Gu Zhan felt as if he had just experienced drowning.
When he finally emerged from the instance, his clothes were soaked with sweat.
His thoughts lingered on the system statement he had heard before leaving the instance.
A few brief words penned Xiao Xiu's century-long resentment.
Gu Zhan couldn’t help but wonder if these stories were merely random composites from the instance.
Or were some of them truly existing tales?
Many thoughts surged in his mind, as if someone were stirring them with a stick.
A dull pain throbbed in Gu Zhan's head, and the exhaustion from completing the instance washed over him.
It’s better to go back for now.
Gu Zhan returned to the hive, washed up briefly, and collapsed onto his bed, falling into a deep sleep.
Once asleep, he dreamed a muddled dream where he found himself on a pitch-black street, lined with oddly-shaped figures.
They stared at him, their smiles peculiar and unsettling.
At the end of the street, it seemed someone was waiting for him…
Gu Zhan wandered through the dream for a long time but never reached the end; ultimately, he woke up.
After waking, he heard a knock at the door.
Gu Zhan had a headache. He sat up and stared blankly at the edge of the bed for a while.
The knocking at the door continued, showing no signs of stopping.
He couldn’t put it off any longer, so Gu Zhan slowly got up and walked toward the door.
When he opened it, he was greeted by a group of unexpected visitors.
It was Yang Lin and Yu Yezhou, and behind them stood a familiar yet strange face.
Gu Zhan stared at this person for a long time before realizing, “Sang Yue?”
Sang Yue smiled slightly. “I can’t believe you remember me.”
Gu Zhan rubbed his temples; his memory wasn’t that bad yet. He hadn’t forgotten the people from the previous instance just because he had taken a nap.
He opened the door wider to let them in.
As Sang Yue walked inside, she said, “I’ve read about the previous instances you’ve gone through and knew you were with them, so I entrusted them to find you. Sorry for the interruption.”
Gu Zhan remained silent and turned toward the kitchen.
Though he didn’t say anything, his actions clearly indicated—yes, this was indeed a disturbance.
Sang Yue found it amusing; after all, Gu Zhan was the same both in and out of the instance.
Yu Yezhou stood to the side, looking innocent. “I told you he might not welcome us, but that’s fine; we have thick skin.”
He joked as he and Yang Lin sat on Gu Zhan’s sofa. Gu Zhan emerged from the kitchen, placing a bottle of plain water and three cups on the table.
Sang Yue gaped at the bottle of water. “Is this how you’re welcoming us?”
Yu Yezhou casually grabbed a cup and started pouring water for the other two, saying, “This is already pretty good. I thought he wouldn’t open the door at all.”
Gu Zhan stood to the side, watching them chat aimlessly. Eventually, he couldn’t help but ask, “What do you want?”
“Oh, right.” Yu Yezhou suddenly remembered the main point. “Sang Yue found us and said she wants to join, so we decided to establish a guild.”
Gu Zhan silently stared at Yu Yezhou, saying nothing.
Yu Yezhou sighed. “I knew you would react this way.”
His words piqued Sang Yue’s curiosity as she scrutinized Gu Zhan.
Unexpectedly, Gu Zhan’s personality remained unchanged, both inside and outside the instance.
Gu Zhan replied, “Forming a guild is your business; you don’t need to seek my approval.”
He felt a bit hungry and headed to the kitchen to prepare a meal for himself.
Yu Yezhou called after him, “We’re here to invite you to join; it’s not about seeking your consent.”
“Join?” Gu Zhan paused, contemplating for a moment before saying, “Do you really think my joining will benefit you?”
From the looks of it, it seemed he was being targeted by some twisted monster.
He would undoubtedly encounter this monster in subsequent instances, and it might even continuously create trouble for him.
Yu Yezhou grinned. “You’re quite popular with people outside. Don’t you know that? Just join; your presence alone will be a living advertisement for our guild.”
Yang Lin chimed in, “Mainly, after establishing the guild, Chun Bai Cheng will assign us a guild territory, so we won’t have to crash rooms at bars anymore.”
