Four hundred milliliters was the maximum amount considered safe for a healthy blood donation, roughly the volume of one large bottle of mineral water.
As his blood flowed at a slightly sluggish pace, the wound healed automatically twice. Both times, Song Zang reopened it without hesitation, allowing his blood to follow the glow of the sacrificial circle and fly toward the distant battle.
Compared with the colossal monster that sprawled beneath more than half the city, that amount of blood did not even qualify as a tiny spark.
But just as Song Zang prepared to cut open the blood vessel for a third time, the connection created by the sacrifice was suddenly severed from the other end.
Several little bursts of blue sparks emerged from the center of the circle. They fluttered inexplicably around Song Zang twice, then rapidly disappeared without a trace.
The sinister, bright-red circle beneath his feet quickly became nothing more than a large patch of ordinary dried blood, no longer capable of producing the slightest effect.
“Does that mean… I’m no longer needed here?”
Song Zang seemed to understand. He turned toward the window and narrowed his eyes slightly. The plane was climbing farther and farther away from the ground, making it difficult to identify the Earth Mother Goddess’s current condition, much less locate the blue flame.
Still, the shrill roars tearing through the rain and the violent tremors that spread ten thousand meters into the sky were enough to show that She was taking quite a beating.
The more frequently the twisted, inhuman behemoth screamed, the more visible the curve of Song Zang’s lips became.
Since he had already done everything he could, it was naturally time to sit back and reap the rewards.
He leisurely opened a roll of toilet paper and wrapped it tightly around his wrist several times, quickly stopping the bleeding. The gruesome wound disappeared perfectly beneath the long sleeve of his shirt.
Then Song Zang gently closed the tiny window shade.
He dampened a napkin and pressed it over his nose and mouth, then rushed out of the restroom while pretending to be flustered and panicked before returning to his seat.
Only after fumbling the oxygen mask into place did he allow his body to relax and begin taking deep breaths, carrying out the performance convincingly.
What happened next would depend entirely on Brother Chen.
The atmosphere in the cabin was not especially grim.
Although the monster’s roars were deeply unsettling, the passengers were ten thousand meters in the air and were not the Earth Mother Goddess’s current target.
From that far away, the mental contamination unintentionally released by the local evil god had already weakened several times over.
More importantly, Ning Si Si was there. She drew everyone’s attention toward herself.
She did not require an oxygen mask, and the trembling, humming mountain range below the aircraft did not seem to affect her very much.
Sensing the many unclean things hidden in the ash, Ning Si Si wrinkled her already distorted face and opened another huge slit across it.
Huuu—suuuck—
No one had expected her to inhale every buzzing Myriad-Eyed Eagle into her head in one breath.
The ominous gray haze visibly cleared, leaving behind only the heavy dust stirred up by the tremors. The air was still choking, but at least it would no longer poison anyone to death or allow invisible monsters to invade their minds and devour their flesh.
Xiao Li Li was bold enough to remove her oxygen mask and cautiously take a breath.
Sure enough, nothing happened. She could breathe perfectly well.
“Little Sis, you were amazing.” Xiao Li Li gave her a thumbs-up. “I’ll reward you with another ice pop later!”
“You’re welcome.” Ning Si Si gave two smug little heh-hehs, then suddenly tilted her head in confusion toward the unseen world outside the window. “Huh? Mommy…”
Lin Wen Jing immediately asked, “Si Si, what is it?”
“Mommy’s scent is outside.”
Ning Si Si sounded confused and tried to open the window shade to search for her mother, but Xiao Li Li immediately stopped her, scooped her up, and placed her on her lap.
“We’re getting closer and closer to Liuhe City, so of course you can smell Mommy. She must be waiting for you at the airport. But you have to sit nicely for now, understand? The best-behaved children get to see their mothers sooner.”
“I understand! I’ll be the best-behaved child!” Ning Si Si was easily coaxed. The moment she heard that, she brightened and nodded obediently.
…Although the way she expressed happiness was by making the black spiral across her face twist even more intensely. Still, after looking at it for long enough, everyone had grown used to it.
Once the child had been placated, the adults began secretly communicating through glances and silent movements of their lips.
“So there’s a ghost outside the plane,” Qiu Shuang suggested first.
Xiao Li Li nodded vigorously and mouthed a question. “Good ghost or bad ghost?”
“Her mother should be good,” Lin Wen Jing reasoned with a slight frown.
