The Trial Game of Life

Jin Cheng, who didn’t like sweets, eventually managed to steal the small bowl of ice cream from Tang Cuo. In front of the zombies who were ‘salivating’ outside and the other players who were tasting only sourness in their mouths, he finished eating.

Many people in Yong Ye City gritted their teeth at Jin Cheng, probably because he did similar things on a regular basis. For example, now, as soon as Scarlet came out of jail, the living corpses were making trouble everywhere in Yong Ye City. And while everyone was feeling either simulated, fretful or nervous due to the 2nd Movement, Jin Cheng, the man who sat right at the center of the vortex was — head over heels in love.

In earnest, the players just wanted to grab his collar and tell him “there’s no love in Yong Ye City”, but as they cast a glance at those two, some sourness subconsciously rose in their hearts. Because love now seemed to really exist.

Tang Cuo, a brave man who dared to fall in love with the big boss while emanating an aura that was nowhere lesser than his significant other, truly could renew his impression in the players’ hearts over and over again.

For example, when he pushed the remaining half cup of ice cream to Jin Cheng, the players behind him had no idea what he whispered to the other, but, with an icy cold glance, Jin Cheng completely shut up.

Jin Cheng sitting opposite him ate the strawberry ice cream leisurely, leaning on the back of the chair, tilting his legs and biting the spoon between his lips, all while watching the scene before his eyes with a smile, even looking rather smug.

The players were cursing “these dead gays” inwardly when the living corpses outside finally slammed on the door for the hundredth time, and they were eventually brought down by the players who couldn’t stand them any further.

In the end, a player who sat three tables away from Tang Cuo stood up, clenched his fists, gathered all his courage to walk in front of them and asked: “May I ask what are the two of you really planning? Scarlet is terrifying. We have to find a way to get the 2nd Movement before her. If she really gets it, I, we…”

Jin Cheng sluggishly looked up, but Tang Cuo continued to eat nonchalantly. Jin Cheng admired the sight for a while before slowly turning to ask the player: “Do you represent yourself, or whom?” 

The player was taken aback and swept a glance at the other people in the restaurant. Most of them remained silent, but some people got up and said: “I want to know too.”

At this time, the door blocked by the living corpses flicked open. The windows were now full of players, all their faces drenched in curiosity.

The one who opened his mouth first turned out to be Tang Cuo, whom none of the players was familiar with: “Scarlet has said it clearly. A year ago, the four people who made a move on her were Jin Cheng, Lin Yandong, Chong Yanzhang and Rong Yi. If you want to know about the whereabouts of the 2nd Movement, you shouldn’t just keep your eyes on Jin Cheng alone.”

With his utterly light tone and his completely calm expression, coupled with that naturally deceptive face, he easily made everyone feel relaxed, believe in what he said and follow along his words to think carefully.

“But the others…” The players showed an aching expression.

“Of course, the movement is not necessarily in the hands of one of the four of them. At that time, the situation was such a mess, so it wasn’t surprising for someone to want to fish in troubled waters.” Tang Cuo turned around and made everyone look at each other, left with no choice but to keep listening to him: “Jin Cheng told me that there was another person there, maybe he took the movement. Am I right?”

This very last sentence was a question Tang Cuo posed to Jin Cheng.

Jin Cheng blinked. Receiving Tang Cuo’s signal, he nodded: “That’s right. He has a card in his hand — ‘The Second Law’ of the card series [Four Laws of Thermodynamics]: ‘The entropy of an isolated system not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time’. Because this card is unique and only a single piece exists, I remember it very clearly.” 

The players all showed an expression that was half enlightened yet half confused. They knew about the card, but What [Four Laws of Thermodynamics]? What a headache!

Tang Cuo didn’t care if these people indeed would head out to find the movement on their own accord; he just wanted to blow up all the fish in the pond. Scarlet wanted to snatch the 2nd Movement, so let him use the 2nd Movement to snatch her phylactery.

