Inside a certain Ivy League campus, chaos was brewing.
“What kind of joke is this supposed to be?! A hurricane from the Arctic?!” A male student practically tore at the few strands of hair he had left. Spread out on the desk before him were stacks of freshly printed experimental data.
The graduate student next to him looked just as distressed. “This is unbelievable. There’s no way this calculation result is correct.”
They had plugged the existing observational data into the formula over and over again. They found no mistakes in the process, yet the results were so absurd they left everyone stunned.
Hurricanes, tropical cyclones, were storms born from the ocean, typically forming over the Atlantic. Country A was no stranger to these disasters; it had a complete monitoring and emergency response system in place. But the current situation had gone far beyond what people usually imagined.
According to the results produced by their research team, the incoming hurricane seemed to originate from the Arctic region.
Could something like that even still be called a hurricane?
Just then, Heran (Crane) returned from the convenience store carrying a bag full of cold drinks, only to walk right into this scene of collective despair.
She had drawn an identity belonging to a student research group that was responsible for a disaster-weather prediction project. Several high-performing students, all accomplished in climate system research, were gathered here, scratching their heads as they worked desperately to predict the calamity heading their way.
Heran thoughtfully twisted open the caps and placed chilled cola bottles beside her exhausted teammates. “Take a break. You guys haven’t slept properly for days.”
“Break? With results like this staring at us, how are we supposed to relax?” The male student sighed as he grabbed the cola without hesitation and chugged from it. “Next time, bring coffee.”
They felt like they were calculating an old grandmother’s walking speed, only to end up with an answer of a hundred kilometers per hour, completely nonsensical.
“Have you ever heard of space hurricanes?” Heran asked. She had no professional knowledge at all; everything she said came from frantic online research and the confidential information her system provided.
The male student blinked at her, confused. “Space hurricanes? You mean those ionized and charged-particle cyclones that happen in the upper atmosphere over the Arctic?”
“I… think so? Is there a problem?”
“Of course there’s a problem. Those occur in the upper atmosphere. The hurricanes we study form in the lower atmosphere, the kind that actually reaches human settlements.”
Heran wisely shut her mouth and tried her best to lower her presence. The system’s mission required her to determine the storm’s exact landfall time and predicted trajectory so the public could be warned in advance and prepare. But she lacked the expertise to do anything except support these native researchers as much as possible.
The task felt intentionally punishing. She knew that most players who drew this identity would be just as helpless as she was. Yet this was a PVP dungeon, there was no way it would be that easy.
There were four other players. Her younger brother had been invited by the military to participate in developing a weather-control weapon; his mission was to complete the field tests. Meanwhile, her friend Amanda was working as a reporter, currently locked in a fierce confrontation with a player who had become a politician.
Amanda was from Country A and knew Heran in real life. She could join the China region’s players because she had lived in China for many years, working as an English tutor hired by Heran and her brother’s parents. Technically, Heran should call her “teacher,” but the two were close in age and got along well as friends.
While her classmates were deeply absorbed in their calculations, Heran took advantage of the moment to slack off and check her phone. She had successfully added her brother on social media, so she could now contact him freely.
[Crane’s soft candy: Little bro, how’s the situation?]
[I Am Crane’s Dog: You see how fast I replied? That’s your answer.]
[I Am Crane’s Dog: The first-generation weather-weapon prototype is finished. Three tests have been scheduled. We just did one this morning. Did it rain over there?]
[Crane’s soft candy: So it really was you guys! I almost turned into a drenched rat. Will your weapon mess with our weather predictions?]
[I Am Crane’s Dog: Of course it’ll interfere. What kind of weapon would it be if the enemy could predict it?]
In the dungeon’s default setting, no players were allies. Each stood on a different side. Ironically, the one who threatened Heran the most was her own brother. His weapon tests were guaranteed to disrupt the university’s climate observations.
She couldn’t simply demand that he stop, that would cause him to fail his own mission. She could only adapt as she went.
[Crane’s soft candy: I don’t even know if I should tell my classmates… Anyway, I’ll send you a location. Check it out when you have time, there’s a real-life system shop there.]
She sent him the coordinates she had noted earlier when leaving the store, afraid she might forget how to find it again.
[I Am Crane’s Dog: Thanks sis. I’d happily keep this username for another hundred years for you.]
Heran fell silent. That ridiculous ID had been a punishment from a game of truth-or-dare, yet her brother seemed to enjoy it far too much.
She sighed. She needed to focus and help her team as much as possible, making sure the weather-weapon experiments didn’t completely ruin their predictions.
Bracing herself, Heran turned and rejoined the heated debate among her classmates.
“What… why is it closed?!”
Amanda stared at the convenience store’s locked doors in disbelief.
She had just finished an interview and helped the video editor work on the new upload. By the time everything was posted, it was almost evening. She had planned to settle for a quick dinner at the convenience store on the corner.