That was right. As long as nothing happened to Ning Si Si, Jiang Ming Yue would not go mad.
The three whispered together for a while before Qiu Shuang stood and found the chief flight attendant. She brought one milk-flavored ice pop for everyone in first class, making the ripples across Ning Si Si’s face shimmer with delight.
Song Zang, who appeared completely unaware of what was happening, received one as well.
He thanked her softly, opened the wrapper, and took a small bite of the soft white ice pop.
Its sweet flavor filled his mouth and somewhat diluted the lingering metallic smell at the tip of his nose.
Song Zang took another large bite, rubbed the corners of his eyes, which still felt faintly sore and irritated, and looked toward the window shade beside him.
To conserve energy, the cabin lighting was dim, and the shades blocked the light extremely well. Sitting inside the plane, they could not see anything happening outside.
But… being unable to see was the safest thing of all.
As the one who had performed the sacrifice, Song Zang had never once been directly targeted by the Earth Mother Goddess’s presence.
Even so, merely staring at the monster as She awakened had somehow left him with minor injuries. His eyes still felt dry and painful.
In all the memories he retained, She was the first being who could make his eyes bleed merely by being looked at.
If the others saw Her filthy and unnatural true form… their heads might genuinely explode.
That also proved that Xie Chun Ye was quite strong. He had only spat out one mouthful of blood and had not exploded at all.
He truly was a reliable person to cling to. He would not die easily, nor would he allow himself to be dragged down by the weak. After considering it for a while, Song Zang decided to build a good relationship with Xie Chun Ye once they left the instance.
Of course, an even better powerhouse to rely on was currently fighting outside the plane.
Hopefully, Song Zang would encounter it again in the next instance.
⸻
Deep inside the fissures covering the ground, surging magma rose in response to repeated irritation from the “foreign object.”
The blood Song Zang had offered was pouring over the enormous, festering body of the Earth Mother Goddess.
The massive head standing among the black clouds slowly turned. She was forced to divide off a trace of Her power to grant protection and a reward to the person who had made the offering.
But every trace of strength She surrendered allowed the blue flame to burn Her more viciously, until even the pus flowing from Her wounds began boiling in the intense heat.
Yin Chen bathed in the rain of blood and the roaring heat, moving freely as he cast a distant glance toward the direction in which the plane was disappearing.
The idea that an excessive amount of nourishment would temporarily give the Earth Mother Goddess indigestion was correct. But Song Zang did not know that his blood had a far greater use than that.
—It made Yin Chen stronger. Much stronger.
The sinister blue flame surged higher and higher, fighting the Earth Mother Goddess for every drop of blood falling from above. It violently stirred up the magma buried deep underground and assimilated it into itself.
The monster sprawled among the mountains was burned full of holes by the unnatural magma. Its body had already been covered in pustules, and now it became even more mangled and revolting.
The earth trembled. Great flocks of birds erupted from deep within the forests and fled desperately into the distance, silhouetted against the blaze sweeping across the sky.
Watching the plane gradually vanish beyond the horizon, Yin Chen lifted several sparks and flicked them into the distance.
One spark knocked the charging female ghost far away.
The rest landed precisely in the cannibal village where Ning Feng had lived.
That nest of evil hidden deep within the mountain forests was instantly burned clean.
Yin Chen had always found it effortless to fulfill Song Zang’s wishes.
Only…
“Forgetting me is bad enough, but you even dared to raise another dog. I really want to hack you to death.”
Yin Chen stared at the horizon and spoke quietly.
His voice was icy, carrying an irritation that was difficult to describe.
Yin Chen did not have a particularly good temper, especially now. After absorbing the sweet blood, he thought of that pale, pitiful face, and the anger he could no longer suppress gradually surfaced.
That emotion only made him stronger, while making his attacks even less restrained.
He immediately changed his strategy. First, he would stab apart the enormous eyeball inside the clouds.
The eerie blue flame surged together in midair and transformed into a blazing arrow aimed directly overhead.
At that moment, a red screen appeared before Yin Chen, and a flood of warning messages began refreshing across it.
【Warning! Warning! Unknown access data detected!】
【Automatic scan complete. Warning! BOSS loading program malfunction detected! CPU load too high!】
【Instance self-defense system activated. Emergency process shutdown commencing. Countdown: 10, 9…】
“…Fuck.”
⸻
The players had no idea what was happening outside the plane because, five minutes earlier, messages had also appeared on their status panels.
