every time he rushed out of the dead-end canyon, Jiang Fang’s heart rate would throb at a higher frequency.
As time passed by, Jiang Fang’s heartbeat became faster and harder to control.
The sense of weightlessness underneath his feet became increasingly intense.
A suffocating fear emanated from the wind, coming from the foot of a mountain from an unknown location. It carried with it a sort of faint, hellish chill.
Jiang Fang didn’t know if he would see his way around the next corner.
He didn’t know when the bamboo dragonfly would run out of time and vanish, sending him plummeting from a hundred-feet-high cliff.
Not knowing whether to give up or to move forward.
——I don’t know. I don’t know anything!
In the sharp back and forth between fear and hope, Jiang Fang even had the illusion that he was about to drown mid-air.
The closer the time limit approached, the quicker his heart began to pound.
Jiang Fang’s eyes became obscured by a layer of black mist, making it hard for him to properly see the road ahead.
He clenched his teeth, drew his dagger, and made a gash on the back of his hand. It was the arm holding the bamboo dragonfly, attempting to “force” himself to stay conscious with pain.
However, perhaps his muscles were too tense, the expected pain didn’t come.
According to his calculations, the bamboo dragonfly would disappear after 12 seconds.
He only had 12 seconds left to find the thirteenth door.
No, it should be 10 seconds.
Because there was no way to tell whether the time he missed was five seconds or three seconds.
Even a slight miscalculation of two seconds could mean that if he didn’t handle it well, he would fall at least 40 meters to the ground.
Jiang Fang pursed his lips and mechanically counted the passing seconds. However, the memory of his father’s face when he fell into that deep stream right in front of Jiang Fang’s eyes kept replaying in his mind.
That warm, smiling face had plunged uncontrollably only a few steps away from where he had stood.
The free-floating body slowly condensed into a black spot which was the size of a needle.
No longer visible.
The distance of nearly 100 meters underfoot seemed to carry an infinite magnetic attraction. A black, vortex-like airflow that was sucking downward.
——… Was simply tempting him… To jump down… Just jump down.
When he was about to be seized by this inexplicable temptation, a clear voice suddenly sounded at the tip of Jiang Fang’s chaotic heart.
“… Are you afraid of heights?”
——That was when Nan Zhou had just joined the team and was still being feared by those of his teammates.
When the two of them were alone, Nan Zhou noticed that Jiang Fang refused to go near the window.
Jiang Fang never talked about his weaknesses to others. There were times when he had to do high-altitude tasks. However, he would always endure his fear and move forward. But in front of Nan Zhou, contrary to the norm, he had admitted his shortcomings, “… Yes.”
Nan Zhou curiously asked, “Why?”
Jiang Fang, “Don’t you think something like gravity is scary? It makes everything fall out of control. As if everything is predestined.”
Nan Zhou, “Ah…”
Nan Zhou, “I also fell down from the roof, picked up the apple, and met you. It was also destined.”
Thinking about this memory, Jiang Fang’s mind suddenly became clear.
Perhaps, Nan Zhou was really his auspicious refuge.
When the black mist slowly dissipated in front of Jiang Fang’s eyes, he suddenly discovered that there was a thirteenth door inlaid on the rock wall. It was about 150 meters away from his line of sight.
——The last door.
However, Jiang Fang didn’t choose to rush to that door in a desperate attempt.
He chose to land quickly.
Sure enough, Jiang Fang regained his ability to judge. His sixth sense played a significant part in alerting him to the danger.
When he was still about ten meters from the ground, the bamboo dragonfly on his hand completely disappeared.
Under the forceful impact, Jiang Fang stumbled and harshly landed on the ground.
He sat on the ground, gripping his injured knees and waiting for the tinnitus to go away. Then he stood up and took a step back, fine sweat on his forehead. Jiang Fang looked at the door between the 100-meter-high cliffs.
… If he had just rushed forward, he would have fallen from a height of tens of meters from the door, with nothing to grip on and his body would have been squashed.
After thinking about this, Jiang Fang, however, did not relax.
He began to think about the odd feeling that had been vaguely present since the beginning of this game.
Jiang Fang had just experienced the weightlessness of his crazy fall and the tidal wave of fear that came over him.
His fingertips were still trembling slightly.
This cliff was obviously very dangerous.
Its height has fully met the conditions for death caused by “external environmental forces”.
… So, why did the blonde say that there was no “foreign object” threatening the life and safety of the “Princess” in the game?
Maybe he’s in his own head living out his worst fears? 🤔
And what did everyone think he was going to draw? I was thinking along the lines of wings, to be honest.
Thanks for the chapter.
Thank you for the chapter!
Well, who said she couldn’t lie?? Also, I still believe our two other friends might be in danger while waiting with the Princess 😱
Thank you for the update!
Oh my goodness, Nan Zhou is his flag!
Thank you for new chapter
thanks for the chapter <3
I never thought I’ll be able to see a Doraemon gadget in a novel one day but why didn’t he just draw anywhere door tho…
For the ✨plot✨