But wasn’t this place supposed to be open twenty-four hours?
Ye Jinran hummed a tune as he locked the final security door and then turned toward her with an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. We’re completely sold out. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow’s restock.”
“All of it? Even what’s in the storage room?”
“Every last bit. Shelves and storage cleaned out.” He shrugged, wearing the kind of expression that said she could believe it or not, it didn’t matter to him.
Amanda froze for a moment. Something about the man in front of her felt strangely familiar, though she couldn’t remember ever meeting him. After staring too long, she suddenly realized it might seem rude and quickly looked away. “Alright… I guess my luck just ran out today.”
Ye Jinran’s tone held something inexplicably meaningful. “Actually, your luck is pretty good.”
“How so?” Amanda raised her head, baffled.
“It’s nothing. Seeing that you’re safe puts me at ease, that’s all.”
To escape alive from a situation like the one she had been in, only to reappear in front of him unharmed, that was indeed luck.
Amanda’s fingers caught her collar as her heartbeat spiked for reasons she didn’t understand. Gathering her courage, she looked directly at him. Beneath the brim of his cap, behind the messy black strands of hair, lay a pair of bright golden eyes gleaming with a dangerous glint.
But that unsettling sensation vanished as quickly as it appeared, almost like a trick of her imagination. The young man softened into a warm smile and waved a hand in front of her. “Standing around here wasting time isn’t ideal. You’ve got a lot on your plate, don’t you, Miss Reporter?”
“Oh, right. Yes.” She snapped out of her daze. She was still wearing her work clothes, recording equipment strapped to her body. Being recognized wasn’t strange at all.
Before she left, Ye Jinran added, “We’ll be open like normal tomorrow. If you need anything, feel free to come by.”
He certainly didn’t want to scare her away. She could still become a very good customer.
Something in his tone naturally put people at ease. Amanda felt her tense muscles relax a little and nodded hurriedly.
Honestly, she must just be exhausted. Otherwise, why would she have reacted so nervously earlier? Once she accumulated enough in-game time, she really ought to take a break from dungeons like this.
Shaking her head, she turned her back to the convenience store and walked off.
Ye Jinran watched the blonde woman disappear from his view before turning away himself, unsure where to go next. He had never had the means to travel abroad in real life. In this dungeon, however, he could wander the world freely, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious.
He didn’t like crowded places, and growing up with limited means had kept his material desires low. Even now, with better financial conditions, he had no urge to splurge. After a moment of thought, he realized that what interested him most was the other players’ movements. He might as well follow one or two and see what they were up to.
He opened the system map. The players’ locations were marked in real time. “Doctor God” and “Crane’s Dog” were both at their respective workplaces. Amanda was on her way back to the company. Heran was somewhere inside a university lecture building. As for Bai Yanzhou, he was unique, moving rapidly through a district that could only be described as a slum.
The identity Bai Yanzhou had drawn was not only that of a hardened survivor but also an undocumented migrant living on the edge of the law. Survival was brutally difficult for him, though for someone of his capabilities, it probably wasn’t too big of a hurdle.
Curiosity sparked, how was Bai Yanzhou planning to handle his situation, and where exactly were those items he purchased going to end up? Following the map’s guidance, Ye Jinran set off in that direction.
The difference between districts was jarring. Moving from a bustling, thriving area into a zone filled with jobless wanderers, Ye Jinran almost felt like he had stepped into a different world. Just a single wall separated men and women in suits rushing to their next appointment from addicts collapsed in alleyways and homeless people curled up inside tattered tents.
Using several concealment tools on himself, Ye Jinran entered a near-ghostlike state. He could walk through obstacles and didn’t need to worry about anyone detecting him.
Bai Yanzhou moved quickly, far too quickly. He had clearly used an agility-boosting item, and Ye Jinran almost lost him. Fortunately, Bai wasn’t heading in one straight direction. He was circling within a certain area, pacing back and forth. That made it possible for Ye Jinran to catch up.
The location turned out to be an abandoned factory. Many homeless people had been living inside, but today they’d all been driven out by a forceful new occupant. They sat clustered outside, miserable and anxious, but none dared approach the building again.
Someone had attempted to sneak back in, only to trigger one of the traps set up earlier. Injured and bleeding, the poor man had no access to proper medical care, an injury like that was practically a death sentence. No one else dared to try again.
Ye Jinran only needed a few seconds to understand: Bai Yanzhou was building himself a fortified base.
He knew full well how many enemies he had made and how terrible his reputation was among players. He prepared accordingly. A lion used its full strength even when hunting a rabbit, Bai Yanzhou was not the type to underestimate anyone and lose to the weak.
Even if the other players weren’t showing it openly, Ye Jinran could sense it. This dungeon was a hunt directed at Bai Yanzhou.