【Optional Mission: Uncover the truth concealed behind Tianhai City. (100%)】
【Congratulations. The players have successfully completed the Optional Mission together. Reward: 1,000 points.】
The two blue-screen notifications appeared without warning.
Xie Chun Ye was baffled. He had merely been flying the plane properly, so how had the Optional Mission somehow completed itself?
Everyone in the cabin looked equally confused.
Qiu Shuang stared blankly. “What does this mean? Who completed the mission for us?”
“Could it be… Wang Shu didn’t die?” Xiao Li Li suddenly realized, excitedly smacking the tray table.
“Honestly, that’s actually possible.” Qiu Shuang thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. “After all, we have no idea what happened after he got off the bus.”
It was indeed possible that Wang Shu had survived in the remote mountains. He had already been half-insane and had willingly offered his own flesh to that sinister bloody maw.
In a city this mad, insanity could also be a way to survive.
By offering his flesh, he had essentially bound himself to the monster. Perhaps the believers had accepted him as one of their own, allowing him to become a welcome companion in the cannibal village.
“That’s wonderful. Let’s thank Wang Shu,” Xiao Li Li said with a sarcastic smile.
“Thank you, Wang Shu~”
Qiu Shuang and Lin Wen Jing cooperated immediately.
For a moment, the cabin filled with cheerful laughter.
Ding-dong—
Just then, Xie Chun Ye’s calm voice came over the announcement system. “Pay attention. We’ll leave Tianhai City’s territory in fifteen minutes. There will be several more rounds of severe turbulence. If anything malfunctions, the oxygen masks should still last seven or eight minutes. Keep track of the time and hold on.”
“Understood!”
With the end of the instance almost within reach, everyone immediately perked up.
Fifteen minutes was neither particularly long nor especially short.
The only troublesome part was soothing the increasingly temperamental little girl.
As time passed, Ning Si Si visibly grew more restless.
“Sister Li Li, I want more ice cream.” She began making demands without any particular reason.
“No. Only adults are allowed to eat it right now.” Xiao Li Li refused without hesitation.
“All right.” Ning Si Si was unhappy, but she still obediently accepted it. After thinking for a moment, she raised her head and asked, “Then when the plane lands, can I go find Mommy?”
“Of course. You can have ice cream as soon as we get off the plane.”
“Yay—”
“Big Sister treats you very well, doesn’t she?”
“Very well—”
Xiao Li Li continued chatting idly with her. Even when the turbulence was at its worst, she still remembered to answer in a shaking voice.
Everyone felt the difference the instant they left Tianhai City’s territory.
First, the deadly turbulence disappeared abruptly.
The gloomy thunder faded into the distance.
Xie Chun Ye could see the change most clearly.
The plane struggled across a dividing line between night and day. The sky, which had been filled with torrential rain, gradually transformed into a bright afternoon blue.
Everyone’s phones began chiming with new notifications, and the disconnected Wi-Fi signal finally returned.
Qiu Shuang breathed a sigh of relief. “We’re almost there. Once we arrive, I’m definitely going to—”
“Hey! Don’t jinx us. Sit quietly!”
Xiao Li Li immediately interrupted her.
“That’s right. Sister Li, you’re my god!” Qiu Shuang suddenly understood and clutched Lin Wen Jing’s arm in lingering fear.
They were about to clear the instance, and even the air inside the plane felt exceptionally fresh. But their troubles had not completely disappeared.
The blood beneath the carpet became increasingly visible, as though leaving the suppressed region had allowed it to rise little by little toward the surface.
Most of the blood was concentrated toward the rear of the cabin.
It was the remains of flesh and blood that had been gnawed by the Earth Mother’s emissaries. Even though a cashmere carpet had been laid over it in advance, it could not remain concealed forever.
As the filth spread toward the front, everyone had to sit cross-legged and keep their feet away from the floor to prevent the blood from touching their shoes.
The smell of blood and flesh churned through the cabin. Ning Si Si seemed to sense instinctively that something was wrong and became restless once more, speaking without pause.
“Sister Li Li, when will I be able to see my face?”
“Sister Li Li, I feel dizzy… What should I do?”
“Sister Li Li, I miss Mommy! I want Mommy!”
Even someone as thick-skinned as Xiao Li Li began feeling her scalp prickle beneath the direct stare of a little girl with no facial features.
She fell silent for a moment, then abruptly rolled up her trouser legs and rushed toward the galley. She returned carrying an unwrapped milk ice pop and shoved it into Ning Si Si’s mouth with lightning speed.
