CH 22.1

Three in one (part one)

Wen Qing tightly grasped onto Si Kong’s sleeve until his knuckles turned white.

Si Kong looked down at him. Wen Qing slightly raised his head and the word “nervous” was written all over his face. Soft, black hair stuck to his cheeks and forehead like a timid kitten, cautiously stretched out its claws after seeing what u5 wanted.

Si Kong had always been soft-hearted towards creatures. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, “We are different from you.”

Wen Qing was confused. “What do you mean?”

Yes was yes, no was no.

What was different?

Different types of players?

Why was he unable to speak clearly again!

He glanced towards Si Kong, at a loss, “That… I don’t understand.”

Si Kong knitted his brows. “How are you so stupid.”

Wen Qing quietly said, “Sorry, I don’t play games often.”

Aside from attending classes, he usually worked part-time. When he had free time, he would watch movies and TV, and rarely played video games and board games. He didn’t know much about games.

Si Kong stared at his trembling eyelashes. He asked, “What do you think we are?”

Wen Qing pursed his lips and whispered his guesses. “Yu Xing said that this game was very easy, to just look at the literal meaning of the words.”

“If what he said is true, my identity is an ordinary human being because I am an ordinary human being.”

“You, Yu Xing, Mr Ji, the three of you are gods……”

Wen Qing paused, nervously looking towards Si Kong.

Si Kong quietly watched him and asked, “Because?”

Wen Qing sucked in a deep breath and said, “Because you are NPCs.”

According to the book’s meaning, Si Kong was a good NPC who would help the human players.

Mr Ji and Yu Xing were bad NPCs.

Si Kong: “……”

He really didn’t expect that Yu Xing had already placed the truth right in front of Wen Qing, but Wen Qing could still trample on it.

Seeing Si Kong being a little speechless, Wen Qing slowly let go of the hand that was pulling at his sleeve.

Si Kong glanced at his movements and said, “How do you think this game world was formed?”

To be honest, Wen Qing had never thought of it before. He just thought of quickly ending the game, not thinking too deeply about the reasons for the game.

But since Si Kong was asking now, he pondered on it seriously for a while.

Supernatural powers, the monsters of mythology, abnormal nursery rhymes……

Wen Qing frowned and tentatively asked, “Is it because of aliens with advanced civilisations?”

Si Kong was silent once more.

Wen Qing slowly explained his reasoning, “I- I’ve watched TV series with this sort of game-playing. In the end, it was always because of aliens……”

Except for aliens, he really couldn’t think of any other reasonable explanations.

There couldn’t be any gods in the world, right?

Feudal superstition wasn’t good.

Seeing through Wen Qing’s psychological ideas, Si Kong was speechless.

Wen Qing spoke again, “Do you believe that aliens exist?”

“My dormroom’s dorm leader doesn’t believe in it either. He believes that ghosts and gods exist even more than that.”

Si Kong: “……he is very smart.”

Wen Qing couldn’t tell if the words were praise or ridicule, so he glanced up at Si Kong.

Si Kong: “It’s already nine o’clock. There’s still twelve hours before voting.”

“Do you already know the solution to clearing the instance?”

“I don’t know,” Wen Qing shook his head. Subconsciously, he scanned the room for a clock. When he turned his head, he spotted a small electronic clock on the bedside table.

It was nine o’clock sharp.

Was the clock there before?

The thought flashed by. Wen Qing didn’t think much about it and counted the clues with his fingers.

One, the guide was an ordinary human.

Two, the guide wasn’t an identity on the identity card.

Three, the guide and the gods’ use had a close relationship.

Wen Qing thought for a while, but he really couldn’t come up with an answer.

Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration.

Right! If he couldn’t figure out by pushing forwards, he should reverse!

In short, the guide wasn’t himself, but Li Si Wen or Zhou Zhou.

How could the guide be one of the three of them?

Wen Qing pursed his lips tightly. The veil covering the answer right in front of his eyes seemed to be becoming clearer and clearer.

Only a second before he was about to lift it open, his stomach let out a long and prolonged growl.

After a long growl, there was another short growl.

Si Kong couldn’t help but turn his head to look at him.

Wen Qing’s face turned red. He bent his legs, quietly pressed his hands on his stomach, and stammered, “Sorry……”

He hadn’t eaten anything after waking up.

Si Kong: “Hungry?”

Wen Qing nodded.

He didn’t feel hungry before, but now his stomach growled, and the sensation of hunger instantly engulfed his thoughts.

So hungry, really want to eat, really want to eat biscuits……

After confirming that his stomach wouldn’t make any more noise, Wen Qing quickly put on his shoes and told Si Kong, “I- I’ll wash my face and sober up.”

After he finished speaking, he walked into the bathroom without glancing back.

“You want to eat……” Si Kong pursed his lips. He swallowed back the words that followed.

Wen Qing walked into the bathroom. The first thing he saw was a pack of crackers and a bottle of milk placed on the sink.

Wen Qing was startled. The biscuits and milk were actually placed in the toilets?

Si Kong’s hobby was a little strange……

He quickly walked forwards, washed his face, and glanced down at the pack of crackers.

It was the brand and flavour he often ate.

Wen Qing swallowed, grabbed the biscuits and milk, and quickly walked out of the washroom.

He walked up to Si Kong and quietly asked, “These- can I eat these?”

Si Kong hummed.

Wen Qing eagerly opened the pack. He stuffed two pieces into his mouth, then stretched out his hand to put the biscuit in front of Si Kong, indistinctly asking, “Aren’t you eating?”

Si Kong: “Not eating.”