Heran knew Bai Yanzhou and understood his terrifying strength. Holding on to a fragile hope, she believed that by uniting the other players, they stood a chance of defeating him.
Her brother was her first trump card. Amanda, who she also knew, could cooperate. The remaining player seemed to be the weakest in terms of ability, ironically, that made them the easiest to recruit. The weak tended to follow the majority in dangerous environments.
But Ye Jinran couldn’t figure out two things. First: Bai Yanzhou may have a horrible reputation and a tendency to wipe out entire teams, but he was also the number-one ranked player on the integrated combat power leaderboards, a living weapon specialized in dealing with anything bizarre.
In a way, he was practically a hero of humanity. What on earth did Heran have against him that she would take a risk this reckless?
Second: how did they even dare?
Bai Yanzhou wasn’t just strong, he was vigilant. Before entering the dungeon, he had already predicted that the other players would try to trap him and had blocked possible escape routes in advance.
Even if Heran and her brother were naive rookies, they should still know he wasn’t someone they could challenge.
To Ye Jinran, it was obvious. Bai Yanzhou had seen through their intentions long before the dungeon began. He had let them think they had a chance, only to use this PVP scenario to lure them all into a trap and wipe out anyone harboring ill intentions.
Heran certainly didn’t have the capacity to orchestrate such a complicated plan. Someone else must be the real mastermind behind the attempt to kill Bai Yanzhou.
A few faces flashed through Ye Jinran’s mind until it narrowed down to two: Amanda and Doctor God.
Amanda had once been trapped in a desperate situation where her entire team was wiped out, and he had tricked her a little back then. He assumed she couldn’t possibly survive that dungeon, yet here she was. So she definitely had some skills.
Doctor God’s displayed abilities didn’t match the difficulty of this dungeon at all. She seemed completely out of place among the others, which made it more likely that she was hiding part of her strength.
He had checked the backgrounds of the five players earlier while bored in the convenience store. The one with the ID “I Am Not Doctor God” was a medical student in real life, functioning like a healer in previous dungeons.
But a healer shouldn’t be able to solo a dungeon, and someone without solo capabilities wouldn’t willingly enter a PVP dungeon alone. That meant Doctor God must have a connection with at least one of the other players. Ye Jinran simply didn’t know yet whether she stood with Heran or with Bai Yanzhou.
Adding to the confusion was the conflict earlier that morning between Amanda and Doctor God. Bai Yanzhou almost certainly didn’t have allies, he was a notorious lone wolf. Yet Amanda and Doctor God didn’t appear to get along either.
Ye Jinran muttered to himself, “Could they… have staged that whole fight?”
Raising his head, he used a vision-enhancement tool to scan the factory. Bai Yanzhou had installed layers of traps throughout the building, landmine-type devices hidden everywhere, reinforced walls, and a modified ventilation system that allowed airflow but prevented anyone from crawling through the ducts.
The food he bought from the convenience store was stored separately in various hiding spots, never in one place. Every location was chosen with precision, cool, dry, and extremely well concealed.
It was flawless. Too flawless. Even without the dungeon’s “survivalist” identity, Bai Yanzhou was clearly an expert in post-apocalyptic survival.
A ridiculous thought crossed Ye Jinran’s mind, was Bai Yanzhou some kind of long-term fugitive in the real world?
But Bai Yanzhou’s face was too recognizable. If he were wanted by authorities, Ye Jinran would have remembered seeing him somewhere. It was impossible for someone like him to stay hidden. The idea was quickly dismissed.
The bedroom of this fortress had been built underground. After watching Bai Yanzhou work tirelessly for a while, Ye Jinran saw him finally disappear into the basement and remain there. Most likely, he had gone to rest. There wasn’t much left to observe anyway, so Ye Jinran lost interest and turned away.
He spent a long time walking back. By the time he returned to his convenience-store base, night had completely fallen.
Since the shop’s goods had sold out, he could only rely on system-store supplies for dinner. He was used to cheap boxed meals and wasn’t picky. After eating, he sat idly in the store and turned on the television to watch the local news.
“Breaking report! An explosion has occurred in Building XXX, resulting in two deaths and eleven injuries…”
Wait, that was the building where Amanda’s news agency was located.
Ye Jinran quickly turned up the volume.
Police sirens and ambulance lights filled the area. Rescue workers dug frantically through the debris. The studio microphones had even picked up bits of crying from nearby victims.
A reporter spoke rapidly, summarizing the current investigation and rescue operations. According to the report, a courier had delivered a package to the news agency earlier that day.
A note had been attached: “Thank you for today’s excellent interview.” The contents appeared to be an eco-themed commemorative item, actually a time-delayed bomb disguised as a souvenir.
The staff, noticing nothing strange, assumed it was a gift from that morning’s event and set it aside casually. It detonated at dusk.