She might not have put it in the correct place. Ning Si Si’s facial boundaries were difficult to distinguish.
Everyone stared blankly at her, and Ning Si Si also froze. The slit across the girl’s face wriggled twice before she obediently took hold of the ice pop herself and began eating slowly and quietly.
“Sister Li, when I have children, I’m definitely leaving them with you,” Qiu Shuang said with absolute admiration.
Lin Wen Jing raised an eyebrow. “You want children? With whom?”
“Huh? I don’t know…”
“Stop talking. We’re about to land. Sit down properly!”
Xie Chun Ye’s voice came from the announcement system, interrupting their conversation. The moment the signal returned, he had begun communicating urgently with the tower. The boarding bridge at Liuhe Airport was already in position, and everyone was standing by for the plane to land.
The next few minutes passed quietly. The foul smell in the air had become so intense that everyone had to put their oxygen masks back on and wait in silence.
Fortunately, the faint sensation of weightlessness showed that the plane was descending, and the descent remained stable. At the very least, it was much more comfortable than flying above Tianhai City.
The taxiway at Liuhe Airport was now close. With a serious expression, Xie Chun Ye lowered the landing gear.
Nothing unexpected happened, but he still held his breath instinctively and gripped the control column tightly.
“Three, two, one…” Xie Chun Ye counted softly, then released a breath.
The moment the plane touched down, everyone turned toward their status panels at the same time.
But nothing appeared.
The blue screens displayed no notifications at all.
—That meant the game had not ended. It was still continuing!
As the plane taxied across the ground, a strange gurgle, gurgle came from beneath the carpet. The blood surged upward as though boiling and seemed on the verge of transforming into something alive.
Xiao Li Li lifted her oxygen mask. One hand was wrapped in bandages while the other held Ning Si Si tightly. Gritting her teeth, she said, “I understand now. The mission won’t end until we leave the plane!”
“Mommy…” Infected by the tense atmosphere, Ning Si Si burst into loud tears.
Of course, Xie Chun Ye’s voice was even louder than hers. He practically shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Everyone, pay attention! Once the cabin door opens, follow my instructions! When I count down from three, run outside immediately. Don’t block the way, and don’t turn around to look!”
The microphone hummed through the cabin.
Events soon proved that Xie Chun Ye’s warning had been necessary.
The moment the chief flight attendant opened the cabin door, the scene that appeared before them looked like a big-budget cops-and-robbers movie brought to life.
According to the control tower, Liuhe Airport had suspended all flights, and the taxiway had been completely sealed an hour earlier.
The entire aircraft was surrounded by densely packed armed police vehicles. Three snipers were positioned on the roofs: one aimed at the cabin door and two at the windows.
Tall fire engines and three ambulances stood beyond the police vehicles, their lights flashing as everyone waited in full readiness.
Dozens of armed special police officers crowded the movable boarding bridge. They wore full tactical equipment, and their black gun barrels pointed directly into the cabin, frightening the chief flight attendant until her face went pale.
“All passengers, return to your assigned seats and take out your identification for inspection. Chief flight attendant, show me your credentials.”
The leading officer spoke loudly with a stern expression.
He was tall, broad-voiced, and heavily muscled beneath thick body armor.
When the special police saw the blood spilling out through the cabin door, their expressions became even grimmer. Their bodies shifted immediately into combat readiness, and the gun barrels followed every movement the chief flight attendant made.
At that moment, Xie Chun Ye slowly emerged from the cockpit.
Then he turned around and exchanged a deep look with the stiffly moving captain.
The captain immediately fell silent, retreated, and closed the cockpit door again of his own accord.
Very sensible.
Xie Chun Ye understood better than anyone why such a large force had surrounded the plane.
To secure an emergency high-altitude corridor, he had deliberately described the situation as extremely serious while speaking with the tower, even though he had revealed none of the supernatural details.
Extremely, extremely serious.
So from Liuhe Airport’s perspective, a large-scale terrorist attack requiring the highest level of caution had occurred aboard the aircraft… which was not entirely wrong.
But now they only needed to clear the instance. To hell with whatever chaos they left behind.
Xie Chun Ye remained calm. He turned toward the rookies, who were waiting eagerly for his instructions, and suddenly softened his voice. “Si Si, come let Big Brother hold you.”