She added, “The rent for bar rooms is quite expensive.”
This made Yu Yezhou glance at her in exasperation.
Gu Zhan had already opened the fridge, his gaze passing over various ingredients, and suddenly felt lazy.
Forget it, he’d just order takeout.
Irritated, he closed the fridge and turned back, saying, “Fine, if you think it’s okay, then count me in.”
Yu Yezhou turned to Sang Yue and said, “I won, pay up.”
Sang Yue sighed. “I didn’t expect you to know him so well.”
She took out a personal terminal to transfer points to Yu Yezhou, while Gu Zhan stood nearby, arms crossed, coldly asking, “Now that the important matters are settled, when are you leaving?”
Yu Yezhou froze.
Gu Zhan didn’t care about their feelings and was ready to send them off immediately.
Fortunately, before Gu Zhan could drive them away, Yu Yezhou said, “Let’s go out to eat. Aren’t you hungry? Come on, I’ll treat you!”
This finally silenced Gu Zhan.
In the end, the four of them went out together to eat.
---
After dinner, Gu Zhan went back home and took another look at the star chart watch.
As expected, a river had appeared in the watch's space.
This river was quite aggressive, completely ignoring how out of place it was in this hospital, rushing straight toward a building and the courtyard wall, forcing its way into the space.
When Gu Zhan arrived, he saw Sun Jingqiu and her daughter staring blankly at the river.
There was an old acquaintance in the river.
It was Xiao Xiu.
She lay on the riverbank with her lower half submerged in the water, smiling slightly at Gu Zhan.
Her smile held a hint of teasing, and before Gu Zhan could speak, she said with a laugh, “So you really do like men.”
A question mark appeared above Gu Zhan’s head.
Xiao Xiu continued, “You actually have that person’s statue in your own space.”
Gu Zhan was confused. “?”
She studied Gu Zhan’s expression. “You don’t recognize him?”
“Who?” Gu Zhan finally realized she was referring to the statue in the center of the hospital square.
He had originally been the BOSS, the director, in this instance, but after several instances and absorbing various elements, it had turned into an abstract form.
Now it resembled a humanoid figure with a fish tail, standing in the fountain in the square.
Gu Zhan thought it was just a fountain statue.
But he quickly realized, “Do you know him?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say I know him. A person like that isn’t likely to know me,” Xiao Xiu said, lying bored on the riverbank. “I’ve seen him before.”
Gu Zhan finally understood.
He crouched in front of Xiao Xiu and asked, “You know him? What’s his name?”
"The monster has no name, only a number. He is our Number 02 here, or you can call him 'Two.'"
"Two."
This name doesn't sound very clever.
Gu Zhan said, "But you are called Xiao Xiu."
“Xiao Xiu is the name from the copy…” Xiao Xiu paused suddenly, as if recalling something. She said, "You can call me Xiao Xiu; I really am her."
"Then he doesn't have a name like yours?"
Xiao Xiu tilted her head and looked at Gu Zhan, saying, "There should be one, but I don't know."
As she spoke, her gaze fell on Sun Jingqiu beside her.
Sun Jingqiu seemed quite afraid of her, standing beside the child, not daring to move or leave.
Xiao Xiu waved her hand and said, "You can go. I'm not going to make things difficult for you. Besides, you saw it; I can't leave this river."
Only then did Gu Zhan notice that Xiao Xiu's legs were still bound.
No wonder she could only lie by the riverbank.
Xiao Xiu said, "Don't worry about me. I was always like this. Well… you know the living Xiao Xiu is not me. As her ghost after her death, I was born bound to this river, and this river is part of my life. So, when you captured it, I had no choice but to come in with you."
Gu Zhan replied, "Since I am the master of this river, I should be able to untie your ropes."
"Ah?" Xiao Xiu seemed surprised. She opened her mouth slightly and looked up at Gu Zhan, asking, "Why?"
Why help her?
Monsters often symbolize uncertainties, and few are willing to grant uncertainties their freedom.
Gu Zhan said, "It's nothing. I just don't like having someone tied up in my space."
