The Trial Game of Life

After the movie, the night ended with Jin Cheng getting his wish fulfilled.

It wasn’t accurate to say that only he alone got what he wanted. Tang Cuo wasn’t a twitchy, innocent teenager, and he wouldn’t care about playing run-and-catch to stop Jin Cheng from indulging in his desire. Towards this matter, he was very calm.

The feelings were there, the atmosphere was there, the attraction was there and the longing was there. What would come, would come.

It was just that Yong Ye City had this flaw, where the eternal night made people lose the concept of time. No matter when he woke up, it always seemed that it wasn’t the ideal time to leave his bed.

There was obviously no light outside the window, so Tang Cuo covered his head with the blanket and shrank into a tiny lump in bed.

Jin Cheng risked being kicked to death by digging the person out of the lump and feeding him two chocolate beans. At that moment, Tang Cuo, who wasn’t totally awake but still vigilant, thought that someone was feeding him poison, but feeling Jin Cheng’s aura, he held back the violent urge and licked the chocolate beans in his mouth —

Sweet.

The sweetness soothed him and pulled back his killing intent, and from inside the blanket, a completely harmless person poked out. A moment later, when Jin Cheng whispered to Tang Cuo’s ear that he was heading out to buy breakfast and asked Tang Cuo to wait at home, Tang Cuo even let out a soft “uhm”.

Jin Cheng was in a good mood today. Pleased by a simple “uhm”, he went out happily. Halfway through, he passed by Yao Qing, The Puppeteer, but Jin Cheng couldn’t care less about their hostility earlier and even said hello.

According to the new laws issued by the 6th Movement, no matter who killed whom, both sides had to go to jail. Yao Qing wasn’t worried about Jin Cheng taking him down all of a sudden, however, he fell from Zone A to Zone E but was still unable to lay his hands on any movement, so now was a very painful time for him. Seeing Jin Cheng appearing in front of him with such a contented face, wouldn’t it be fair for him to want to explode?

This man, why can’t he just live a low-key life?

On this question, Yao Qing wouldn’t get any answer, because right after Jin Cheng greeted Yao Qing, he casually stepped past, not expecting Yao Qing’s response at all.

Yao Qing was so angry that he turned and left.

When Jin Cheng returned home, Tang Cuo was already up, leaning on the sofa to recharge his energy. While preparing the bowls and chopsticks, Jin Cheng talked about coming across Yao Qing. It wasn’t so much about Yao Qing, rather, Jin Cheng was simply reporting his trip to the breakfast shop.

Tang Cuo calmly listened and declined to comment.

For the whole day that followed, for once, Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng fell into a situation of having nothing to attend to.

No matter whether it was Wen Xiaoming or Chi Yan, they were both inside a dungeon at this moment. It could even be said that most citizens of Yong Ye City were in a dungeon, because after the enforcement of Black Hat’s movements, the forced mission time had been shortened to one week. Inevitably, in order to avoid triggering the forced mission, everyone would enter a dungeon on their own volition.

Jin Cheng already felt the emptiness of the streets when he went out just now. Looking at the direction Yao Qing was walking towards, he should also be heading to the game hall.

“The momentum of people committing suicide has stopped. Those who want to die have all jumped right after the law was passed, and those who are hesitant to die are probably in hiding, waiting for things to get better somehow.” When Jin Cheng went to see Lin Yandong yesterday, he also stopped by the Ruby Bar.

Although K was a wicked businessman, for such publicly available information, he wasn’t unwilling to give it away for free so he could earn some favour from the other party.

Suddenly, Tang Cuo remembered something and asked: “Mr. Crow seems to rarely appear recently?”

Jin Cheng: “This is indeed a bit strange. Both of us Blacklisters have been through so many dungeons together, but except for the two times the new laws were made, he never appeared. Either he’s been restricted by the system, or — he’s been kept busy by something more fun.”

Jin Cheng said it ever so lightly, but this also meant that behind his speculation, there was something bubbling without their knowledge. The feeling of not knowing was always uncomfortable. Tang Cuo frowned and decided to go to the training ground.

Jin Cheng stopped him and said: “Let’s have some rest today.”

How to rest? Do you want to continue watching movies?

Tang Cuo didn’t want to.

Helplessly, Jin Cheng stuffed a book into his hand, saying: “It’s not bad to stay still for a moment. Listen to the instructor, training and resting should go hand in hand.” 

Tang Cuo glanced at the cover of the book to find that it was [Fairy Tales of Sicilit], the book taken from Lin Yandong’s place. It wasn’t like Tang Cuo had to be so diligent about training. To put it bluntly, he just hated the taste of being beaten down, so he was committed to defeating others.

Otherwise, Tang Cuo was lazy. For example, at this moment, he must lie down while reading, or he would curl into a ball and do nothing.

He wouldn’t wash the dishes. Nor do any housework. Nor even drink water.

Just like any firm gentleman, Jin Cheng only said “drink more hot water”. He also rejected Tang Cuo’s proposal to eat hot and sour noodles for lunch.

A domestic war was about to start, but luckily, An Ning knocked on the door just in time to put out the flames.

She was here to report on Black Hat.

During the time when Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo were in the dungeon, An Ning and her teammates watched the Black Hat Miscellaneous Store with all their energy, keeping an eye on Black Hat’s every move.

“There are many people peeking at him, but he rarely shows up. Even when he shows up, he goes to the high-ranking zones. It’s difficult for us to track him.” Because the content of the report was really too boring with not much to discuss, An Ning briefly went over these details. But there was something that made her feel a little concerned: “There’s this strange customer who visits the miscellaneous store.”