Xiao Li Li immediately understood. She swept up the still-sniffling Ning Si Si, stepped across the clean seats, and passed the girl into Xie Chun Ye’s arms.
Ning Si Si pressed her face against his shirt and gave a frightened hiccup.
The special police officers, who had been completely ignored, tensed. Seeing this, they immediately raised and loaded their weapons as one officer shouted angrily, “Release her and don’t move! Return to your seats immediately!”
Xie Chun Ye glanced back at him and smiled. “Of course, Officer… Three, two, one—run!”
The moment he finished speaking, Xie Chun Ye charged toward the cabin door with Ning Si Si in his arms, while everyone else rapidly followed through the blood.
He was carrying an underage “hostage,” so even if he ran directly toward the guns, the officers would not dare fire carelessly.
The special police blocking the bridge reacted as though facing a deadly enemy. They surrounded him with riot-control forks and shields, but they could not keep up with Xie Chun Ye’s practiced dodging.
He kicked the square riot shield in front of him, and the unimaginable impact immediately tore open a gap in the formation. Before the officer who had lost the shield could react, he discovered in bewilderment that he had rolled several times across the floor.
By the time he got back up, Xie Chun Ye was already more than ten meters away.
Qiu Shuang followed closely behind, holding the crash axe. As she ran, she shouted, “Officers, don’t block the door! We’re going to die! There’s a flood inside the plane!”
The others rushed behind her. Xiao Li Li even held a serving tray beside herself as a shield, waving it wildly to obstruct the snipers’ view.
“Stop moving! If you keep running, we’ll open fire!”
The stunned officers had never encountered so many “criminals” who looked nothing like terrorists. They did not even know what else to say and could only raise their weapons while attempting to surround them and issue warnings.
Song Zang was wedged between Lin Wen Jing and Xiao Li Li. He panted with a terrified expression and cried out in a trembling voice, “We really will die if we stay on the plane! There are ghosts! Ghosts!”
Hearing Song Zang’s shaking voice, the riot-control fork swinging directly toward him paused with unreasonable abruptness.
No one noticed the confusion entering the officer’s eyes. Song Zang curved his lips slightly and slipped around the obstacle.
At that moment, the pale-faced captain emerged from the cockpit.
He seemed to have spent considerable effort preparing himself mentally. Standing at the cabin entrance, he raised his identification, took a deep breath, and shouted, “I am Zhou Ning, captain of Flight TH744! They are not terrorists! Medical staff, move in immediately! There are many injured passengers in economy class!”
Thanks to his shout, the red targeting dots aimed at them hesitated and did not fire immediately.
“Everyone stop! Stop! Sir with the glasses, the bridge is not an exit. Whatever you want, we can discuss it. Don’t hurt the child! All other passengers, remain calm and cooperate with the investigation… Holy shit!”
A negotiator outside the plane was attempting to reason with them through a loudspeaker. Before he could finish, however, he pointed at the sky and shouted in panic.
Amid the chaos, the sky toward Tianhai City had somehow been overtaken by clouds spreading wildly in every direction.
Surging blood rose like a tsunami and gradually formed a broad wall reaching into the clouds. It blocked out the sky and dyed the horizon a horrifying crimson.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Immediately afterward, every supposedly unbreakable window on the aircraft shattered without warning. Someone fired wildly in terror, but no bullet could stop the deeply unnatural and ominous scene unfolding before them.
More and more blood sprayed from the broken windows, carrying an ancient, stagnant, and putrid stench.
—It looked as though the end of the world was about to arrive.
But Qiu Shuang and the others ignored it and forced their way out of the plane as quickly as possible.
The moment all of them planted both feet on the boarding bridge, blue screens finally appeared before their eyes.
【Congratulations, players. You have cleared the novice instance “Journey Through Tianhai.” Calculating rewards…】
【Game Completion Rating: A.】
【Main Mission Clear Reward: 5,000 points.】
【All Players Survived Reward: 1,000 points.】
Ning Si Si had already stopped crying. Curled in Xie Chun Ye’s arms, she stared blankly toward the strange wall of blood.
“…Mommy?”
【Transfer commencing. Countdown: 3, 2, 1…】
Everyone’s vision went black.
The chaotic shouting, screams, gunfire, and crying all vanished at once.
In the next instant, they were successfully transported away together.
When Song Zang opened his eyes, he found himself back inside the brightly decorated café.
Xie Chun Ye and the others were no longer there.
A blue screen then appeared before him with another message.