Preliminary investigation suggested that the bomb had been planted by a fanatic supporter of the politician “I Am Not Doctor God,” intending to retaliate on her behalf.
Ye Jinran stared at the screen, eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
✦ ✧ ✦
Nycreth
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Every chapter has a price. This one accepts coffee.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Blood Moon Town: ShhhChapter 2 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (1)Chapter 3 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (2)Chapter 4 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (3)Chapter 5 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (4)Chapter 6 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (7)Chapter 7 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (6)Chapter 8 · The mist over Nanjin Village (7)Chapter 9 · The Mystery of Nanjin Village (The End)Chapter 10 · Real WorldChapter 11 · Riding The Wind (1)Chapter 12 · Riding The Wind (2)Chapter 13 · Riding The Wind (3)Chapter 14 · Riding The Wind (4)Chapter 15 · Riding The Wind (5)Chapter 16 · Riding The Wind (6)Chapter 17 · Riding The Wind (7)Chapter 18 · Riding The Wind (8)Chapter 19 · Riding The Wind (9)Chapter 20 · Riding The Wind (10)Chapter 21 Part 1 · Riding The Wind (11)Chapter 21 Part 2 · Riding The Wind (11)Chapter 22 · Real World (1)Chapter 23 · Real World (2)Chapter 24 · Golden Sands Fade Away (1)Chapter 25 · Golden Sands Fade Away (2)Chapter 26 · Golden Sands Fade Away (3)Chapter 27 · Golden Sands Fade Away (4)Chapter 28 · Golden Sands Fade Away (5)Chapter 29 · Golden Sands Fade Away (6)Chapter 30 · Golden Sands Fade Away (7)Chapter 31 · Golden Sands Fade Away (8)Chapter 32 · Golden Sands Fade Away (9)Chapter 33 · Golden Sands Fade Away (10)Chapter 34 · Golden Sands Fade Away (11)Chapter 35 · Golden Sands Fade Away (12)Chapter 36 · Golden Sands Fade Away (13)Chapter 37 · Golden Sands Fade Away (14)Chapter 38 · Golden Sands Fade Away (15)Chapter 39 · Golden Sands Fade Away (16)Chapter 40 · Golden Sands Fade Away (17)Chapter 41 · Golden Sands Fade Away (18)Chapter 42 · Golden Sands Fade Away (19)Chapter 43 · Golden Sands Fade Away (20)Chapter 44 · Golden Sands Fade Away (21)Chapter 45 · Golden Sands Fade Away (22)Chapter 46 · Golden Sands Fade Away (23)Chapter 47 · Golden Sands Fade Away (24)Chapter 48 · Golden Sands Fade Away (25) The EndChapter 49 · Main God’s DomainChapter 50 · Anomaly Investigation Bureau (1)Chapter 51 · Anomaly Investigation Bureau (2)Chapter 52 · Item FactoryChapter 53 · Defrosted Friendship (1)Chapter 54 · Defrosted Friendship (2)Chapter 55 · Defrosted Friendship (3)Chapter 56 · Defrosted Friendship (4)Chapter 57 · Defrosted Friendship (5)Chapter 58 · Defrosted Friendship (6)Chapter 59 · Defrosted Friendship (7)Chapter 60 · Defrosted Friendship (8)Chapter 61 · Defrosted Friendship (9)Chapter 62 · Defrosted Friendship (10)Chapter 63 · Defrosted Friendship (11)Chapter 64 · Defrosted Friendship (12)Chapter 65 · Defrosted Friendship (13)Chapter 66 · Defrosted Friendship (14)Chapter 67 · Defrosted Friendship (15)Chapter 68 · Defrosted Friendship (16)Chapter 69 · Defrosted Friendship (End)Chapter 70 · The Real WorldChapter 71 · Matching TimeChapter 72 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (1)Chapter 73 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (2)Chapter 74 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (3)Chapter 75 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (4)Chapter 76 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (5)Chapter 77 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (6)Chapter 78 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (7)Chapter 79 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (8)Chapter 80 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (9)Chapter 81 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (10)Chapter 82 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (11)Chapter 83 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (12)Chapter 84 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (13)Chapter 85 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (14)Chapter 86 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (15)Chapter 87 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (16)Chapter 88 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (17)Chapter 89 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (18)Chapter 90 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (19)Chapter 91 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (20)Chapter 92 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (21)Chapter 93 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (22)Chapter 94 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (23)Chapter 95 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (Complete)Chapter 96 · The Main God Invites You for TeaChapter 97 · The Player ForumChapter 98 · Training GroundChapter 99 · Eternal Night – The Stone-Striker (1)Chapter 100 · Eternal Night – The Stone-Striker (2)Chapter 101 · Eternal Night – The Stone-Striker (3)Chapter 102 · Eternal Night · The One Who Strikes the Stone (Finale)