Thanks to GreenKiTea for the Kofis. Enjoy the bonus chapters!
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Jian Xingyi had met this man before—strictly speaking, in the game… though it wasn’t really a game.

He had seen him when he was younger than he looked now; he had seen him in middle age with a beard; and he had seen him with a few strands of gray hair.

…It’s the Doctor.

And with that level of knowledge and ability… calling him a Doctor makes perfect sense.

But whether he’s really a Doctor or not, we’ll have to wait until he wakes up to find out.

“So what do we do now?” Jian Xingyi scratched his head. “How can we get him out of here?”

Shanhai pondered for a moment before analyzing, “The Vice President of Rain Never Stops wouldn’t be short on medication. He’d do this… probably because he’d reached the usage limit, so he chose this method—perhaps hoping to stop the bleeding temporarily and administer the medicine to himself once the buffer period ended. But…”

Jian Xingyi understood. “But he lost consciousness before the buffer period ended.”

Jian Xingyi reached out to touch Yu Shen’s forehead. Sure enough, he was ill and running a high fever, his entire body covered in measles.

Jian Xingyi asked, as if seeking confirmation, “So, all we need to do is treat his wounds with medicine and cure his illness?”

“Mm-hmm.”

So the two got to work. Shanhai cut through the entangled red leaves; fortunately, the leaves had been killed in time and hadn’t penetrated the wound. Shanhai couldn’t help but marvel at Yu Shen’s timing. Meanwhile, Jian Xingyi administered the medicine to Yu Shen. The medicines they’d bought earlier in the hospital dungeon and the shop were all in syringe form, so even though he was unconscious, Jian Xingyi was able to use them.

During the treatment, Yu Shen broke out in a cold sweat and began convulsing. He woke up several times from the pain, but he was barely conscious—he’d wake up only to pass out again.

After spending some time treating his wounds, Shanhai pinched Yu Shen’s cheeks to force his mouth open, while Jian Xingyi began pouring ginseng milk into it. Just in case, Jian Xingyi hadn’t sold all his ginseng; he’d kept a little in his backpack.

After all this, Yu Shen still hadn’t woken up. Perhaps his injuries had been too severe, and he needed some time to recover his strength.

Jian Xingyi sat down and waited patiently. Just then, he received a message from Wan Yu.

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, “Could it be that he’s panicking because he sees more and more people on the public channel siding with me and gradually losing trust in him?”

He opened the message, and sure enough.

Wan Yu: 【What good does it do for us to face off like this on the public channel? We could have been allies.】

Jian Xingyi ignored it, but Wan Yu sent another message shortly after.

Wan Yu: 【Let’s negotiate—open and honest negotiations. This world runs on interests, especially in this post-apocalyptic era. I believe there aren’t many people in this world who can resist temptation, including you.】

Xinghe: 【Go on.】

Jian Xingyi was starting to get interested. Was Wan Yu about to incriminate himself?

Wan Yu: 【Not long ago, I found Yu Shen’s notebook. It lists six plants. If we can solve the riddle and collect them all, we’ll gain access to endless resources and escape the game. Don’t you want to leave the game?】

Xinghe: 【I don’t understand. If that’s the case, why did you hurt Yu Shen? Wouldn’t it have been better to let him collect those plants and lead all of us out of the game?】

Wan Yu: 【No, you don’t get it. That notebook decoded the text on the scrolls containing information about the plants. It says that after collecting the plants, only five people will be allowed to pass—it’s a limited quota. And I’m certain Yu Shen wouldn’t have reserved a spot for me.】

Jian Xingyi stared at Wan Yu’s message, his eyes wide.

So that’s how it is…!

Wan Yu: 【Yu Shen doesn’t know any of you. I’m sure that once he deciphers the scroll, none of you will be included in those spots. So we can work together: we kill Yu Shen, collect the final plant, and you, me, and maybe even your lover can leave this monthly game. What do you say?】

Wan Yu was very confident; he believed no one could refuse these terms.

Xinghe: 【I refuse.】

……??

Huh?

Wan Yu: 【Xinghe, are you crazy?! This might be our only chance to escape this game! Are you just going to let it slip away?】

Wan Yu: 【You don’t understand—if we miss this opportunity, it’s gone forever!】

Wan Yu assumed Jian Xingyi was refusing because he didn’t realize how advantageous the deal was.

Jian Xingyi knew Wan Yu well enough. This man… in his worldview, there seemed to be nothing but self-interest, and because of that, his eyes were blinded by greed, leaving him unable to see anything else.