【Player Song Zang, do you permit the system to upload the first-person recording of your gameplay? If other players purchase access, you will receive a share of the points earned.】
Song Zang paused, then refused without hesitation. He also checked the option marked 【Save this choice and do not ask again】.
【Congratulations. You have been named MVP of this game. Reward: Intermediate Healing Coffee ×1.】
The new message appeared at the same time as the sound of footsteps.
Song Zang looked up and saw Attendant No. 1 approaching with a smile, carrying a steaming cup of coffee.
Attendant No. 1 placed the coffee on the dark-brown table in front of him. Just as she prepared to speak, Song Zang instantly put on a weak, helpless, and frightened expression.
Her movement visibly froze for one second before she recovered and pretended nothing had happened.
“Player Song Zang, this is the item awarded for your MVP performance. If you do not need to use it immediately, you may store it in your inventory.” Her tone was highly official as she instructed him.
“I understand. Thank you.”
Song Zang also pretended nothing had happened. He nodded obediently and followed the game guide to store the coffee in one of his inventory slots.
He currently had only three storage slots, which could hold items exchanged from the points shop and physical items awarded by the system.
Unlocking an additional slot would cost five thousand points, which was extremely expensive by any reasonable measure.
“Walk through the café door to return to the real world. Attendant No. 1 looks forward to serving you again.”
Attendant No. 1 seemed unwilling to continue speaking with him. After delivering the official instructions, she quickly turned away and disappeared behind the counter in the blink of an eye.
Song Zang suspected that she possessed self-awareness, but he had no evidence.
The café became quiet.
A gentle, melodious tune played from the old-fashioned record player beside the window.
Song Zang sat on the sofa in a daze for a while, not particularly eager to return to the real world. For someone who had lost his memories, there was very little outside worth missing.
If possible, he would have preferred to enter a new instance immediately and earn enough points to revive Xiao Bai as soon as possible. Unfortunately, he did not yet have the authority to choose.
Song Zang carefully studied the rules. From now on, the system would assign him one mandatory scheduled instance every month. If he wished to enter additional instances, he would first need to clear five games to unlock that privilege.
The system also offered vacation and leisure worlds that were very popular with players. They followed the same unlocking rules and required additional points to enter, which made them seem thoroughly not worth the price.
He was here to save his dog. Every unnecessary form of entertainment could be postponed indefinitely.
“It’s time to go home.”
Song Zang stood, pushed open the door, and walked step by step into the darkness.
⸻
When he opened his eyes again, he was still lying on the sofa in exactly the same position.
Daylight filled the room, and faint sirens and distant commotion drifted in through the window.
Xiao Bai lay stiff and motionless in his arms. The fur stained with blood remained soft, smooth, and warm where it rested against Song Zang’s body.
“I clearly took such good care of you.”
Looking at Xiao Bai’s lifeless body, Song Zang could not help complaining softly.
He gently put Xiao Bai down, washed and tidied himself in front of the mirror, then put on a baseball cap.
Song Zang quietly walked down the dilapidated apartment building. Still looking drowsy and yawning, he hid behind the crowd and listened to their conversation.
The alley from the previous night had already been cleared and sealed off. Police cars surrounded it, but they could not stop ordinary people from gathering to watch.
“I heard there was a gunfight last night. I thought some kid was setting off firecrackers in the middle of the night and nearly opened my window to yell at them! Thank goodness I didn’t get up. The old man who runs the breakfast stall noticed bullet holes in the paving stones but didn’t think much of it. Then he lit his charcoal brazier, and all that blood beneath the snow started bubbling up. He was so frightened he called the police immediately.”
“Yes, yes, he was the first one who noticed! No wonder his wife was crying and forcing heart medicine into his mouth first thing this morning. Good thing he’s fine.”
“That terrifying? Who was firing the guns?”
“No idea. I heard they didn’t find any bodies at all. Haven’t I always said we need security cameras here? Now look what happened. First Old Liu from the pork stall disappeared, and then there was a shooting. So many things have happened in three days…”
“The police even brought in a police dog. A huge, fat black dog with such glossy fur.”
A police dog?
Hearing that, Song Zang frowned slightly.
The dilapidated alley had no cameras, so it would take humans some time to trace anything back to him. But a dog with a sensitive nose was different.
To avoid future trouble, Song Zang decided to leave immediately.
He quietly returned home and packed nothing. He simply put on a thick coat, hoisted Xiao Bai over one shoulder, and calmly went downstairs again.