Jin Cheng raised his eyes: “What is it about him that’s strange?”

“His blade looks familiar.” An Ning described the shape of the sword in detail, her eyes gazing at Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo expectantly. Indeed, she got the answer she was waiting for.

Jin Cheng: “It’s Meng Yufei’s blade.”

An Ning: “I’m not so sure, so I can only ask you. If it’s really Meng Yufei’s blade, why is it in the hands of that person? Isn’t Meng Yufei dead? His blade should also be taken back by the system right?”

Jin Cheng raised his eyebrows and almost let out a laugh, as though he was thinking of something funny. Tang Cuo glanced at him and quickly figured out the reason: “Did he distort his face?”

Jin Cheng shrugged. There was no other answer beside this. He never expected that Meng Yufei, who still wet his bed at the age of 5, was actually that chicken-hearted.

“Did you see where he went last?” Jin Cheng was seriously curious. He wanted to interview Meng Yufei face-to- face to ask how it felt to distort his face.

“I sent someone to follow him. But he was very vigilant, as though he noticed that someone was following him, so instead of going back to his place, he went straight to the game hall. There were so many people and we couldn’t locate him inside, so we stood guard outside the hall. We haven’t seen him come out until now.”

Jin Cheng: “How long has he been in there?” 

An Ning: “He went in at about 3 or 4 PM yesterday. I think he most likely has entered a dungeon.” 

An Ning’s guess was reasonable. Since more than ten hours had passed, if he was still in the game hall, he would be discovered sooner or later.

Jin Cheng thought briefly and said: “Don’t come too close. That is still Meng Yufei, he’s too dangerous for you. I’ll find someone to keep watch on him, you can ask you teammates to withdraw. Let’s not make you delay your next dungeon.”

Jin Cheng still intended to hand over the matter surrounding Meng Yufei to K. K had a good relationship with Black Hat, but not with Meng Yufei. Hunting down a mere Meng Yufei wouldn’t be any big deal.

At this moment, Meng Yufei, whom they were talking about, was lying on a deck like a dead dog. The icy night rain slapped his wounds, causing excruciating pain all over his body. Step by step, the ferocious wind and sea waves were pulling him closer into the abyss of death. Only by firmly holding on to the ropes of the ship did he not let himself fall into the raging ocean.

Surrounding him were corpses of players and NPCs. The sea water seeped with blood kept washing by the deck and back into the sea, appearing one moment and disappearing the next.

“Cough, cough…” He felt fear creeping into his every bone, but he had to look up to try to grab the ankle of the person before his eyes: “Don’t kill me!” 

It was a very slender, very fair ankle, so much so that he could even see the green veins below the skin.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier. Meng Yufei exerted all his strength and raised his head but still couldn’t see her face hidden in the hood. What was invisible was always the most terrifying. In the midst of this rainy night, it was as though this red cloak was engraved on Meng Yufei’s heart for an eternity.

The face hidden under the hood looked at him but didn’t answer.

As Meng Yufei was choked by the rain, he caught a glimpse of a dagger’s cold light when the cloak was blown by the wind, and he quickly screamed: “I’m useful to you! Don’t kill me, I am Meng Yufei, Meng Yufei!”

“Meng Yufei?” A man’s voice came behind Meng Yufei, sounding a little surprised. The sound of footsteps immediately came as the man walked to Meng Yufei’s front, squatted down and lifted his face.

“I changed my face.” Meng Yufei didn’t dare to hide it. He looked at the man before him, inexplicably feeling that he was a bit familiar. In the blink of an eye, he remembered the man’s identity and his eyes widened: “Jiang He? You’re Jiang He, right?”

Jiang He let go of him without answering.

Meng Yufei: “Then you must know who I am. Don’t you want to deal with Jin Cheng? Don’t kill me, I can help you! I’ll be useful to you!”

“We are not going to care about Jin Cheng, we only want the movements.” Jiang He explained, and at the end, he somehow found it funny and laughed at himself: “I’m no longer under Chong Yanzhang. It’s useless for you to tell me this.”

“But don’t you want the movements anymore? If you want the movements, you have to be against Jin Cheng!” Meng Yufei panted and his voice grew louder.

A big wave crashed over and the hull shook violently.

Meng Yufei’s hand grasping the tiny ankle immediately loosened and his whole body hit a cargo. His internal organs went all jumbled up, making him feel as though he was only a breath away from death. Jiang He looked at him with an indifferent expression, turned his head and asked: “Are you going to kill him?”

Zheng Yingying’s dagger had been hidden under the cloak from the beginning to the end. She looked up and spoke, as if explaining herself: “I’ll kill them if they want to kill me.”

Jiang He didn’t answer.

Zheng Yingying lowered her head again and muttered feebly: “They all deserve to die.” 

The ship was swaying along with loud crunching sounds, as if it was at the verge of falling apart. In the distance, dawn was still a long time away, and the storm of the night was brewing its next attack.

A crow stood on the inclined mast, looking at everything below with interest.

Meng Yufei thought he was going to die, but he still lived. The little girl in the red cloak squatted down in front of him. This time, Meng Yufei finally caught a clear sight of her face.

She said: “I won’t kill you.” 

Bewilderment spread in Meng Yufei’s pupils, but the next second, Zheng Yingying’s words shattered his emotion.

“But you must give me your name in exchange. From now on, your name isn’t Meng Yufei, your name is Huanhuan. I call my puppy by this name. I like it very much, even though it bit me once.”

The translator has something to say: If you blinked, you might have missed the mature-rated scene in this chapter. Ahem.