But…

A sudden thought struck Jian Xingyi.

Maybe he could use this to team up with Canglang?!

Xinghe: 【How am I supposed to trust what you’re saying?】

After hearing Shanhai’s advice, Jian Xingyi realized that if he wanted to deceive Wan Yu, he couldn’t just agree right away—that would be too obvious. He had to feign a greedy interest in Wan Yu’s terms.

Wan Yu: 【It’s simple. Let’s talk face-to-face. I’ll explain everything to you in detail, but on one condition… I need to see Yu Shen’s ID turned off.】

Xinghe: 【We’ve already found Yu Shen 【photo】】

Jian Xingyi snapped a photo of the unconscious Yu Shen.

Every negotiation needs a little leverage.

Wan Yu: 【Alright, alright! I knew you’d agree.】

Xinghe: 【Then let’s meet tonight at 8 PM in Monkey Forest—just you, me, and Shanhai. If I find out you brought anyone else… we won’t show up.】

Wan Yu: 【I agree. Likewise, if Yu Shen’s ID isn’t gray, I won’t show up either.】

Jian Xingyi sent Wan Yu the exact location, then shared the same coordinates with Canglang.

Xinghe: 【We negotiated with Wan Yu and tricked him. Meet at this location tonight at 8 PM. Shanhai says it’s perfect for an ambush!】

Canglang: 【I’m deeply grateful.】

Jian Xingyi sighed, hoping Canglang would succeed, and hoping Qingqing was safe and could be rescued without a hitch.

“So…” Jian Xingyi turned to look at Shanhai, “Do you have a way to make Yu Shen’s ID go dark?”

“Yes.” Shanhai pulled out an item.

“An ID Hide Card…?” Jian Xingyi blinked, “There’s such a thing?”

Shanhai explained, “Yes, I got it by spending real money before logging into the game. It hides your online status to avoid being disturbed; once activated, your ID goes dark.”

Jian Xingyi looked concerned. “If it’s an item any player can get by spending money, how can we fool Wan Yu?”

“We can. Not every player can get it.”

Shanhai went on to explain that he had accidentally unlocked an achievement, which prompted the system to ask if he wanted to purchase the ID Hiding Card with real money.

“What kind of achievement?”

“Not replying to anyone’s messages or posting in any channel for 200 consecutive days.”

Jian Xingyi: “……………”

He believed there were indeed very few players in the entire server who could achieve that; this hidden achievement was likely unknown to most.

And probably no one would go out of their way to find out about it, after all, it wasn’t a game reward and offered no practical benefits!

A moment later, a sound came from the next room, and Yu Shen finally stirred, half-asleep.

When Yu Shen woke up and saw two figures, he instinctively drew his rifle and aimed it at them, like a startled bird.

Jian Xingyi hurriedly said, “Hey, hey…! We’re here to save you! I’m Xinghe, and he’s Shanhai.”

Yu Shen blinked. Once his vision cleared and he recognized Shanhai’s face, he finally let out a full sigh of relief.

Finally… someone had come.

Yu Shen’s voice was slightly hoarse. “Thank you… both of you.”

“You’re welcome. Actually, Ms. Bai sent us. She said you’d lost contact with the organization and had been missing for quite a while, so she was worried something might have happened to you.”

Yu Shen leaned against the mountain wall, catching his breath.

Jian Xingyi observed Yu Shen discreetly; his features and posture were truly identical.

But his demeanor was completely different.

How to put it? He felt like the Doctor, yet there was something different about him.

And…

Jian Xingyi tentatively asked, “Yu Shen, have you ever met me?”

Yu Shen looked at Jian Xingyi, puzzled. “Hmm…?”

“Never mind…”

Yu Shen didn’t recognize him either.

Once Yu Shen had regained his strength and his mind cleared, he glanced at the two of them and said, “I want to thank you both again… You managed to find me even though I was hiding here. You must have gone through a lot… I’m sorry for causing you trouble, and I’m sorry for worrying Ms. Bai and the others.”

Yu Shen sighed. He’d finally made it here and could have weathered this crisis on his own, but he hadn’t realized he’d overestimated his endurance—he’d actually passed out before the grace period ended…

It was unimaginable—if Jian Xingyi and Shanhai hadn’t found him, or if they’d found him even a moment later, he would truly have died.

In fact, when Jian Xingyi and Shanhai discovered Yu Shen, his vital signs were already extremely weak—almost nonexistent.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Jian Xingyi thought to himself. That’s good—he’d collected quite a bit of essence points on this trip.