This ‘Thermodynamics’ card was actually in Jin Cheng’s own hands, but no one knew this except for the people in his team. The existence of a card was true, but the specifics regarding the card were a lie. The person holding the card to hide the phylactery wasn’t necessarily the one who took the 2nd Movement. With everyone caught in the chaos of truths and lies, there wouldn’t be a better chance to dynamite-fish the target.

As long as the people hiding in the dark heard the news and started panicking, they were bound to make mistakes.

If Wen Xiaoming was really captured somewhere, the worse the turmoil in the city became, the safer he would be.

At the same time, in a dungeon inside Zone G, [Descent of Gods and Demons].

In the horizon full of golden sand, under the fiery sun, Lin Yandong walked forward like an ascetic monk. He didn’t walk fast, and one by one, his steps steadily left a trail of footprints behind, his face an expression of both resolution and compassion. The scorching sun burnt the golden sand then the soles of his feet; the blazing heat caused beads of sweat to roll down his forehead, drip into the golden sand and immediately evaporate into thin air after a soft ‘patter’.

He walked forward without any signs of stopping at all, as though going on his pilgrimage.

Under the scorching sun that was like a punishment, time was stretched indefinitely, completely letting go of the quantification it was meant to provide. A long time later, when the heatwave began to blur his line of sight, in the distance, at the point where the sea of sand and the horizon met, a dark shadow appeared.

The shadow was jagged at the edge, its size small at first before slowly magnifying in his eyes. Like an ancient beast lying on the edge of Heaven and Earth that finally opened its fathomless mouth, the shadow bestowed a glimpse of the dark night’s true shape.

But if one looked carefully, he would discover that the jagged-edged shadow was standing next to a lotus flower.

Lying at the edge of the sky was a giant double-petaled pink lotus with the flower facing downwards. Each petal was incredibly large, so much so that it could cover the entire sky. The lotus’ receptacle was the sun, engulfed in a shade of gold glowing so dazzlingly that people couldn’t look at it directly, as though its mere existence was too sacred for them to bat an eye.

Lin Yandong piously lowered his gaze and walked under the flower, until the shadow cast over him, dyeing his eyes with a tint of solemnity.

The lotus kept moving, and the shadow continued to magnify, slowly revealing the towering stone statues hidden in the blackness. Those were demons with their feet caught in the abyss and their heads shouldering the sky. Each of them was moving in a different way and carrying a different expression; some were holding round mirrors, while some had three heads and six arms, all with the posture similar to that of a Buddha, but the guise they had on was very fierce.

In front of these huge figures, humans were as small as a grain of sand. Their soul was relentlessly pressed into this grain of sand, making them so close to lying flat on the ground, ready to sink into it at any moment. 

At this point, Lin Yandong lifted his gaze. As he looked directly into those colossal demons’ eyes, chants in Sanskrit suddenly rumbled in the air.

The Six-Character Mantra that was as thunderous as a lion’s roar came from all directions, the loudness of which was comparable to the gods and demons beating the boundless drum made of Heaven and Earth with a giant drumstick, sending a shockwave through Lin Yandong’s heart.

The lotus finally disappeared. Lin Yandong hugged his chest and raised his eyes to look around, and surrounding him were sky-high statues of demons, their raging, gaping eyes gazing down upon him. The Six-Character Mantra continued to sound as if interrogating him.

It constantly oppressed him and constantly asked questions, until blood started dripping from the corner of his mouth.

The immense extent to which the lotus sun was scorching was exactly how icy cold it felt at the moment.

Lin Yandong finally came to a halt and sat cross-legged on the ground; the prayer beads on his wrists fell off and hung at the base of his thumb. He closed his eyes like an old monk trying to enter the peak of concentration.

[Descent of Gods and Demons], a single-player dungeon that required the player to survive 49 lotus suns.

In Yong Ye City, Meng Yufei aimlessly followed Jiang He, having absolutely zero idea where he was heading. Reaching this point, almost no new living corpses were turning up and the city had returned to its usual calmness. But under this calmness, an undercurrent was seemingly seething.

Meng Yufei’s eyebrows creased as his expression paled into annoyance.

“Hey, where are we going?” Towards Jiang He, he didn’t have as much fear as he had towards Zheng Yingying, even though Jiang He was actually much stronger than the little girl.

