Chapter Bonanza (5/10)

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

No wonder Mao Tuanl didn’t dare to look—he was driving, so he could only pull over to the side and floor the gas pedal, leaving the “ghost” to Meimei.

But after Meimei scanned the area for a while, nothing happened, and the car drove on.

Jian Xingyi and Meimei plucked up the courage to look back, but there was nothing there.

Everyone in the car was still shaken.

Jian Xingyi turned to look at Meimei. “You really saw it, right? I told you there was a white shadow!”

Meimei scratched his head. “I saw it, but it’s weird… I didn’t see it at all before you pointed it out to me, even though we were already that close… I must be blind not to have seen it. But after you told me the exact direction, I suddenly saw it again.”

But Meimei’s eyesight wasn’t bad. In this blizzard, Jian Xingyi couldn’t see a thing, but Meimei had been working with Cangshui from the other car the whole way, mowing down plenty of zombies and beasts.

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, Could it be that this area was originally teeming with ghosts, but no one could see them? And perhaps he had this special ability because he’d touched a spirit and played the role of the Holy Son?

Or maybe it’s some kind of medium’s privilege?

Jesus, the more he thought about it, the more spine-chilling it felt.

Mao Tuan asked curiously, “So what does it look like?”

Meimei shivered and said, “Um, it’s human-shaped, but just a blurry white shadow…”

Mao Tuan: “…Huh.”

The two people in the other car heard their commotion, and Cangshui sent Meimei a message asking what was going on.

After a moment, Meimei said, “Cangshui and Wu Yun didn’t see any white shadows the whole time either.”

Meimei turned his head and looked at Jian Xingyi with a haunting gaze, “Could it be that only you can see it, and we can only see it because you told us?”

Jian Xingyi wasn’t sure either.

Jian Xingyi simply asked, “So next time I see it, should I say something or not?”

Mao Tuan: “……”

Meimei: “……”

Oh, right.

Good question.

Meimei whispered, “…Well, then, you should still tell us. Maybe we’ll get used to it after a while?”

Mao Tuan: “…I’ll try to get used to it.”

It’s better than having danger right beside you and not even knowing it, right?

But after that, Jian Xingyi didn’t see any white shadows at all.

On the way, Jian Xingyi told them about the snow lotus.

He needed to collect snow lotus to solidify the vines. Although they could be used without solidification, solidifying them might allow him to reach new heights.

Meimei thought for a moment and said, “Hmm… Snow mountains do have this plant, but it really depends on luck. Snow lotus spawns randomly in certain spots, and those places are particularly remote and rarely visited by people. Sometimes you just stumble upon it while walking. I’ve seen them occasionally—maybe no more than ten times.”

Mao Tuan added, “Plus, they change locations. I remember seeing one on the snowy slope behind my guild once, but when I went back the next day, it was gone.”

Ugh, luck…

Jian Xingyi sighed helplessly, “Alright, looks like it’s not meant to be for me.”

If it came down to luck, then he basically had no hope. He might as well pin his hopes on the snow lotuses in his Grade A plot—though few in number, at least they were guaranteed.

After traveling for nearly six hours, everyone was forced to stop.

Jian Xingyi leaned out to look and saw that the road ahead was blocked by fallen tree trunks.

A massive avalanche had just occurred up ahead. Trees and several meters of snow lay across the road, making it completely impassable.

Except for Cangshui, the rest of the group got out to assess the situation. Countless broken tree trunks were buried beneath the snow, and the snow layer was so thick and dense that digging through it was impossible.

Jian Xingyi scratched his head and asked, “Take a detour?”

Meimei shook his head. “This is the only way to the summit. We can’t go around it.”

But generally speaking, the system has a repair function. Since the surrounding environment has been severely damaged, it’s likely the system will fix it after a while.

After they triggered the avalanche with Shuixi earlier, the system had restored everything to normal in as little as six hours.

But they had no idea when this avalanche had occurred, which meant they’d have to wait at least 6–12 hours.

“Ugh, this lousy weather…” Mao Tuan grumbled impatiently. “It’s bad enough that we can’t travel, but now we have to waste time here too.”