Jian Xingyi continued to observe surreptitiously.

Their voices were identical, but while both were gentle, the Doctor’s carried a tenderness born of hardship, whereas Yu Shen before him seemed more like a good-natured teenager, lacking the Doctor’s weariness.

Shanhai handed the ID Concealment Card to Yu Shen. “Use it.”

“Hmm…?”

Though he didn’t understand why, Yu Shen obediently used it.

“Did something happen? The guild… are Canglang and the others okay?”

Jian Xingyi recounted their experiences over the past few days to Yu Shen, including the deal with Wan Yu.

After listening, a flicker of anger flashed across Yu Shen’s gentle face. “How dare he… Wan Yu has actually gone this far! He… he…”

Yu Shen was so furious he couldn’t even bring himself to curse; instead, he felt only deeper frustration and self-reproach.

“I’ve actually caused Canglang and Qingqing so much trouble…”

“They’re fine for now; don’t worry. As for tonight… I’m sure Canglang will handle it.”

Jian Xingyi thought to himself: The Doctor he’d met seemed so… lonely, as if he were all alone with nothing to hold him back. But Yu Shen, before him, was emotionally rich, with many ties and people he cared about—he might even have a lover!

So it seems the Doctor and Yu Shen… aren’t the same person?

Jian Xingyi decided to leave it at that for now.

Yu Shen once again thanked Jian Xingyi and Shanhai for extending a helping hand to Canglang and the others, then proceeded to share his own experiences.

After entering the game, once his survival and resource management were well under control, Yu Shen began researching the game’s plants and creatures.

“I’ve discovered quite a few interesting things. For instance, most beasts and zombies don’t respawn—the ones you’ve encountered are all new, which is why there are fewer and fewer monsters on the map. However, anything related to rewards or achievements, or map bosses, will respawn. For example, the Dodo beasts scattered throughout the wilderness don’t respawn, but if that Dodo beast is a regional boss, then it will.”

Huh??!

Huh???!

Jian Xingyi was speechless, and Shanhai was also taken aback.

Perhaps it was because they had discovered Yu Shen’s astonishing store of knowledge while searching for him, but for some reason, the two of them now instinctively believed and were shocked by whatever mind-blowing information they heard.

“Another example: the distribution of plant density is consistent across every region. Take lava volcanoes and snow-capped mountains—they both have dense forests in the south and plains in the north, though the density varies. For instance…”

Yu Shen paused. “Sorry, old habits die hard. I’ll just get straight to the point.”

The two listened attentively.

“Two months ago, I was in the Snake’s Den… which is right here—I found a bundle of scrolls. They were covered in writing I couldn’t read, so it took me a long time to decipher them.”

Yu Shen handed them the scrolls and the results of his deciphering.

Jian Xingyi was somewhat surprised—this scroll… looked exactly like his own!

But when opened, the contents were completely different.

Jian Xingyi’s scroll contained only patterns and no text, while Yu Shen’s had text but no patterns.

Yu Shen saved his decoded notes to his terminal.

【“Dawn Descends” Safety Lock (Part 1) — In the event that the holographic game malfunctions and testers are unable to exit the immersive state, the following program commands may be executed to force a wake-up.】

【Maximum Usage: 5】

Jian Xingyi was speechless.

Wow…

This really is the key to leaving the game—no wonder Wan Yu went crazy!

Activating this so-called program command will let us leave the game!!

“I think this might be a command used before the game went live, or perhaps by maintenance staff. But precisely because of that, they probably already knew about this program, so they didn’t document it very thoroughly. It took me a while to figure out how to activate it.”

Yu Shen realized that not only was the distribution of plants the same in every area, but even the arrangement of the trees was identical.

In every area, there is a first plant that sprouts—this is the initial plant placed there by the programmers from the start. From this initial plant, others replicate and begin to grow…

It is the root of this map, the very foundation of everything that makes up this map.

“So, for example, since we’re currently in the rainforest zone, we just need to find the first seedling in each of the six sub-zones here and destroy it to trigger the bug. That will make the exit gate appear. Similarly, if we find those six plants in the snowy mountain zone, the exit gate for that area will open.”

That means Wan Yu had misunderstood—it wasn’t that only five players total could leave, but that only five players from each zone could leave.

Jian Xingyi listened in amazement.

Although the air walls were “real,” they were ultimately still part of the game—a virtual reality. He could still use the terminal inside the air walls to collect essences and buy land.

But what Yu Shen was describing was different…

This was the real world!