Not giving him any answer, Jiang He continued to move forward. In fact, he was just walking randomly without a clear direction, because he knew that that person would find him sooner or later.

Seeing that he didn’t answer, Meng Yufei pursed his lips, clutched his scimitar tightly and stopped paying attention to him.

Soon, the two left Zone E and entered Zone F.

Zone F was a place that made Meng Yufei feel miserable. Here, he formed a cursed connection with Zheng Yingying and was killed by Jin Cheng in the dungeon. There truly weren’t any good memories. So after entering Zone F, Meng Yufei’s expression became particularly unsightly.

He even wanted to abandon Jiang He and leave by himself, but every time he moved a little further away, Jiang He’s eyes immediately swept over. Meng Yufei’s strength certainly wasn’t enough to defeat the Mist Assassin.

He didn’t want to go to jail anymore, but he didn’t want to just follow Jiang He around like a headless fly, and as such, he could only feel so very disgruntled. His two feet turned around and entered a hot and sour noodle shop on the side of the road.

He sat down, refusing to move.

Jiang He turned his head back to see Meng Yufei raise an eyebrow and spoke to the aunt who sold hot and sour noodles: “A bowl of hot and sour noodles, please put it on his tab.”

Of course, ‘his tab’ referred to Jiang He’s. Meng Yufei wasn’t afraid in the slightest. Let’s see who should be afraid of whom. 

To his surprise, Jiang He didn’t refute. He hesitated outside the building for a moment, and finally, he walked into the shop and sat opposite Meng Yufei before ordering another bowl of hot and sour noodles.

“Are you sick in the head?” Meng Yufei asked.

“If you don’t want to eat, just shut up.” Jiang He took his chopsticks and wiped them carefully with a paper towel soaked in water. Seeing him like this, he looked much more like a hot and sour noodle connoisseur than Meng Yufei.

A while later, the hot and sour noodles were placed on the table, and the two men were separated by the steam rising from the soup bowls. The scene remained very harmonious for a moment, until an uninvited customer opened the glass door.

The shop originally had only two customers, Jiang He and Meng Yufei, which suggested that business wasn’t super good.

The third customer wore a tattered red dress, with long hair that barely reached her waist and a face that was as pale as a sheet, but her eyes were exceptionally mesmerising. The most special thing was that she was shackled on her wrists and ankles, and with every move she made, a clinking sound could be heard.

Scarlet.

Meng Yufei’s entire scalp went numb as he choked on his hot and sour noodles, and a terrible cough immediately broke out. He clutched his throat, his face flushed from coughing and his eyes became bloodshot. He was so stunned that no words could come out.

“What’s wrong with this xiao ge? Are you choking?” His state made Scarlet feel rather amused, and she leaned on the table next to the doorway, laughing out loud.

The sound of Scarlet’s laughter became sheer terror as it entered Meng Yufei’s ears. Her voice was both frivolous and charming, but it seemed to eternally carry with it the dreadfulness of Zone G prison.

“You’re finally out.” Jiang He turned his head and looked at her quietly.

“Long time no see, why are you so cold towards me?” Scarlet came closer and even raised her hand to stroke Jiang He’s cheek, but what flashed in her eyes wasn’t affection. It was murderous intent, one that had Meng Yufei truly shaking in his boots.

Remaining completely still, Jiang He grabbed Scarlet’s wrist and said: “I’ve always had this temperament.”

“Which temperament? I still like the way you used to be, but unfortunately, most men in this world are cheaters. I was there for so long, yet you never came to see me. I had no choice but to come out and look for you.” While saying that, Scarlet conveniently sat on his lap, but her eyes glanced at Meng Yufei: “You tell me, am I correct or not?”

Meng Yufei only felt that regardless of whether she was correct or not, the only correct thing here should be that this had absolutely nothing to do with him.

The author has something to say:

This chapter takes inspiration from the two sentences ‘​​To see a world in a grain of sand; And a Heaven in a wild flower.’ — from the poem [Auguries of Innocence] by William Blake.