But since waiting was unavoidable…

The group wrapped the car in cloth. Except for Cangshui, everyone looked at the trees brought down by the avalanche and, without saying a word, began picking up the wood.

So much…!

Jian Xingyi checked the guild’s inventory count as he gathered the wood.

It seemed that while they were on the road, his guildmates had already started chopping down trees, so the count had increased significantly.

Akita and the others saw that there was already enough wood for at least one wall, but the number of zombies killed was far from keeping up, so they shifted their focus to farming zombies.

Wood: 467,000

Zombies Killed: 16,000

The number of zombies killed began to rise rapidly.

Jian Xingyi was halfway through gathering when his movements suddenly halted.

A white figure suddenly appeared in the distance.

Jian Xingyi suppressed his fear and carefully observed the white figure.

To be honest, after looking at it for a while, he realized… it didn’t seem that scary after all.

After all, it was just a white, human-shaped phantom—there was nothing to it.

He slowly approached and noticed the white figure didn’t flinch. But when he got very close, the figure vanished.

Huh?

When Jian Xingyi blinked again, the white figure was already farther away.

Finding this odd, Jian Xingyi set off in pursuit.

A moment later…

“Xinghe…!”

Jian Xingyi snapped back to reality and realized he had fallen behind the rest of the group.

Meimei asked curiously, “Where are you going?”

Only then did Jian Xingyi realize the white figure had led him to a small path. Looking at the trail ahead—hidden by trees and snow-covered slopes and difficult to spot—he said, “There’s another path here.”

The others came over to take a look. Mao Tuan said, “Huh? I didn’t notice this path before. It must have been covered in snow and only became visible after the avalanche.”

Meimei studied the map for a while, then said with some doubt, “Xinghe, you’re seriously amazing! This path… looks like it might lead up the mountain too!! I’m not sure… I’ll go back and ask Brother Cangshui.”

After discussing it with Cangshui for a while, Meimei realized it might actually be feasible.

Mao Tuan and Wu Yun also followed the path for a distance and soon discovered it indeed connected to the original trail.

So the group set off on their journey once more.

Meimei looked up to Jian Xingyi in admiration: “You’re so amazing…! How did you spot that path?

“That’s weird. My eyesight is pretty good, too, but it feels like yours is better… I circled that area a few times and didn’t spot that path at all.”

Mao Tuan said, “It’s actually pretty impressive that you found it at all. That path was in a blind spot, completely hidden by snow and leaves.”

Jian Xingyi paused for a moment, then admitted honestly, “The white figure led me there.”

Mao Tuan: “……”

Meimei: “……”

Meimei sighed, “How come I never noticed this before? You’re such a weird, mystical person.”

“It really was the white figure who led me. I’m not that amazing.”

Meimei blinked. “So this White Shadow… is a good guy, then? Not only did it not hurt us, but it even showed us the way.”

Jian Xingyi was also a bit puzzled. Could these White Shadows really be benevolent? But…

Jian Xingyi corrected her: “It’s ‘they,’ not ‘he.’ The White Shadow that appears is different every time.”

Meimei quietly moved away from Jian Xingyi. “Brother Mao, I’m scared.”

Mao Tuan: “…Hey, your Brother Mao is scared too. Why don’t we just toss Xinghe over to the car next to us?”

In any case, everyone drove uphill amid the commotion.

It would take at least 12 hours to reach the summit even without stopping, and they’d already been driving for nearly 8 hours. Everyone was exhausted, so they stopped to rest in one of the caves.

Right next to the cave was a coniferous forest.

“The reason we stopped here is because there’s plenty of wood around,” Meimei explained. “This is the richest forest near the summit.”

Wu Yun carried Cangshui out of the car. Sitting by the campfire, Cangshui said, “You guys go ahead. I’ll help watch the supplies.”

Jian Xingyi watched as Wu Yun and Mao Tuan decisively turned and walked into the forest, his eyes widening in surprise.

Huh? Wait—are they just leaving Cangshui there all alone?

Meimei patted Jian Xingyi on the shoulder. “What are you thinking? Cangshui just has trouble walking, but he’s the most experienced player here—he knows the snow mountain map inside out. Any beasts or zombies that get close will probably be shot dead before they even reach him.”