You could actually leave the game…

But if only five people could leave per area, what about the rest?

Jian Xingyi was once again at a loss.

But rather than dwelling on that, he decided to summon the gate first—what if it didn’t work?

Jian Xingyi asked, “Did you find them? Those six plants.”

Yu Shen sighed. “It’s too hard. They’re all just text descriptions—flowery ones at that—and I have to solve riddles. I’ve been searching hard, and so far I’ve got 3 out of 6.”

Yu Shen said helplessly, “Where did Wan Yu get the confidence to try to kill me? Does he think he’ll find them himself if he kills me?”

Jian Xingyi thought for a moment.

“Ah…”

Jian Xingyi took out his scroll.

Now Jian Xingyi understood what his scroll meant.

Yu Shen was dumbfounded when he saw it. When Jian Xingyi unfolded his scroll, there was a faint line of ancient text at the very top.

【“Dawn Descends” Safety Lock (Part 2)】

Then it was all illustrations of those six plants.

Yu Shen: “……………”

Poor Yu Shen: “Where did you guys find this…!”

And to think he’d spent ages solving riddles… boo-hoo… If he’d gotten this scroll earlier, he’d have had all six plants long ago!

Jian Xingyi: “A hole in the Sacred Tree… unlocked the ‘Blasphemy’ achievement.”

“……”

Yu Shen smiled and said, “Speaking of which, regarding that ‘Blasphemy’ achievement, I find it a bit odd too… Every time I obtained a plant after discovering the scroll, it unlocked that achievement. Why ‘Blasphemy’? I’m curious as well.”

“Oh, right…”

Shanhai said, “Maybe this ‘God’ refers to the program and the game? Tearing apart and destroying the game, forcing a wake-up call to another world, isn’t that blasphemy against this game world? It’s blasphemy against the NPCs, too.”

“……”

“……”

That makes sense.

Jian Xingyi scratched his head: “That’s exactly it… It feels kind of scary, like the game has turned into reality.”

“Xinghe.” Yu Shen lowered his gaze. “While I was completing the ‘Completor’ series of quests, every time I unlocked the ‘Blasphemy’ achievement… I’d occasionally feel like this game was becoming more and more like reality.”

“Hm?”

Yu Shen took a deep breath and said, “Do you remember what I said earlier about it not refreshing?”

Jian Xingyi got goosebumps. Although Grapevine Peak had initially posted a guide warning everyone—since some monsters no longer stayed within the program’s designated boundaries—Jian Xingyi had only recently learned that Grapevine Peak’s guide posts actually served as a bulletin board for the Human Liberation Project. While the project itself couldn’t be made public, research findings could be posted through this channel without raising suspicion.

But learning this information again now felt entirely different.

“Plus, the rain on Rainforest Mountain has gotten heavier and heavier since we entered the game, and now it’s even gotten to the point where it’s making people sick. I initially thought this might be ‘divine retribution’ for ‘blasphemy,’ but something doesn’t add up. I only ‘blasphemed’ in the Rainforest Zone—the plant programs in other areas are fine. So why are the blizzards on Snow Mountain getting stronger, and the lava volcanoes getting hotter?”

Jian Xingyi blinked, “I hadn’t noticed that…”

Shanhai said, “All the maps have become harsher since we entered.”

“Ah…”

Jian Xingyi looked worried. “Could they get even worse?”

“That’s unclear… Perhaps to solve these mysteries, we must first collect these six plants, then open the door to investigate.” Yu Shen said, “But if we don’t find a way for everyone to leave the game—and there are only five of us…—I won’t leave the game. I’ll keep searching; we’ll find a way eventually. With Ms. Bai as our leader, you as our… savior, and Shanhai with his high combat power… if we work together, we’ll definitely succeed.”

Yu Shen’s eyes were filled with hope and light.

Jian Xingyi froze.

No, this wasn’t the Doctor.

The Doctor he had seen had only an abyss in his eyes, no light.

At that moment, he was finally certain.

“The first three have already been destroyed, right? So the remaining three… shall we work together to find them?” Jian Xingyi asked. “How should we divide the tasks?”

After discussing it, they decided to entrust the two plants growing in treacherous environments to the more experienced Yu Shen. As for the other one—the carnivorous flower in the rainforest dungeon—that was left to Jian Xingyi and Shanhai.

After all, Shanhai was a high-powered fighter who had already cleared this dungeon and knew the ins and outs.

After everything was settled, Jian Xingyi asked, “So, what should we do now…”

Yu Shen said, “I have a favor to ask. Could you come with me… to help Canglang?”