He stepped into the water and lifted Xiao Xiu's legs. The ropes weren't tied tightly, and he quickly loosened them.
Throwing the ropes aside, Gu Zhan emerged from the water and said, "The teaching building over there is Sun Jingqiu's place. You should move to another location. No fighting allowed. If you need anything, you can tell me when I come by."
"You…" Xiao Xiu was still in shock from being freed, while Gu Zhan had already stood up and walked toward the central square.
Sun Jingqiu watched for a moment and finally mustered the courage to approach, extending her hand to Xiao Xiu. "Do you want me to help you?"
Xiao Xiu glanced at her and said, "You're a ghost like me, just haven't had a chance to get a number and came here early… Anyway, this place is quite nice. Don't worry; I have no intention of clashing with you. Besides, you are more familiar with the owner of this space than I am, right?"
She placed her hand in Sun Jingqiu's.
After being submerged in water for a long time, Xiao Xiu's legs were no longer able to walk properly. With Sun Jingqiu's help, she barely made it ashore.
From where they stood, they could see a corner of the central square.
Sun Jingqiu looked over and said, somewhat fearfully, "That statue is very frightening."
But for some reason, Gu Zhan always felt compelled to look at it every time he came over.
Xiao Xiu laughed, "It's normal to find it scary. Don't worry, we won't go over there."
On the other side, Gu Zhan had already arrived next to the central fountain.
This time, the sculpture in the fountain hadn't changed.
It seemed he hadn't captured him this time.
---
Chun Bai Cheng easily gives the impression that this place is truly a realm of humans.
If it weren't for the mechanical servants wandering the streets and the purely white buildings that feel entirely unreal, many would likely forget that this is a game world.
Even in a game world, the process of establishing a guild is quite complex.
It requires at least five players to join together, which is just right since Sang Yue joined.
Additionally, they must gather ten guild members within a month.
And there are some other miscellaneous procedures.
But these were Yang Lin and Yu Yezhou's responsibilities.
The two of them spent three days completing various formalities. They had initially planned to hold a welcome party for the guild's establishment, but then they heard Gu Zhan was heading into the copy again.
In the bar's room, they were packing their things when they heard that Gu Zhan was setting off the next day, and they hurriedly pulled him over.
"Why are you so obsessed with the copy? Aren't you going in a bit too frequently?"
Yu Yezhou sat across from Gu Zhan, trying to persuade him earnestly.
Gu Zhan was indeed going in a bit too often.
But he couldn't say that, so he just replied casually, "I'm bored at home."
Yu Yezhou was about to explode with frustration. "Then help us set up the guild!"
Gu Zhan replied flatly, "That would be even more boring."
Yu Yezhou: "!"
He was seriously testing his patience!!!
"Forget it. Just go into the copy; be careful." Yu Yezhou quietly looked at Gu Zhan and said, "I don't want my guild to disband due to lack of members before new people come in."
Gu Zhan understood that Yu Yezhou was worried about his safety.
No one had ever cared about him like this before, which felt quite novel.
"Don't worry; I'll come back alive."
Gu Zhan said.
He still had unfinished business and wouldn't die.
"Go to hell," Yu Yezhou laughed and scolded. "I just want you to be careful, not to worry about dying."
Thank you for the translations! I won’t lie, I really appreciate how quickly you update and that it’s usually a mass release but I’m trying not to get used to that and take it for granted~
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! Our team is made up of volunteers—some are my close friends, and others are from mutual connections. This translation blog is part of our final year project in Chinese literature. Because of this, our release schedule can be a bit irregular, but we try to release chapters in batches to make it easier for you to read. We really appreciate all the support and feedback from our readers. Your patience and encouragement mean a lot to us
DeleteI have once again stayed up way too late to binge read, but I'm loving this story so far, thank you for all the work put into this~
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your translations. It's Thanksgiving and I'm alone with reheated fast food as my dinner, but reading helps me feel less lonely.
ReplyDeleteHappy thanksgiving love 💕 glad u enjoy it
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