The moment he reached the bottom, he encountered the same auntie who had been gossiping earlier.
“Little Song, you’re up early. Taking the dog for a walk?” The auntie craned her neck to look at Xiao Bai.
Song Zang naturally showed a hint of embarrassment and smiled shyly. “Mm. It’s too cold, and the alley is blocked, so we have to take the long way around. Xiao Bai refuses to walk and insists that I carry him.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a trace of confusion passed through the auntie’s eyes. Then she smiled without the slightest suspicion and invited him warmly, “The road is slippery and the snow is deep, so be careful. Look at how pale that little face of yours is. Don’t let yourself freeze. Come to Auntie’s place tonight for some chicken soup and warm yourself up.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
Song Zang said goodbye with an obedient expression, then boarded the bus at the intersection while carrying his dog.
He would not be drinking that chicken soup. He was going to find Xie Chun Ye now.
He had not forgotten Xie Chun Ye’s promise to give him a phone.
At the northern edge of Hai City stood the Pearl Tower, with a temple built at the top. The phone had been placed behind the statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva.
Naturally, the information was not as straightforward as it appeared. The fact that Xie Chun Ye had arranged everything in such a roundabout fashion meant that the organization behind him was highly capable and that he very likely intended to recruit Song Zang.
He was recruiting Song Zang and throwing in a free phone. What an excellent person to rely on.
Of course, Song Zang was no longer particularly short of money.
He had seven thousand points, which could apparently be exchanged for a staggering seven million in cash, available whenever he needed it.
Becoming rich overnight was truly that simple.
Clearing a single game could earn someone millions. The price of failure was death… As game mechanics went, that was fairly reasonable.
The bus circled the city for a full hour before finally reaching the stop.
The Pearl Tower rose into the clouds directly ahead, majestic and imposing.
Song Zang did not enter immediately. First, he visited a shop at the foot of the mountain and bought a mask, a new hat, and a large suitcase.
The suitcase was for Xiao Bai.
Carrying it, Song Zang calmly purchased an admission ticket, then ate an enormous meal at the scenic area’s restaurant.
Once he had eaten his fill, he quickly climbed the mountain.
The bell rang precisely at noon. The solemn, ancient temple was sparsely populated and filled with the faint fragrance of incense and candles.
While the staff were not watching, Song Zang quietly slipped behind the statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva.
Sure enough, a phone had been left there. The brand-new packaging looked as though it had only recently been opened.
Song Zang carried the phone outside the hall and immediately opened the box to inspect it.
It was fully charged, ran the latest operating system, and could access the internet and make calls normally. The contact list contained only one unfamiliar number.
Xie Chun Ye truly was considerate. Song Zang felt much safer using a SIM card registered under someone else’s identification.
After setting a password, he checked the phone’s notes first.
One line had been written inside:
“No. 8, Helin Estate, Eastern District, Luo City.”
“Luo City…” Song Zang looked thoughtful.
Luo City was not especially far from Hai City. He could reach it after one day on a cheap long-distance bus.
Xie Chun Ye’s meaning was obvious. He wanted Song Zang to come and seek refuge with him.
The invitation was not compulsory. He had merely given Song Zang another choice for the future.
Song Zang’s lips curved slightly.
Of course he was going.
Song Zang did not intend to depart directly from Hai City. In fact, he did not even leave the Pearl Tower scenic area by the normal route.
He picked up the suitcase, circled around the temple, and entered the deep mountains. His steps gradually quickened until he began running through the camera-free forest, stirring up a rush of mountain wind.
By the time the sun was about to set, Song Zang had already reached a suburban town outside the neighboring city.
There, he bought a large, brightly colored woven sack, placed the suitcase inside, and put on his hat and mask.
If someone wanted to disappear into a crowd, a woven sack was the perfect disguise.
The ordinary-looking, frail young man purchased two tickets for a long-distance bus to Luo City and sat quietly in the last row.
The sky gradually darkened. The bus carried many passengers, most of whom appeared tired and silent.
The onboard radio was broadcasting a follow-up report about the strange shooting in Hai City. The passengers became slightly more alert. The sound of sunflower seeds being cracked open mixed with quiet whispers, while occasional snores drifted from the front rows.
No one knew that the only living person in the world who understood the details of the case was sitting directly behind them.
Song Zang lowered the brim of his hat and closed his eyes.
He slept through the night without dreaming.
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