Jian Xingyi: “…That’s impressive.”

Damn it, he really was the only 86-power noob here who needed protection.

The group walked into the woods, gathering wood along the way.

Jian Xingyi: “……”

Everyone was already used to Jian Xingyi suddenly freezing in his tracks.

“Did the charlatan see a white figure again?”

“Yes.”

And it seemed the white figure was guiding him in a certain direction, so Jian Xingyi followed it.

They followed the white figure to the foot of a mountain wall, whereupon it vanished.

Huh…?

Jian Xingyi saw a glimmer of light behind the wall.

There’s something back there…!

Jian Xingyi turned and asked, “Can we blow this wall up?”

“……?”

BOOM———

The group rushed inside before the wall closed again.

Once they were inside, everyone was stunned.

This…

How is this possible?

It was a tomb, decorated in a simple, ancient style. Above their heads was a concrete vaulted ceiling, and the surroundings were filled with offerings—weapons, clay figurines, silk, and gold bars.

But in the game, these items were useless.

“Wow…” Meimei said, “So there’s a place like this? How come we never knew about it before?”

Wu Yun shook his head. “We players haven’t fully mapped out the Dawn’s Break map yet. The guide section for Grape Mountain Peak is still being updated. There are so many hidden spots—Cangshui and I often discover new things in the Snow Mountains too.”

That was indeed strange for a game.

Why are there so many strange and mysterious places, just like in real life?

Jian Xingyi pointed to one of the clay figures nearby and said, “That white figure that was guiding us has returned there.”

Mao Tuan scratched his head. “So all those white figures causing trouble along the way were just trying to lead us here?”

Meimei corrected him. “They were leading Xinghe, right?”

Jian Xingyi wondered to himself, could it be because he triggered the Holy Son’s quest in the dungeon earlier?

To find out more, they’d have to keep moving forward. The group passed through the offering room and entered a narrow corridor.

CRASH—

As soon as they stepped onto the corridor, the floor beneath their feet suddenly collapsed.

“Whoa—!”

……

……

When Jian Xingyi regained consciousness, he found himself in a room lit by countless torches. He had no idea how the flames hadn’t gone out. The room was completely empty, except for…

a coffin right in the center.

Jian Xingyi: “…!!”

Oh my god!

This must be the center of the tomb. How did he end up here?

Jian Xingyi opened his terminal.

Meimei: 【Xinghe, where are you? After we all woke up, we found ourselves outside the tomb. And every time we tried to blast through the mountain wall to get back in, we got teleported out right in the hallway!!】

Xinghe: 【I’m fine. I’ll find a way out. Don’t worry.】

The fact that he can still communicate means he hasn’t entered some weird dungeon or alternate dimension. That’s a relief…

Jian Xingyi looked around.

…No doors, no windows—nothing at all, just concrete walls.

Jian Xingyi: “……”

It’s okay, it’s okay…

Jian Xingyi told himself not to panic and began to survey his surroundings.

Jian Xingyi didn’t find any extra items or traps. It seemed… Jian Xingyi glanced at the coffin.

Guess I’ll have to open the coffin to find clues?

Jian Xingyi took a deep breath, hoping this game wouldn’t be like real life—opening the coffin shouldn’t release any poisonous gas, right…

Just in case, Jian Xingyi took the shovel from his backpack to use as a lever. He stepped back a few paces and carefully pried open the coffin lid.

“Creak!” As the lid swung open, inside lay a mummy and… a memory bubble.

The mummy was remarkably well-preserved, though he couldn’t quite make out the details…

It’s the Holy Son!

The Holy Son he’d encountered in the dungeon before!

As for where this memory bubble would lead, Jian Xingyi had no idea. Perhaps it contained the Holy Son’s memories, but right now, aside from the memory bubble, there was no other way out of this tomb chamber.

Jian Xingyi had no choice but to try touching it.

Whoosh—

When Jian Xingyi opened his eyes again, he found himself on a snowy plain, surrounded by lush coniferous forests.

Familiarity breeds confidence; this time, Jian Xingyi was certain this wasn’t their era.

The snow and the vegetation didn’t look right.

Without a word, Jian Xingyi began tapping the plants around him.