Yu Shen sighed and said, “Canglang has a… rather straightforward temperament, and I’m worried that Wan Yu might pull some underhanded tricks again. I’m afraid something might go wrong, and we’ll end up repeating the same mistakes.”

Having Shanhai, with his high combat power, was a form of assurance, and with Jian Xingyi present, Wan Yu wouldn’t dare to act rashly. If he were to harm Jian Xingyi, the Rainforest District would truly be doomed.

Yu Shen also gave the two a rough account of what had happened: back then, during the zombie tide, he’d been severely wounded after being framed by Wan Yu. While recuperating at the Home Base, Wan Yu had led a group to lay siege to him. It had taken immense effort and a grueling struggle before he’d finally managed to escape here.

So he hadn’t even had the energy to check in with Canglang; he’d nearly fainted during the ordeal.

When Wan Yu turns ruthless, he’s truly ruthless.

Jian Xingyi looked at Shanhai, who replied softly, “I’ll follow your lead.”

“Oh… since we’re here, might as well help out, right?”

“Alright.”

Shanhai then observed Yu Shen’s condition for a while.

There really wasn’t anything wrong with him anymore; he was just still a bit tired and weak. But since the standoff with Wan Yu would take place at night, he still had a few hours to recover.

After all, an injury is different from an illness. With an injury, once you’ve taken medicine, aside from the psychological pain, there really isn’t much of a problem. But if you’re sick, it truly does take time to recover.

The group stepped out of the cave. Jian Xingyi looked around at the empty, spacious floating island… and only then realized he’d almost forgotten something.

Buy land!!!

Jian Xingyi tried tapping the option.

Sure enough, he could buy it!

This place was out of reach for the giant snakes, and outsiders would find it difficult to enter due to the snakes. Of course, even if they did enter, they wouldn’t necessarily make it to this area—it was simply too remote and lacked valuable resources. So… this was an absolutely fantastic spot!

Plus, with such high essence values here, the farmland ratings were bound to be impressive!

Sure enough.

15 million, 250 points, enough to develop 30 plots of Grade A farmland.

The points are lower than those in the Flag-Raising Mountain dungeon, but because the area is spacious, it’s more expensive and yields more farmland.

Now Jian Xingyi realized that finding a good plot of land isn’t easy, so he decisively bought it.

Now he has more leeway to grow ginseng!

Jian Xingyi was overjoyed.

Yu Shen was found, everyone was safe and sound, he’d collected a pile of essence points in this snake den, and he’d bought the land!

Great, great, great!

Jian Xingyi checked his essence points.

2,001/7,500

Yay!

Although he still has a ways to go… hmm… but it’s no problem!

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, he’d actually collected nearly 800 essence points in a single snake den… That’s a lot!

Hopefully, the upcoming Monkey Forest and dungeon would bring him even more.

The group left the snake den and headed to the Monkey Forest early to meet up with Canglang.

Of course, they went in secret—after all, they had to keep Yu Shen’s survival a secret, and they couldn’t let Wan Yu discover that they’d gone ahead to set up an ambush.

The Monkey Forest was a low-difficulty area; aside from the monkeys being a bit numerous and a nuisance, there wasn’t much danger.

“You’re here…! Shanhai, Xinghe, and… Huh?!”

The girl who had been with Qingqing earlier stared wide-eyed: “Yu… Yu Shen?”

Her eyes welled up with tears. “You… you’re not dead…”

Yu Shen looked puzzled. “No…? What’s wrong?”

Why does she seem so emotional?

The girl couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst into tears. “Waaah, we saw your ID go dark and thought you were dead, waaah!! Brother Canglang even went to the back mountain and cried his eyes out, waaah…”

Yu Shen: “……”

Yu Shen turned to look at Shanhai and Jian Xingyi. So you guys didn’t check in…

Jian Xingyi also turned to look at Yu Shen. Isn’t that your responsibility…! So you didn’t say anything!!

Jian Xingyi pictured Canglang—that big guy—sobbing his eyes out, and his lips twitched as he said to Yu Shen, “Um… why don’t you go find him?”

“…Yeah.”

After Yu Shen left, Jian Xingyi looked at Shanhai, “How are we going to ambush Wan Yu?”

Shanhai glanced at the surrounding terrain.

The trees here were shorter, with more branches and vines—likely to make it easier for monkeys to move around.

The girl from earlier said through her sobs, “We… sniffle, we’ve come up with a plan.”

“Have you ever been to Monkey Mountain?”

Huh???

What?