Wen Qing stared at him for a while. When he was sure that Si Kong didn’t want to eat at all, he uncapped the milk and ate the biscuits while drinking milk.

After wolfing down half a pack of biscuits, he was finally less hungry.

Wen Qing pinched the pack of biscuits and carefully glanced towards Si Kong.

Si Kong was tall and had sharp facial features. He… didn’t seem like someone who could eat in the toilet.

After hesitating for a moment, Wen Qing couldn’t help his curiosity, and asked, “Why are there biscuits and milk on the sink?”

Si Kong: “Ask yourself.”

Wen Qing was bewildered. Even though he liked eating biscuits, he never thought about eating them in the toilets.

Si Kong gaze, and coldly said, “You could also ask an alien.”

Wen Qing: “……”

After finishing the biscuits and milk, Wen Qing returned to the soft bed once more.

Too many things had happened in the morning, and his nerves had been tense. Now that he’d eaten and drank enough, his mind seemed to have softened, his thoughts turning into silky threads of sleepiness tangling around his eyelids until they became impossible to unravel.

Si Kong turned his head. He looked at the faint bluish-black under Wen Qing’s eyes and said in a low voice, “Go to sleep.”

Wen Qing struggled to open his eyes and asked, “Si Kong…… you- are you gay?”

Si Kong: “……”

Wen Qing dazedly said, “Yu Xing said you liked me in that way……”

“I’m not gay.”

Hearing the answer he wanted to hear, a large stone on Wen Qing’s heart finally fell. He murmured vaguely, hugged the soft quilt and went to sleep in the blink of an eye.

*****

After an unknown amount of time, Wen Qing vaguely felt himself being pushed.

He mumbled and turned over. Suddenly, frightening words sounded above his head: “Get up, vote.”

Wen Qing’s eyes flew open. He sat up and stared blankly at Si Kong, who was standing beside the bed.

After a while, his brain slowly began to turn.

He slept in Si Kong’s bedroom.

Wen Qing lowered his head to rub at his eyes. His voice was a little hoarse, having just woken up.

Seeing his bewildered look, Si Kong’s appearance smoothed out. He told him, “The voting session will start in half an hour.”

Wen Qing’s movements paused. Disbelievingly, he glanced at the clock next to him.

Shockingly, it displayed 8:30.

???

He slept from nine o’clock in the morning until eight thirty at night!

Wen Qing was astonished. “I- how did I sleep for so long?”

He hurriedly got out of bed, put on his shoes, and speedily walked to the door.

The second he grasped the doorknob, Wen Qing’s footsteps paused. He turned to face Si Kong. “That…… are you not going down?”

Si Kong’s eyelashes drooped. He stared at his sneakers. “You didn’t tie your shoes properly.”

Si Kong took a step forward. In the next second, Wen Qing quickly squatted down and tied both shoes with tight knots.

He halted, shifting his gaze. “Let’s go.”

Wen Qing nodded. He followed Si Kong and quietly asked, “What will you write down later?”

Si Kong asked in reply: “Who are you planning to vote for?”

Wen Qing slowly said, “I- I haven’t thought of a solution yet.”

He tugged at Si Kong’s sleeve and softly asked, “Have you figured out what the guide is?”

Si Kong glanced at him, but didn’t say anything.

Seeing this, Wen Qing quietly said, “You haven’t thought of it either……”

Then would someone still die tonight?

Mr Ji and Zhou Zhou would vote for Yu Xing……

Unconsciously, Wen Qing grabbed onto Si Kong’s sleeve. His feelings towards Yu Xing were complicated.

Most of them were fear and hatred, but Yu Xing had also told him many important clues.

Walking downstairs, Ji Yu, Zhou Zhou and Li Si Wen were already sitting around the table. Yu Xing was standing by the stairs, leaning on the railing as if he was boneless.

Wen Qing followed Si Kong closely. But before he reached the first floor, he heard Yu Xing blow a long whistle. “I haven’t seen you for a day, but you’ve nourished so much.”

Wen Qing raised his eyes and met Yu Xing’s derisive gaze.

Yu Xing’s long and narrow eyes narrowed slightly. His gaze on Wen Qing kept turning back and forth. “Poor thing, have you been fooling around with Si Kong all day long?”

Wen Qing ignored him. He walked all the way down until the last step, when his steps halted, and he turned to look at Yu Xing.

Yu Xing raised his eyebrows. He stared at his white and tender cheeks, and joked, “Si Kong, this guy, he’s pretty good at raising people.”

Wen Qing frowned slightly. He struggled for a moment before lowering his voice and saying, “Yu Xing, Mr Ji and Zhou Zhou might vote for you.”

Yu Xing was stunned for a moment. The corners of his mouth lifted. He leaned in front of Wen Qing. “Why did you want to let me know?”

“Don’t tell me……” he dragged out the end of his sentence, and casually asked, “You’ve fallen in love with me.”

He didn’t lower his volume at all. One after another, the others looked over.

Feeling the hot gazes on his back, Wen Qing’s face flushed, angry and embarrassed, “I’m……”

Afraid of others overhearing, he sighed and quietly said, “I- I’m letting you do psychological preparations!”

Yu Xing tilted his head and followed in speaking softly.

“What psychological preparations? Is it psychological preparations to die?”

“Poor little one, since I’m about to die, can you……”

The corners of Yu Xing’s lips curved up as he hinted, “Let me do it.”

SV: happy 2023! splitting this into three parts! mainly because the full thing is 8k characters (and the final chapter up next is a whopping 9k characters orz)

also… “because you guys are NPCs” really? really??