【Harvest Successful, Absorbed 【Essence】 x41】

【Harvest Successful, Absorbed 【Essence】 x20】

【Harvest Successful, Absorbed 【Essence】 x12】

……

There really is a lot!

After circling the area a few times, Jian Xingyi was called out.

“Brother Xinghe… you’re here!”

Jian Xingyi paused.

He turned to see a young boy walking toward him with a joyful expression.

…The Holy Son!

But how did he know his name? And this Holy Son’s demeanor… was completely different from the one in the dungeon?!

The Holy Son in the dungeon was imbued with a divine aura, his form ethereal, and he showed no emotion whatsoever.

But the boy before him was full of joy and even called him by name.

Jian Xingyi asked tentatively, “The Holy Son…?”

The boy paused. “I haven’t become the Holy Son yet. The villagers say I have to wait another two years before I can undergo the ritual.”

Jian Xingyi understood. The Holy Son in the dungeon had already undergone the ritual, shedding his past memories and all human emotions, becoming an empty shell of a Holy Son, while the Holy Son before him was still human.

“Then how do you know my name?”

The Holy Son looked puzzled. “Why wouldn’t I know? Didn’t you tell me? You were here just a few days ago.”

As he spoke, the Holy Son began to laugh. Perhaps in preparation for the upcoming ritual, he had been raised to be an innocent, naive child. “You came with a few older brothers and sisters, and you brought us lots of seeds. The adults said you were carrying out some… some…”

The Holy Child thought for a long time. “The Game… the Liberation Plan?”

Jian Xingyi paused.

He didn’t understand.

Jian Xingyi pulled the Holy Child over to sit beside him. “Could you tell Brother Xinghe about the other day… no, about all the times I’ve come here before? Brother Xinghe seems to be sick; he can’t remember things anymore.”

Jian Xingyi thought to himself: Earlier, when he entered the memory bubble, he’d also encountered a doctor who knew his name, so he wanted to figure out what was going on.

Shengzi chuckled mischievously, “I won’t tell you—unless… You give me something yummy!”

Jian Xingyi opened the synthesis console and created a milk cake for Shengzi.

“Yum…!” Shengzi said with a blissful expression, “Big Brother Xinghe still has so many treats!”

Shengzi continued, “Big Brother Xinghe’s first visit was a few years ago, right? Back then, you brought your boyfriend, an older sister, and a whole group of people. The adults said you were all from the same guild, that you were great heroes, and that you were carrying out the Game Liberation Plan to save all of us.”

Jian Xingyi tried to piece it together.

First, he had to clear his mind. For instance, he needed to set aside the “Brother Xinghe”—that was someone else. He was merely playing that role because he’d entered the memory bubble, just like in any other dungeon.

So…

Jian Xingyi asked, “That older sister… did everyone call her the Commander? Were my boyfriend and I the Builders?”

So far, only the Commander, the Doctor, and the Builders have been unearthed in Peace Mountain. She’d already met the Doctor, so she could only choose from the remaining two.

“No, actually. The two Builder brothers came by last week to check on the fortress’s progress. The adults said you’re 【Logistics】, and Brother Xinghe’s boyfriend is 【Vanguard】.”

Jian Xingyi understood.

So those five tombstones—the last two were for Logistics and Vanguard.

He just hadn’t realized that, like the Builders, Logistics, and Vanguard were also a pair! Could it be that their tombstones were buried together?

Since he was now playing the role of Logistics…

While activating his skill to collect essence points from the surroundings, Jian Xingyi asked, “Did Brother Xinghe ever tell you where he wants to be buried if he dies someday? Will he be buried with his boyfriend?”

“Uh… no?” Shengzi blinked, “Xinghe, that’s such a weird question.”

Jian Xingyi gave a dry laugh, “Then can you tell me what that ‘Game Liberation Plan’ you mentioned earlier is?”

Shengzi replied, “Um… I’m not really sure. It seems to be about ending the game and the apocalypse? I don’t really get what that means either… But Brother said that you and the big sisters and big brothers will travel all over the map to give everyone good food, teach everyone how to build fortresses, and that one day we’ll kill all those monsters.”

The Holy Child looked up at Jian Xingyi and smiled. “We’ll always pray for you all! Once I become the Holy Child, I’ll pray for all the players, too! And Brother Xinghe said that once I become the Holy Child, even if I die, I’ll still be able to chat with you—as long as I have this…”

The Holy Child pulled out a talisman.

Jian Xingyi froze in place.

It was the Snow Spirit Talisman he’d obtained earlier in the dungeon…

This talisman allowed him to ask the Holy Son and the Snow Spirit once a month about any doubts regarding the past, future, or present.

At that moment, Jian Xingyi almost believed he was Logistics.

But of course, that was impossible. Logistics and all those heroes had long since died—that was the game’s lore and setting, while he was a living, breathing player.

Perhaps obtaining the Snow Spirit Talisman had unlocked these stories?

Regardless, he had successfully gathered a wealth of information from the Holy Son—information that might help them escape the game!

Jian Xingyi wanted to ask more questions, but the time within the memory bubble was limited. As his body grew increasingly transparent, he asked, “I want to leave this place. Is there any way you can send me back?”

“Huh?” The Holy Son scratched his head. “Well, I’ll pray for you…?”

“Thank you…!”

A memory bubble appeared nearby. Jian Xingyi shoved two milk cakes into the Holy Son’s hands and hurriedly left.

The Holy Son blinked as he watched Jian Xingyi’s figure dash away, then sighed helplessly.

Earlier, Brother Xinghe had told him that in the future, whenever he met a brother who looked just like him and gave him tasty treats, he should answer all of his questions, no matter how strange they might be.

These questions… were indeed very strange!

Back then, he’d told Brother Xinghe, “But there are so many things I don’t know. What if Brother asks me something I can’t answer?”

Brother Xinghe just smiled and said, “It’s okay. Once you become the Holy Son, you’ll know everything in this world. Maybe you’ll even understand the difference between ‘players’ and us.”

He found it so strange. Were “players” different from them? But they were all human, weren’t they?

There were so many things he didn’t understand when Brother Xinghe spoke, but it didn’t matter. Once he became the Holy Son, he would understand, right? For example…

“No, you’re different from us. You were born here, so you possess powers we don’t have.”

“Promise me: if you see me in the future but I don’t remember you, you must find a way to bring me to your side, okay? ”

“You are the last trump card I have left.”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

When Jian Xingyi opened his eyes again, he found himself staring into Meimei’s magnified face and concerned gaze.

“Ah! You’re awake!”

Jian Xingyi blinked.

Had he… left the tomb?

Jian Xingyi sat up, and the others immediately gathered around to ask what had happened.

“Nothing much…” Jian Xingyi rubbed his temples and said, “I might need to get my bearings first.”

“Oh, okay!”

Seeing that Jian Xingyi was fine, everyone assumed they’d just stumbled into some strange place—there were plenty of such corners in the game—so they didn’t give it a second thought.

The group continued gathering wood.

Jian Xingyi activated his skill to collect essence points while deep in thought.

The “Game Liberation Plan”…

That must be a keyword.

Why “Game”?

Could it be that those heroes know this is a game?

If so, perhaps by following the heroes’ path and completing their unfinished business, they could truly escape this game.

Jian Xingyi felt he needed to find time to speak privately with the bigwigs at Grape Mountain who handled these matters. He recalled that several high-ranking members there specialized in researching how to leave the game.

As Jian Xingyi continued walking, he received a system notification.

【Player 【Xinghe】 has discovered the Tomb of the Holy Son, completed the achievement 【The Pact】, and received a reward of 66,666 Dawn Coins. The item 【Snow Spirit Talisman】 has been upgraded!】

Jian Xingyi clicked on the details and found that while his talisman could still only be used once a month, the number of questions he could ask had increased from 1 to 3.

Yay…!

Although Jian Xingyi didn’t yet know what to ask, more chances were definitely better!

As Jian Xingyi walked forward, a white figure appeared beside him again.

Jian Xingyi froze.

But this time, the white figure didn’t lead him anywhere; it merely waved at him before slowly fading away.

Huh…?

Jian Xingyi chuckled softly.

This time, he didn’t find it scary at all.